On Tuesday July 10th, 2001 my wife and I got married.  The friends and family we invited out numbered around forty five including our wedding party.  We were married in a 100+ year old church that heated up like a sauna that day so the doors remained open.  As our ceremony began, a film crew from across the way stopped and gathered by the entry to watch.  

After the ceremony we went and had our wedding photos taken by a friend of ours. It was a lot of fun.  Our reception was in a small Legion hall that we had rented and decorated with balloons and streamers.  The photographer’s soon to be husband was our DJ.  My father-in-law bottled his own wine and we had an open bar.  The bartender was a friend of mine who had just finished bartending school.  We had the main table with the wedding party set up in a U shape in front of the stage where the MC was.

There was only four round tables set up in the hall for our guests.  The tables were labeled “Truth Beauty Freedom Love” from Moulin Rouge.  For our wedding we spent about $5,000 on everything.  We have a videotape of the festivities that we’ve never dusted off to rewatch.

Fifteen years of marriage has been a fun ride.  From having three children together to traveling around the continent- our lives are full of adventure. We’ve been on train rides, plane rides, hot air balloon rides, limo rides, flown a plane & driven a train.  We’ve started a business, met celebraties, made new friends and had numerous one of a kind experiences.  Most of it on a budget or nearly free.

Our children have excelled in school, become excellent little musicians and are the kindest souls you will meet.  Our friends have even fought over our children in the hypothetical case of my wife and I becoming deceased.  My wife and I have no idea how to parent- but people look at our children and seem to think we are doing it right.

We’ve owned a house for nearly a decade now that has truly become a home.  It’s filled with knickknacks, artwork, toys, family and love.  We love our neighborhood and the peace that our home brings us.  Sharing the fun of our journey in person, on social media and through my blogs has been a blast.  

Without trying to sound cheesy, but it will, I would marry the woman next to me in a heartbeat all over again.  Our paths joined a little over sixteen years ago.  We have risen above the many challenges thrown our way.

We must have known it was going to be, because on our first date- we set our wedding day and stuck to it.  (Or else I was about to start dating a crazy lady…)

The secret to our happiness?  It’s probably is a combination of mutual respect, communication, hardwork, and silliness.  Lots of silliness.

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”

-Moulin Rouge