Rock To Wind A String Around

So Erin got this from Maia, who got this from Lillian, who got it from Claire, and so on

IF YOU’RE MARRIED, SHARE YOUR WEDDING DETAILS AND RELIVE YOUR MEMORIES AND IF YOU’RE ENGAGED/PLANNING A WEDDING, LET US KNOW WHAT THE PLANS ARE AND IF YOU’RE NOT WITH ANYONE JUST LET US KNOW WHAT YOUR DREAM WEDDING WILL BE THAT’S IN YOUR MIND….THIS ALSO INCLUDES QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR OTHER HALF

1. Are you married?

oui, oui

2. Who did you marry?
the lovely Albert

3. How long did you date?
We dated for about a month in the fall of 1992.  Just as I began to fall hard for him, Albert decided he wasn’t ready for a serious relationship.  I was crushed, but initially determined to make him see the error of his ways (then I began to date other people, ignoring my adoration of Albert completely).  We saw each other pretty often (same circle of friends, same fine Thursday night hotspot) and by Christmas, I was willing to talk to him once more.  We began dating again on my birthday in 1993 (when I turned 12!!!) and we were married 25 months later.

4. What is the age difference?
I am 5 months older (the additional wisdom is in short supply however)

5. When did you meet?

sometime in 1989 or early 1990.  We were Monarchists together!

6. When did you start dating?
lets call it August of 1992–we’ll ignore the 7 month hiatus.

7. When did you get engaged?
March of 1994

8. How did you get engaged?

This is such a dopey story.  We moved in together in August of 1993, a few months after we started dating once more.  I knew that I wanted to be with Albert forever when we signed the lease but was determined not to  let my heart break into a million bits again, should he decide that forever wasn’t in the stars.  I suggested that we live together for a year, and then renegotiate the contract after 12 months.  6 months into the arrangement, Albert began to look at other PhD programs with the assumption that I would join him.  I didn’t want to push my ‘forever’ agenda, but there was no way I was willing to move across the country without a commitment.  We got into an argument about this one Sunday afternoon–Albert said he was all for marriage, he just didn’t see why it needed to be settled now.  I reminded him that we’d need time to plan a wedding–we were both in graduate school, both working, both poor–a wedding wasn’t going to happen magically overnight.  So here’s the dopey part.  I was standing on a chair, dusting the top of some bookshelves when we had this discussion.  I was still standing on the chair, dust cloth in hand when Albert said, “Fine, let’s get engaged and set a date then.”  I told him he was just agreeing to get me to shut up, and I didn’t actually believe he was serious.  Albert disagreed and said he meant it.  I told him he should think about it for a few hours, and if he was serious, we should call our parents after dinner.  A few hours later, the calls were made, and we were engaged.  It’s not a very romantic proposal, but it was very memorable!

9. When did you get married?
May 6, 1995

10. What time was the ceremony?

6:15.  I really wanted to start the wedding at an odd time (I do that with parties still) but the invitation times were set to the quarter hour, so 6:17 was not to be…

11. Who was your maid of honor?

My BFF, Brandy

12. Who was the best man?
Albert’s brother, Brad

13. Who were your other bridesmaids?

My other BFF, Kerry

14. Who were the other groomsmen?
Albert’s friend, Scott, and my youngest brother, Brett.  (yes, we know we had more groomsmen than bridesmaids, that’s how we roll)

15. Who played the music at your wedding?

the church organist played hymns, and we had a soloist.

16. Did you have a cd or did someone sing at your wedding?
soloist at the wedding, a harpist at the reception

17. What was your song & other songs in the ceremony?
The soloist sang Schubert’s Ave Maria, other than that, there was a lot of Bach.

18. What were your wedding colors?

cream–that’s it.  I didn’t want a color theme

19. Did you buy your wedding dress or did you have it made?

My mother made it.  I wanted a cotton damask wedding dress with long sleeves and I didn’t want to spend a fortune–everything was so foofy in the mid 90’s–my dress was nowhere to be found.  Even the original inspiration for the damask dress,  a Ralph Lauren creation, was too foofy for me.  The dress my mom made was lovely, and extra special because she made it for me.

20. About the veil?
It all went so terribly wrong with the veil.  I wanted a sweet little Juliet cap and veil.  We found some beautiful fabric for the veiling (no scratchy tulle for me) but it was too opaque.  I couldn’t see a thing under the veil and the guests couldn’t see me either.  3 seconds before I walked down the aisle, I begged my dad to help me pull back the veil, but he thought I was just nervous and gave me a little nudge.   A certain cousin joked out loud that “there is a bride under there” when Albert pulled it back after our vows.

21. What was your bouquet?
Very colorful–red/pink/orange/yellow–and no carnations at my request

22. Who officiated your wedding?

Father Harry Douglass at St. John’s Episcopal.  He retired a few years later but was filling in during someone’s sabbatical 3 years ago when we renewed our vows.  It was a lovely surprise.

23. Did you have a bridal shower?
yes–the sweet and very busy bridesmaids threw one the week before the wedding. Kerry’s roommate, our friend Beth, had chickenpox, but it was still held at their place–poor Beth!  My mom and grandmother and Aunt Anne surprised me by driving up for it–it was so close to the wedding, I didn’t think I’d see them.  A month later, after the school year was over, the teachers I worked with threw a double shower for me and another newlywed.

24. Where was your wedding?
Our ceremony was held at St. John’s Episcopal on Monroe, for all you Tallahassee lassies who know the place.

25. Where was your reception?

A beautiful 19th century home and the gardens surrounding it were turned into a public park, available for conferences and weddings.  We stopped at the Dorothy B Oven Park when we were in Tallahassee in January.  We chose well–it’s still gorgeous.

26. Where did you go for your honeymoon?
Try not to be jealous.  We left the next day for 4 (yep, 4!) glorious days in Bloomington Indiana so we could find a place to live for the fall, and then we flew to Toronto for another few days of real vacation before we went back to Tallahassee to finish work and graduate school.  I had my first Ethiopian food in Toronto.  Now the circle is complete!

27. Are you and your spouse still happily married and in love???

I’m crazy about the guy.  I miss him like mad when he’s away, my heart thumps faster when he comes back home.  I knew what I was doing way back in 1992, it seems.

28. Were there any bloopers on your wedding day???

It was fantastically hot (even for Florida) for the beginning of May. 98 degrees at 6:00 and very humid.  I also stood in a mound of fire ants during pre-wedding pictures.  When we realized what had happened, my brother (#1–he was the photographer) threw down his camera, threw my skirts over my head, and he and my grandmother beat the ants off my legs.  Very few people saw this delight.  I am forever glad!

29. Did you dance at your wedding?
No dancing. We wanted to give people the chance to chat and visit.  My life is complete, even without performing the hokey pokey as a bride.

30. Where did you stay on wedding night?

The hotel closest to the reception site.  We wanted to make it easy for guests to get back and forth in an unfamiliar city, and we booked enough rooms that we had a free night in the bridal suite–ooh la la!

Add your voice to the throng.  Don’t be shy.  It’s so much fun (at least for me) to read other people’s wedding tales.  Erin’s meme was amazing–she included gorgeous wedding photos too–go check her out!