On December 24, 2006 my honey and I married on the beach in California. Today, we celebrated five years as husband and wife. We had an amazing lunch at Six Seven, the restaurant at The Edgewater Hotel in Seattle.
After lunch, we took a few photos in front of a sculpture we had commissioned to commemorate this day.
Just kidding! Imagine Mr. and Mrs. White having their own initial forged in steel? This is part of the University of Washington. Washington, White, whatever. It worked for the shoot.
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been married for five years! There were a few moments when I didn’t think we’d make it this far but mostly I’m amazed at how quickly time has flown by. We have so much fun together and we’ve gotten into a groove. Things just work. It’s nice to not have to over-analyze things and talk everything to death. We’re different, but we embrace our differences. We have love and trust, and that goes a long way.
Today, we bummed around Seattle, but five years ago we were getting ready for the big day. We had a small ceremony, with only my parents and younger brother in attendance. We were engaged for close to a year (Terrence proposed on Christmas the year before), but we hadn’t made wedding plans until two weeks before.
We decided to turn a family get-together into a wedding. We were meeting my parents in Long Beach anyway, so why not? With such a short time to plan, we quickly learned to prioritize. Terrence started by asking my dad’s permission. That was the first step in creating a close friendship. Good move, sweetie!
We found an officiant to conduct the ceremony, we got a license and rings, and I found a dress.
(As a side note, it’s possible to find a wedding dress that doesn’t cost a fortune. I went to Macy’s and looked through their holiday section. Someone else might have worn this to a New Year’s eve party, but it’s wedding-worthy too. And was 50% off the original $400 price tag.)
Of course we had to rent a fun car. We drove a Mustang convertible. Compared to the cold, wet, Seattle weather, California in winter is a top-down kind of place. But the locals thought we were crazy for driving around without the roof in 65-degree weather.
Halfway through our short trip to the beach, Terrence made a sudden U-turn. Cold feet? Change of heart? I was a bit nervous. Turns out, he’d seen a roadside flower stand and turned back to buy me a bouquet. How sweet is that?
After a short-and-sweet ceremony we went to Bono’s Restaurant for dinner. It’s owned by Christie Bono, daughter of the late Sonny Bono. It was LA County, after all, and we felt adding a celebrity angle would be fun.
We honeymooned in Compton, but that’s another story.
I enjoyed our fun, stress-free wedding, and I adore Terrence. Here’s to many, many more years together.
jeanofalltrades 