I put on my new brown suit with the tie she gave me for my birthday. She was elegant and gorgeous in her custom made dress. And we were off, catching a bus to the steps of City Hall. We were by far the best dressed people on the bus.
Translation in hand we dutifully took our number and waited our turn to get a marriage license. Our ceremony was scheduled only half an hour later so we were tense. The SF City Hall marriages are strictly BYOW (Bring Your Own Witness(minimum one)). My friend Steven agreed to do the honors and showed up on time--one less worry. They called our number and the clerk took the translation and checked her online database. She was frowning so much I started to get worried. Patrícia reassured me that she was one of those perpetual frowners. Everything was fine. 
Wheeeeew!We met the pleasant diminutive judge, everyone showed ID and signed the license, and then we waited our turn. When it was time, we followed the cute little judge upstairs to the rotunda. The location was fabulous--look at the pictures. Steven did a great job with the pictures and was very patient and cooperative with my instructions. (He is a chef, I was once a professional photographer). We had to wait a bit to get some of the pictures because the other people getting married wouldn't get out of our way. The nerve!
Apparently Marilyn Monroe got married to Joe Dimaggio there too. That's cool. We took the bus back to the hotel for a while and then had a great Italian dinner in a romantic restaurant. The Italian waiter was really funny and very Italian.
Later we met Steven and his girlfriend on the 39th floor of the Hyatt for a few drinks and a stunning view of the setting sun over the SF skyline.I am so happy that this beautiful, fiesty, intelligent, woman who makes me laugh so much, actually married me. She married me!
