Wedding Blog

When we made the decision to be together it was with the unspoken understanding that we were committing to forever. So when he asked what kind of engagement ring I wanted, I knew. Something simple and elegant and timeless and traditional - words that I like to think describe me. I also wanted something vintage, ’cause they just don’t make things like they used to, and I wanted to be sure that my diamond was conflict free. On a trip to Beijing we stopped by Tiffany’s to do a little browsing, while back home in Mongolia I was busy scouring the internet (there are no fine jewelry stores in Ulaanbaatar) for The Ring.

{This is what my ring looks like, only mine is prettier. }

As fate would have it, I found it at Lang’s Antiques in San Francisco. I say fate because we had actually already planned to stop very briefly in San Francisco to visit friends on our way back to Mongolia last Christmas. We made a quick trip down to Sutter Street where I tried it on without even looking at anything else. It was so perfect but there was a small problem - it had to be sized down. John, the super sweet salesman, assured us that he could put a rush on it so that we could have it by 9 the next morning, just in time to catch our 11 am flight.

He proposed on January 28. We’d spent that day doing pretty normal Sunday things. That night we cooked dinner together. He lit some candles and after we’d finished our meal, he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. I said yes and then we called our families to tell them the happy news.

But there was a hitch. He had been accepted into a graduate law program in Singapore and for me to go with him, two things were required - a substantial deposit to ensure that I didn’t tear up the place, and that we be married. There was much conversation and many calls to our parents to make sure that they were OK with an elopement, and since we were planning a ceremony anyway, we decided to go ahead and make it official while on a trip to Japan to visit his brother in April.

As it turns out it is quite easy, although time consuming, to get married in Japan (it’s like the Vegas of Asia!) and while it sounds romantic, in reality it has about all the romance of filling out your taxes. We went to the US Consulate in Osaka and filled out some paper work. Then we went to the local ward office and filled out some more paperwork. And then back to the US Consulate to have the certificate translated and certified. Voila! We were married! No ceremony. No you may kiss the bride. Nothing.

Afterwards, as we were walking out, Mr. Donut pulled me to him and gave me a big kiss. His brother said, “Oh, yeah, congratulations.” And then we went to a baseball game.

{Our super cool wedding certificate.}