My husband, Chris, and I met on Christmas Eve of 1992. Do you believe in love at first sight? We were married on March 20, 1993 only three months after we met. Our wedding day started normal, but normal ended twenty five minutes after midnight on our wedding day. One of Chris' best friends was killed in by a drunk driver. So very tragic. He was only 19. The last time I had seen him alive, I asked him if he was coming to the wedding.....his response...."the only thing that would stop me from being there is if I were dead"! Chris calls to tell me about the accident. We totally throw the old wives tale of not seeing each other until the wedding right out the window. At 12:45 A.M. we are sitting in the ER waiting to hear if their other friend who was also in the vehicle was alive or not. Amazingly he was.
First thought is postpone the wedding. But reality sets in and we know that is not what Darren would have wanted. Also I had family already on their way from out of state. Reason 3 is Chris was scheduled to leave in 2 weeks for boot camp for the Air Force. The wedding must go on. We get maybe two hours of sleep then it is time to get ready. Halfway through getting ready, the person in charge of preparing the food was no where to be found. I had to go to the store, get the food, and prepare it myself, with the help of a few friends. I made it to the church on time barely....it was pouring rain. Are these things signs?
As my dad walks me down the aisle I am shaking so bad I can't think straight. Wedding jitters. The ceremony begins, I have no clue what the preacher is saying, I am so nervous. Time to exchange the rings....We are both shaking...I put the ring on Chris' right hand instead of his left. Oh my God how can this be happening? The ring gets stuck...we both are trying to get it off....Whew he managed to get it off and put it on his left hand just in time for the preacher to say "you may kiss the bride".
About half of the guests had to leave right after the wedding due to Darren's death. My husband now shares two days with Darren....they share the same birthday, and now the day of his death will be remembered every year by us on our anniversary.
The reception goes well, and it is time to leave. We get into the car and drive away. Five miles down the road (in the country and not a house around) the motor in our car slings a rod.....it is ruined. Holy crap it had an oil leak and I was so busy running the roads all week I forgot to check the oil.....now what? Luckily some of my guest from out of state have to pass through there and they give us a ride home. That was our only transportation. I borrowed my dad's car for the evening, but my husband and I were so emotionally drained we ended up eating at Captain D's and just going home. No honeymoon for us. Two weeks later it was time to say goodbye to Chris, he was headed for boot camp in San Antonio, Tx. It would be 6 weeks before I could see him again.
Everyone said our marriage was doomed. And at times we both believed it. Amazingly they were wrong. We have been married almost 14 years, we have 3 wonderful children, and my husband and I are not only man and wife, we are soul mates, lovers, and best friends.
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 36
enjoy julie, this is once in a lifetime stuff...
You are welcome Travis. I thought about doing the other challenge but if I were able to that would be my crowning jewel because I have never been very good at crossing over and putting myself in someone else's shoes. I have a problem with that. I was born under the sign of the Taurus and I am definitely bullheaded.
John, it can only be that way with your soul mate. No matter how many relationships a person has been in, the love that can withstand the test of time is one that is meant to be.
Wow Jeff congratulations. You are right though, my husband is my best friend. How can he not be? He has seen me at my very worst and loves me not despite it but because of it. This past year with him in Iraq has been a big test of our love and faith in each other, and through it we have become even closer, although I thought that was not possible.
I do believe in love at first sight (and sound) and am happy to see that you proved the naysayers wrong. Keep on doing the same!
This would be easier to read if you divided that first paragraph into several. I don't care for the current trend (on Gather, anyway) of one and two sentence paragraphs only, but your first one is extremely long.
Also, in the first paragraph, you have an error in chronology.
We were married on March 20, 1993 only three months after we met. Everyone said we would not make it more than six months. Then our wedding day arrived.
I am sure you know it is only necessary to use one question mark or exclamation point at the end of the sentence, and that OMG should be written out if you use it, but will mention those for anyone else who is using this group as a learning experience.
Thanks Tina, generally those that appear to be the perfect couple that everyone thinks will last are the ones that don't and the ones that everyone thinks will not make it do. Congratulations.
Now, I am going to start over, since I didn't follow the rules on mine.
Yes I bombed bad on the rules too. So I need to start over. I will try doing it again with my own picture but that seems tougher than doing it with someone else's picture. Withn my own picture I know what the thoughts were and I think it would be easier using a picture of someone I don't know so that the story can be totally fresh.
I realize sometimes when only one person makes an effort it is a waste of time, and other times you realize it just wasn't meant to be.. But the majority of divorces are due to lack of communication.
If people thought your marriage was going to be doomed, they must not have taken the average vows seriously. I'm glad you did, though.
Leah, you are right. So many people do not take those vows seriously. We were the first of all of our friends to get married, but we have lasted longer than anyone else. All of those people are the ones that said we would not make it, but they all married after we did and have long since been divorced. People need to look within themselves before passing judgement on others. We have truly been blessed for trusting those vows. However, hubby has said that if anything happens to his corvette before he gets home then the "till death do we part" vow may come sooner rather than later LOL Friday I am buying him a corvette that he has wanted for a long time, but he won't get another vacation until April, so I am taunting him with the fact that I am gonna drive it. To keep me out of it he has even agreed to buy me a mustang LOL
If I had it to do all over again, I think I would leave it exactly the way it is, instead of making things easier because if things were easier I do not know if we would appriciate each other the way we do now. I don't know if we would have this strong of a bond. So I would choose to change nothing I the choice were there.
My niece died at Christmas time in 1996 at the hands of a drunk driver. She was 20 at the time of her death and her 16 month old daughter was in the back seat of the car and escaped with a broken leg. Love and light. 10
I am sorry about your niece, I am sure that was a hard time, and makes Christmas more difficult. But on the positive side at least her daughter survived.
Thanks so much for your comment.