The bride was a vision in white organza. The groom, perfection in a pearl gray suit. When the dancing and toasts were over, the couple was left with cherished wedding memories, but a rather awkward anniversary date: September 11.

“We knew we wanted to get married in the autumn of 2009. I thought September seemed like a good month because it cools off a little here in Austin, (Texas) and also it’s the month my parents got married,” said Holley Simons, who celebrated her second wedding anniversary yesterday.

Process of elimination led the betrothed couple to weed out various prospective wedding dates until they landed upon September 11 for their nuptials – despite the associations with national tragedy and mourning.

“I was a bit self-conscious at first when people would ask our wedding date,” said Ms Simons. “At first I panicked and thought we had to change it,” she said.

But allowing herself to go forward with a 9/11 ceremony also meant reclaiming a day that many see as off-limits for any sort of festive event.

“I would not want to disrespect those who died or lost loved ones in the attacks, but I think celebrating a marriage to the person you love is a good way to say, ‘Life goes on’,” Ms Simons said.

“At least I hope that’s how they would take it.” Across America, contrarians like Ms Simons are reclaiming the September 11th date, and making it more like any other day on the calendar.

For some, weary of the constant associations of sadness and tragedy, 9/11 is a date when it is once again allowed to host a dinner party, plan a bar mitzvah or hold a bridal shower.

This year, on the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks, hundreds if not thousands of commemorative events, large and small, were planned all across the United States.

But there are some who feel that the best way to honour the nearly 3,000 people who died in the Al-Qaeda attacks is simply to get on with the mundane business of everyday life.