Seven years ago
yesterday, I walked down an "aisle" on a sandy beach in Muri Lagoon,
Rarotonga, and married my husband. We had both known from the start that we wanted a beach wedding, and once we thought of the idea of having it in Rarotonga, we couldn't not do that. I went into the planning fully expecting that I'd wear some breezy white sundress thing, but once I started trying on dresses, I realized that I'd be happier in a "real" wedding dress. So that is what I had. I even had a train. But I did at least get flowers in my hair.
We got the barefoot beach wedding we dreamed of, but just barely- the night before the island was brushed by a cyclone, and we went to bed unsure whether we'd have to move the wedding indoors. At the time, we failed to fully appreciate how awesome it was that all of our friends and family were willing- happy, even- to stand outside in a drenching (but warm) rain and have a rehearsal BBQ with us. We appreciate it now. We have some great friends and family, and the picture of me standing next to my best friend from college, soaking wet but laughing is one of my favorite photos from the wedding trip.
We got the barefoot beach wedding we dreamed of, but just barely- the night before the island was brushed by a cyclone, and we went to bed unsure whether we'd have to move the wedding indoors. At the time, we failed to fully appreciate how awesome it was that all of our friends and family were willing- happy, even- to stand outside in a drenching (but warm) rain and have a rehearsal BBQ with us. We appreciate it now. We have some great friends and family, and the picture of me standing next to my best friend from college, soaking wet but laughing is one of my favorite photos from the wedding trip.
The
day of the wedding dawned cloudy but dry, with a breeze and not gale
force winds. The location was perfect, right down to the group of guys
having their "Friday night beers" in the lagoon behind us. (It sort of
makes our own Friday night beers tradition look a bit lame. I mean, we
just sit on our sofa. How boring!)
Really,
my only regret about our ceremony was that I walked way too fast, and
therefore no one got to hear the carefully bridged repeat my husband
labored for days to put in the instrumental version of Storybook Love.
It was the perfect music for us- from The
Princess Bride (a movie we both love), with lyrics that were
appropriate (although we didn't use them), and to top it all off, it is
played by Mark Knopfler, who is my husband's favorite musician. True
story: when asked later what the highlight of 2005 was, my husband
answered "seeing Mark Knopfler play Telegraph Road live," merrily
skipping over the wedding, honeymoon, and the start to our big trip,
which included seeing Easter Island- easily one of the highlights of my entire life, let alone 2005. No, I will never let him live that
down. Having seen Mark Knopfler play live several times since (we see
him on every tour), I can at least appreciate how rare that event was-
it has never been repeated. But it doesn't even break into my top 5
highlights for 2005, unless I factor in how happy it made my husband.
I
also wish that someone had captured a video of our recessional- we
shocked the venue owner a bit by choosing
the theme from Mission Impossible for that. I still think it is perfect
(my husband still wishes I'd let him have the Imperial March from Star
Wars). Now that we've added kids to the mix, it only seems more
appropriate. We truly had no idea what mission we were accepting that
day! But then, I think you never really do, whether you have kids or
not.
I
am not going to turn this post into a gushy tribute to my husband,
although that is not for lack of material. But I do feel like reflecting
a little bit, because while we officially made a far bigger deal out of
our 5th anniversary, the 7th feels more important. Maybe because of the
fabled seven-year itch?
I'm thinking back over all that we have done in these last seven years:
- We took four months off work and went on a "Circle Pacific" trip. I started this blog to write travel stories.
- We took two trips to New Zealand for other people's weddings. While I was pregnant. It just happened that two of our three best New Zealand friends decided to get married then, and we couldn't miss either of those weddings. And then the third one got married a couple of weeks after Pumpkin was born. I stayed home for that one, but my husband went.
- Speaking of Pumpkin... she was born. And that was the end of sleep.
- We bought a house.
- I decided to start blogging again, mostly about motherhood.
- I left my cushy job with the 35 hour work week that I had negotiated, and went back into biotech, working 40-45 hours per week. It was a great decision- I enjoyed the new job so much more than the old one!
- We decided that having a baby wasn't going to stop us from traveling, and took Pumpkin on her first airplane ride, up to Seattle. And we discovered that we could use her penchant for rolling naps to our advantage.
Incidentally, we still have that stroller- which we bought for $40 back when Pumpkin was a baby. It was definitely a good deal.
- That trip went so well, we decided to take two more trips. We went to Kauai for Christmas with our families (and gave them all Norovirus....) and we went to Oregon for our last trip before....
- Petunia was born. And we were amazed to discover that some babies go to sleep easily. That didn't last.
- We went to Wichita and took the girls to their first wedding. Pumpkin talked about how she got to dance with the "wedding girl" for weeks.
- We took the girls to Vegas, on the way back from Zion. It was an interesting experience, which I do not think we need to repeat anytime soon. Our next trip to Vegas will be without kids.
- I was laid off, and a few months later I started another new job.
- We took our first family road trip, and had a great time.
Congratulations on 7 years of marriage, and here's to many more happy anniversaries!
ReplyDelete*raises virtual glass of bubbly*
Btw, I love your wedding dress and am envious that you could pull off going bra-less!
Thanks! I'm actually wearing some elaborate backless-strapless contraption. I can't go bra-less, either.
DeleteCongratulations!
ReplyDeleteThat's an AWESOME stroller-baby pic. Is that the aquarium in downtown Seattle? The little bridge looks so familiar...
Thanks! It is over on Bainbridge Island.
DeleteCongratulations and happy anniversary!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary!
ReplyDeleteTell DH the imperial march from Star Wars is over done. I haven't been to a wedding with Mission Impossible, that's awesome.
Happy Anniversary! I love that you played the Mission Impossible theme - how completely appropriate and fun!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! We were married in 2005 as well. What a ride it has been.
ReplyDeleteMission Impossible might be the best music for a recessional I've ever heard.
Thanks, everyone! The Mission Impossible theme definitely got a chuckle out of our guests.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! To 7 more! (and then 7 after that...and so on :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on 7 (adventure filled, wow that makes me feel like a slacker) years!
ReplyDeleteDon't feel like a slacker! To each their own, right?
DeleteHappy anniversary! Do you feel like you guys have changed much over 7 years or not? How long had you known each other when you decided to get married?
ReplyDeleteInteresting question. I'll have to think about it. I'm sure we have changed a lot- kids are a pretty big change agent. But we haven't really parsed it out. We met in 2000, and started living together in 2001. The first part of our time as a couple, we weren't in the same country, and we started living together as soon as my now husband moved over here. So not a normal courtship, probably!
DeleteHappy Anniversary!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary! Your dress & hair looked beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh though - we had a Mark Knopfler song as I walked down the aisle too (Wild theme). It was chosen (and played) by my brother-in-law, we'd delegated music to him. Certainly no Mission Impossible as we went back down the aisle though! We had a fairly traditional church wedding
Happy Anniversary! We too were married in 2005. I love that he wanted the Imperial Death March - so did mine, and I vetoed as well. :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations (I love the 'Friday night beers' backdrop...!).
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
ReplyDeleteI really can't blame your husband for his recollection. We were catching up a friend about our busy year recently and I managed to forget we got married last year. "OH right. Yes, that." Whenever I wrap my head around doing a reception, I may insist on Wolverine cupcakes. I'm sure he won't mind.
That stroller picture is adorable. Kissing goodbye to sleep seems to be the one thing all parents agree on which scares me.
Mazel Tov! Love the picts!
ReplyDelete