Happy Anniversary to me! :)

So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. This picture was taken four years ago today, and is one of the best memories of my life. The only thing that might have made it better was the appearance of Elvis, but sadly, he must have had other things to do at the time. I guess you can't have everything!
Billy had actually proposed back in December, and my parents were not exactly thrilled at the news. But a girl in love is a girl in love, and I wouldn't hear anything against my plans. They suggested we wait until the next summer, as my brother had just gotten engaged also, and they were planning their wedding for about a year from when they got engaged. So we would have been married in the summer of 2004. But we were young and in love, and we didn't want to wait. I checked out wedding packages online, booked a flight, and off we went.
To get a direct flight with no changeovers, we had to fly out of Chicago, so we drove there first, with Billy's best friend and his girlfriend in tow. Not the best idea to drive to Chicago in the middle of winter, but we made it through, and got on the plane with a great sense of adventure. The flight was pretty uneventful, except for the group of ladies at the back who had apparently decided that drunk and loud was the only way to fly. We arrived safely in Vegas, and went to the rental car desk. I had reserved the whole trip through Expedia, and they used Hertz rental service. When I got to the desk though, they wouldn't let me have my car. I was 25 at the time, and my birthday was in 5 days. The manager said that I wasn't old enough, and wouldn't budge on it. So I called Expedia. Not only would they not help me, they said that they couldn't refund my money because I was already traveling. Great. It's like midnight in Vegas, we're all exhausted from being up all night, and now we have to find a car place that will rent to me.
Thankfully Enterprise allowed underage renters, they just charged an extra fee. We paid for the car, got in the shuttle, and we were back in action! The next adventure was finding the office where we could get our marriage license. We drove downtown, and started walking. It took us about an hour of wandering before we found it. The line processed quickly, and in less than an hour, we were back out the door and ready to find the hotel.
The next day we woke up late, and decided we'd go see Hoover Dam before we had to be at the chapel. So we drove out there, stopped for an amazing buffet breakfast, and took the Dam tour. We shopped in the Dam gift shop before we left, where I picked up some postcards and a tin of Dam mints. We were also treated to a lovely story by the shop clerk, who described to us the mess they have to clean up when people take it into their heads to jump off the dam and commit suicide. I don't think I'll ever forget it.
After we were done at the dam, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the ceremony. The limo picked us up and brought us to the chapel, where we signed our marriage certificate, and had our little ceremony. They had a photographer too, who took some lovely pictures for us. The limo took us back to the hotel, but we wanted a night on the town, so we headed back in, still dressed up, and had our dinner at the Nascar cafe!
The next day we spent trolling the strip until it was time to leave. All in all it was a wonderful trip, and full of great memories. I am just as happy to celebrate our anniversary today as I was to create it four years ago. And I look forward to many more happy years ahead. I love you, honey!!! Happy Anniversary!