20 years and going strong.
It was a day very similar to today. The sun was shining (at least during the day), and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground.
The weather forecaster was warning that snow was threatening, and Valorie and I were running around like crazy running last second errands. We had to get a wine glass, and of course we had to get our hair done (obviously a bigger deal for Valorie than I). When we were in the Grand Union shopping for stuff, we noticed the headline of the one of the tabloids: "Wedding Cake Bomb Kills Cheating Bride" (astonishingly I was able to find a reference for it). We still have that newspaper, of course we HAD to get it - it was the perfect metaphor for the day.
And then the big day came. The florist had done a remarkable job, as had Valorie's hairstylist, it was perfect. The Chuppah was a smidge droopy (we'd been told that the synagogue had poles to hold the tallit up, we didn't realize that they meant bamboo garden stakes in cement filled coffee cans until the day of the ceremony), but we managed.
My sister Laura (who was 5ish at the time) and Brother Andrew (who was 18 months old) started the wedding procession, followed by the rest of the wedding party (Miriam Gullotta, Martine (her last name is escaping me right now) and Sue Woolfe on the bride's side, Jim Lane, David Byrne and Jeff Osterman on the grooms).
Even though it's been 20 years, I still remember that evening vividly. After the ceremony, the entire wedding party formed a receiving line. Unfortunately the guests to the party seemed to believe that this was an invitation for them to take photos, not to congratulate the bride and groom :).
The rest of the evening passed without event, and a great time was had by all (a major highlight was the guys performing a kick line).
By the next morning, the threat of snow had turned into a reality and everyone scrambled like crazy to get out of town before the snow really hit.
Today, Valorie and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.
It's been a long and wonderful journey.
I love you.
Edit To Add: At lunch today, my group was surprised by the Sweet Adelines Quartet "Happy Hour" who serenaded me with a selection of songs. Thanks guys, I it was wonderful.
Comments
Anonymous
January 17, 2007
Congratulations!Anonymous
January 17, 2007
Congrats on your 20th wedding anniversary.Anonymous
January 17, 2007
Mazel tov!Anonymous
January 17, 2007
Congratulations. Thanks for sharing that. I have very fond memories of our wedding ceremony 12 years ago.Anonymous
January 17, 2007
Congratulations Larry and Valorie.Anonymous
January 17, 2007
congratulations, let this be just the beginningAnonymous
January 17, 2007
Congratulations. :)Anonymous
January 17, 2007
Congrats Larry, to you and your wife of 20 years.Anonymous
January 17, 2007
Happy anniversary! You had to procure your own glass? My synagogue supplied one for us; they said they have a steady supply of chipped or cracked-but-not-broken glasses from the kitchen and since it's going to be in a napkin anyway, that's fine for most of their couples. I guess it's a form of recycling. :-)Anonymous
January 17, 2007
Yeah, it's been a wonderful time. It's hard to believe that I married you when I was 22 years old and that we've been together for more than half my life. Isn't it delightful that we're still best friends who get so excited to share our day that we need to talk multiple times during the day? It may have been a "mistake" in some unnamed people's eyes, but it was the best "mistake" I've ever made. The world's changed a ton in our 20 years together and so have we. I wouldn't have thought it possible to get any closer to one another than we were when we were married, but it's just gotten better every year. Just think: The next 20 years could bring us grandchildren! I wonder if the ABTech crew has forgiven us/your mom for seating them near the band? I think leaving those surrogate family members to move out to Seattle is the only thing I regret in our whole 20 years. Here's to coffee jello! May it become an annual part of our celebration :-)Anonymous
January 17, 2007
By the way, we have a great photo of that headline!Anonymous
January 17, 2007
Ahhh I remember your wedding so well. I remember how gorgeous Val was. I remember how nervous you were. And handsome :-). And as I repeatedly say, I remember how you guys asked me to become your 2nd wife. And how sometimes I wish I hadn't just rolled my eyes. :-P Seriously, I can't believe it's been 20 years, and I've known you guys for far longer. Congratulations for turning one weird relationship between two wonderful whacko friends into such a long standing marriage. Much love to you both. I miss you.Anonymous
January 17, 2007
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January 17, 2007
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January 17, 2007
Congratulation to you and Valorie! I hope I will be lucky as you are one day :)Anonymous
January 17, 2007
Congratulations LarryAnonymous
January 25, 2007
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January 17, 2008
Continuing in a stream of blog posts that started with " 18 years ago, Today ", " Nineteen years ago