Tell me shiny little star...

...how the hell'd we get this far
in this world that we have made

There's a power in your eyes
Only thing that keeps me going when I realize that
I think that I believe in love
and in heaven up above
all the things that I can't see
-Cravin' Melon "Faithless Me"


Warning - moderately sappy post coming up.  Stay tuned only if you're willing to slog through the mushiness to see humorous pics of us in our early dating days.

Ten years.  TEN years ago - a decade ago - I married my best friend.  I know how cheesy that sounds, but it's so true.  Derek and I had a wonderful friendship first, and it turned into a very sweet romance and now into a wonderful marriage.  I won't pretend it's been a decade of wine and roses.  We've had our share of stressful times, and we've occasionally taken those stresses out on one another.  But it works because, at a very basic level, we genuinely like each other.  We like spending time talking to each other.  We rely on each other.  We try to put each other first.  And we make damn cute babies.

The rehearsal dinner cake - our rehearsal dinner was at "Perry Beach"

So, what do I remember about our wedding day?  In no particular order:

*I got my hair done and it was AWFUL.  Like, take it down and re-do it myself 10 minutes after exiting the salon awful.  I look at my wedding pics and wish my hair was the way I had envisioned it.  But amazingly, I didn't get uptight about it at the time.  I remember feeling really excited that day - not anxious and uptight like I had been during the weeks leading up to the wedding.  (And for much of the 10 years since.)

*I remember seeing Derek at the end of the aisle and thinking "Wow - this guy wants to be with me?  Forever?"

*During a hymn in the service, I looked at all the people in our church and was completely overwhelmed that everyone was there to support us as we began our life together.  Then I got the giggles because Derek and I (and Dr. Day!) were all trying to sing along without hymnals.  We definitely didn't know the words.

*One of my favorite moments was when we rode the Raleigh Trolley from the ceremony to the reception.  Cars were honking and waving and we were such excited little dorks.  The professional pics were cute, and actually one ended up on the photographer's ad the next year.

*As soon as we walked into our reception, I spilled an entire pitcher of tea on our table.  (I'm clumsy, and when wearing a big skirt, I'm extra clumsy).  But by the time I got the attention of the waitstaff, they had our whole table whisked clean and re-set.  Quite a feat.

*Our first dance was to Alison Krauss' "You Say it Best (When you Say Nothing at all)."  We sang to each other while we were dancing, and I can just imagine the silly grins on our faces.  But it was genuine.

*On our honeymoon in Jamaica, we planned out our 5 year anniversary trip (back to Jamaica) and our 10 year anniversary trip (Europe).  Let's just say that neither of those happened.  Twenty years?  Maybe our pocketbooks will allow the trip to Europe then...

*I didn't want the wedding to end.  We were having so much fun - the dancing was great, all our favorite people were there - we just didn't want to wrap it up.  I know you're supposed to love your own wedding (you planned it after all!) but it's truly the most fun wedding I've ever been to.  And I've been to a lot of them.


So, now for those pics I promised.

 First pic ever taken of us - maybe March 1997?

 

During our summer study abroad - July 1999.  Damn. we were skinny!

I love you, babe.  Thanks for a great decade, and thanks for being mine.  Here's to 65 more years of wedded bliss!