23 years and counting....

On August 7, 1982, on the steps of my parent's house in Massachusetts, Leslie and I were married before 100 friends and family. The day was just like today. The sun was out, it was crisp and clear, there was a slight breeze, low humidity and cool [for August.]

We pulled a permit to close the street to car traffic. My parents lined the sidewalk and front walkway to the house with the Persian rugs my great-grandmother Edith had brought home after traveling around the world. I didn't have bridesmaids. We chose to have our two Dads stand up for us as witnesses. The ushers included college friends and my brother.

As a brass quartet played, I did the walk and we did the full 'for better and for worse' vows. Each lesson of the service was read by a member of the family. It was an intimate and special day. I actually wore shoes for the service, but those were kicked off very quickly. My $125 dress looked great, but was not of heirloom quality.

After the service, we moved to the side yard and munched finger foods and drank lots of wine.

The cake was the best part though. We ordered an lemon cake from the bakery, a simple cake chosen for its taste. We eschewed any wedding decorations since that wasn't our style. Imagine the shock when a full four-tiered cake, with bride and groom atop was delivered! It turns out that since we were the first couple to choose a cake flavor for August 7th, anyone who wanted a cake for this day was forced to have lemon. Some poor couple ordered the frilliest cake imaginable, and instead got ours, the plain and simple cake. We laughed at this foolishness, but the other couple must have been devastated.

This weekend I even chatted with the first trumpet player in that quartet. Neither of us could believe that this wedding was 23 years ago!

This year we are fully investigating the 'in sickness and in health' and the 'for richer or poorer' portions of our vows. So far, our marriage has been strong enough to withstand all the challenges thrown at it. I expect nothing less in the future.

Our wedding was perfect. A simple combination of our styles, a joining of two people before those we cared most about. And the 23 years since this wonderful day, have brought happiness to us both. [Disclaimer: not every single day has been happy. We are talking averages here! :-) ]

Happy anniversary to us!