Background

Why haven’t you done this sooner?

Yes, well… moving on…

OK, then why now?

We’re going to emigrate to Sweden in 3 or 4 years, so it seemed like a good time to do it.

Why a pirate wedding?

Well, we celebrate International Talk Like A Pirate Day every year, so pirates are close to our heart. We’ve tried unsuccessfully to have a pirate party on the Jolly Roger before, and we figured if people wouldn’t commit for a wedding, we’d never get it right. Plus, we want do our bit to alleviate global warming. Also, we had a list of everything we hate about weddings, and we didn’t want to do any of that.

So what is on this famous “list”?

• Drawn out, stuffy, religious ceremonies
• Uncomfortable suits and ties (for men), crippling “new” shoes (for women)
• Waiting around for hours while the bride and groom have photos taken. Generally without snacks or many drinks, because there is a full meal coming up later.
• Not enough free booze. This is a biggie for Amanda – she normally has 1 glass of wine and suddenly its a cash bar already!
• Dancing – blerg. Neither James nor Amanda like dancing.
• Traditional weddings are all the same. No matter how much effort the bride puts into making “her day” (ha!) special, they kind of all merge into 1 big amorphous wedding blob in people’s memories. It’s very seldom that you get a wedding that actually stands out in people’s minds.

Treaties twixt pyrate factions

Where is the booty list?

It’s here! We have decided not to have a regular wedding registry, since we’ve been living together for almost 8 years, and don’t need any toasters, linens or various other household items. We’re going to have a Honeymoon Registry instead. You could get us a romantic dinner for two, or a sight-seeing excursion, or an upgrade to our hotel suite, or various other things. In keeping with our geekiness, we’ll set this up as an online store here on our website. This should make things easy for those coming from far and wide.

Where are you going for your honeymoon?

James is keeping that a secret from Amanda for the moment ;)

Questions of apparel

Do we really have to come dressed up as pirates?

Well, it would make us very happy if you did. But if you really don’t want to, by all means don’t. As long as you don’t pitch up in suit and tie, or anything uncomfortable. People with ties will be put in the stocks. Yes, there really are stocks on the boat. Cravats are ok.

I’m coming from afar and my boots ‘n britches were dumped overboard in a storm.

If you’re coming from out of town, we can assist with costume hire. We can recommend and give directions to the better local costume hires. If you’re really stuck for time, feel free to send us your sizes and preferred piratey costume, and we’ll roll out some friends of similar dimensions as models, dress ’em up, and send you photos.

The wooing of the strumpet

(Oi! Who you callin’ a strumpet? — Amanda)

How did you meet?

We met while Amanda was doing her B.Sc Hons in Pietermaritzburg, and James was home from teaching English in Taiwan for a “quick visit”. Amanda had joined the local role-playing club, and James, always a die-hard role-playing fan, had come along to play a few games.

In a happy stroke of luck, a sudden SARS outbreak in China had the world in a panic and prevented James from going back for a little while, so he hung around ‘Maritzburg, visiting old friends and getting moon-eyed over Amanda. It took about 3 months for Amanda to twig that James was trying to let her know that he liked her (subtlety not being Amanda’s strong suit, and wooing skills somewhat rusty on James’ part). She decided to take things into her own hands at his 25th birthday party, about a week before he was due to go back to Taiwan.

Fortunately for her, he decided to stay.

How did James propose?

He hacked Google. Amanda has a bit of a love affair with all things Google, and she is often called “Google Girl“, so this was quite appropriate. Once she even promised Google that she would name her first-born child “Google” if she could just get an invitation to the Google Wave beta application. (This turned out to be a bum deal, in the end. Google Wave was a complete flop, IMHO – – Amanda). After she clicked on “I’m feeling lucky”, a message popped up directing her to look for her ring hidden behind her monitor.