Signs and Portents, an anniversary

Fourteen years ago, Partner and I got married in a coffee shop in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I highly recommend family-owned coffee shops as fabulous places in general, but they also make great venues for impromptu nuptuals. This particular shop was called Sky’s the Limit Coffee & Bakery, and was run by Mark and Jennifer. Good people. The building was a converted gas station, I think, and the customer area was divided into a main room and an overflow area. The overflow room had a giant plate glass window facing Main Street. We gathered there with a few friends and family members and got married in front of that window.

The store was decorated with quilt-hangings and vaguely tribal-looking art, and painted in cheerful colors. While the pastor made introductory remarks, Partner and I stood in the kitchen, holding hands and laughing nervously. We were also admiring the kitchen equipment. You’ve got to love giant mixing bowls. My favorite part of the shop, besides the apricot coffee cake, lovingly made by Jennifer with apricots picked fresh from her tree, were the quirky signs and posters hanging here and there. I have snapshots of just a few of them, and whenever I see them, I always marvel at how well these work together as prophecies of marriage. 

A movie poster from Straight to Hell, “A story of blood, money, guns, coffee, & sexual tension”No marriage, no matter how congenial, is without a little hell, right? This poster was hanging on the side of a large stainless steel fridge, purchased at a discount because of the giant, claw-like scratch down that side. The poster didn’t quite cover the scratches, so they peeked out from under the poster like a demon was trying to escape from the fridge. 

Danger: Monkeys BiteThis sign was on a bit of wall between some cooling racks. I’m not sure if the monkeys were in the ovens or just hanging around the kitchen. Our Sonars didn’t come along for several years, but once they did, we started referring to them as monkeys pretty regularly. They don’t bite anymore. Much.

The Sky’s the Limit MenuI love this little time capsule of economics and coffee preferences. You know you want a Jolt Cola.

Yes, I highly recommend coffee shops for getting coffee and getting married. Bookstores would be good too. What do you say, babe? Next time let’s get married in a bookstore. I know just the one.

Comments

[Cass]

Happy Anniversary to two of my favorite people! Love you!

[Cab]

Good times. I have but vague memories of the place (for some strange reason you seem to remember the day more clearly than I do... can't imagine why), but it remains the only coffee shop wedding I've attended! I agree about bookstores, but they'd have to be second hand shops, naturally. There's a neat one in Montpelier called Rivendell. You should check it out sometime, you know, next time you're in the neighborhood. I saw that name and then promptly lost a couple of hours.

Congrats to you two!