8 years ago today

I’ve seen this floating around on some other blogs. Since my romantic side is still under development, I figured answering these questions was a pretty low key way to let you all know a little bit about my relationship with Mr. Red 😉 Enjoy!

1. Where or how did you meet? 6th grade homeroom

2. How long after you met did you start dating? Late senior year of high school

3. How long did you date before you were engaged? 4 years. We got engaged after our junior year of college while celebrating our 4 year dating anniversary.

4. How long was your engagement? 13.5 months

5. How many people came to your wedding reception? 212, and I can’t believe I still remember that number.

6. What kind of cake did you serve? Vanilla pound cake with real buttercream icing, we went for taste over looks.

7. Where was your wedding? In the Catholic church of our hometown. Our reception site was about 25 minutes away, just a mile up the road from where we live now.

8. What did you serve for your meal? Chilean Sea Bass (my favorite) and Filet Mignon (Mr. Red’s favorite).

9. How many people were in your bridal party? 6 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen (why do they have to be the same number anyway?)

10. Are you still friends with them all? I’m still friends with all the of the bridesmaids (2 were relatives), including B-mama, but we have lost touch with one of the groomsmen.

11. Did you or your spouse cry during the ceremony? No, but I was so nervous that I was shaking as I said my vows. Mr. Red still laughs at me whenever we watch our wedding video.

12. Most special moment of your wedding day? There are so many it is hard to pick just one, so I’ll pick 3. 1) The feeling we both had when leaving the church–pure joy! 2) Our best man’s toast–it was short and sweet and beautiful. And 3) looking around at the reception and realizing that everyone in my life that I love was right there in that room celebrating with us–such a gathering will never happen again.

13. Any funny moments? As we were about to go into the church, my Dad let me know this was my last chance to bail 😉

14. Any big disasters? It rained so hard that the corridor between the hotel and our reception room flooded. I had no idea until the wedding coordinator frantically informed me that they were cleaning it up, and then begged me not to tell my mother.

15. Where did you go on your honeymoon? We went to Bar Harbor in Maine for a week. 9 months later we took a longer 2nd honeymoon to Europe. We visited Paris and Rome, and had our marriage blessed by John Paul II!

16. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? I would have worn a different head-piece, and possibly cut a few guests off our list.

17. What side of the bed do you sleep on? The right, but I’d prefer the left. This is just one of the many compromises in our marriage.

18. Greatest strength as a couple? Our communication and our sense of humor.

19. Greatest challenge as a couple? Our communication. And of course, the death of our daughter Therese Joy.

20. Who literally pays the bills? Mr. Red.

21. What is your song? Grow Old with Me. Mr. Red played this song for me after he proposed. We danced to it at our wedding.

22. Describe your wedding dress: V neck, capped sleeves, A-line, heavily beaded with lace up top that carried through the waist and train. Covered buttons down the back, large poof at the bottom with large heavily beaded lace train. I bought this dress after going to one store, and trying on less than 15 dresses. I wanted it to be big, as I figured I’d never wear a dress like that again in my life.

23. Are your wedding bands engraved? Yes. They are engraved with our wedding date and the reference (John 17:23) to a verse that we hope and pray represents our marriage: “With me in them and you in me, may they be so perfected in unity that the world will recognize that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved me.”

24. What are you doing to celebrate your anniversary? We are going to a Phillies game and eating cheesesteaks–my pick!

Thanks for reading! I have many prayers of thanksgiving today for my husband, and for all the wonderful marriages of friends and family we have been able to witness through the years.