Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Today is our 20th wedding anniversary! How is that possible? I remember this 28 year old young woman below thinking that her 20th anniversary would be in 2020 and wouldn’t that be cool? She hoped to take a trip and commemorate it in a special way and I am sure she had no imagination that it would occur during a global pandemic!

We had a traditional church wedding in the church that was a huge part of my life from the time I was 5 years old. I was not a bridezilla to my knowledge and as excited as I was for the wedding I was even more excited to be married! We had a really fun rehearsal dinner the night before and we were blessed with the most perfect 80 degree day in mid-July!

We did not see each other until I walked down the aisle so this photo was taken after the ceremony. I was adamant about not keeping guests waiting long so we didn’t take a lot in the church after and everyone was waiting for us outside by the church steps before we left for the reception.

We were the first to use the new town trolley. We rode on the back the whole way up a giant hill to our reception. The wedding party was inside. My two brothers-in-law decorated a cooler like a present to sneak beer on the trolley.

My favorite photo – this fountain is across from the church steps and this is before we boarded the trolley.

Our original cake person fell through so this was a last minute subsitute. I didn’t really care. It was fine. See, I wasn’t a bridezilla. Also, we did not smash cake in each other’s faces.

As I looked through my professional album, it made me sad to see how many people we have lost since this day. Both of our grandmothers (each of us only had one living at the time), Tom’s best man who died of brain cancer six years ago, and my Dad who died less than two years ago.

My Dad was notorious for starting congo lines at weddings. We went to so many family and close family friend weddings in my early twenties. This is my Dad at the head of the line with my high school best friend and cousins following. What a fun memory! The reception was so much fun and we stayed until the end. We left for Aruba at 3:00 a.m. and stayed up the whole night!

What can one say about a twenty year marriage? I know that you aren’t supposed to be prideful but I am proud of my 20 year marriage. We haven’t been without trials and tribulations. Right after we were married, Tom lost his job and struggled to find his next job with a good fit for him. We found out we were having twins after only being married about 1.5 years. Then, we had premature twins in the NICU for 6 weeks. We have been through struggles with our extended families that aren’t my stories to tell. We have been through deaths of our family members and friends. We have had a little more money than we need and a little less money than we needed. We have figured that out together even when it wasn’t easy. We have traveled together and stayed home together. We parented our twins together from birth until now – almost time for college. And now, I guess we can say we have been in a global pandemic together. I’m not perfect. Tom isn’t perfect. I would like to think that I have brought out the best in Tom and pushed him to take risks. I know that he has helped me and been a sounding board for some of my professional challenges and personal challenges. We are about to embark a new chapter as empty nesters and it seems like it happened so quickly!

Normally we don’t do a lot for our anniversary. We are usually on vacation so that feels special. Tonight we are simply getting fancier takeout than normal since it falls on a Wednesday and then on Friday we will go out to eat on a patio.

How long have you been married? I would love to know!

Here’s to 20 in 2020!

Amy

40 thoughts on “Twenty Years!”

  1. What a beautiful dress! And the flowers! You looked smashing! (still do!!) It’s a wonderful picture with your dad leading the Congo! Memories, right!?
    We didn’t marry until 2005, but we’ve lived together since 1998 – crazy! We have spent a lifetime together! I’m really lucky and thankful to have found my husband, we’re a strong team!

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    1. Thank you! I think Sweden and Europe are so much more liberal on living together and even having kids before marriage. You all are much more practical. We are still obsessed with weddings here! I agree. It’s not always easy but we are a team!

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  2. You made a beautiful bride! I was not a bridezilla either – I think those that are really want a wedding and not a marriage. I have a very hard time looking at my wedding album – so many people we’ve lost. I guess on the bright side, we’ve also added a lot of people to our family too!
    Enjoy your day!
    xo,
    Kellyann

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  3. Happy Belated Anniversary! Great post. Lots of memories unlocked for me too!

    On Wed, Jul 15, 2020 at 4:03 AM Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa wrote:

    > scottaew posted: ” Wednesday, July 15, 2020 Today is our 20th wedding > anniversary! How is that possible? I remember this 28 year old young woman > below thinking that her 20th anniversary would be in 2020 and wouldn’t that > be cool? She hoped to take a trip and commemor” >

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  6. Congratulations! Your dress is beautiful. Beautiful bride! Wonderful memories! Enjoy your dinner out Friday! We’ve been married 28 years. We celebrated with dinner out at restaurant a few days before the governor closed the restaurants in March.

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    1. Thank you Sherri! You are lucky you got that in before the shut down! I hope it’s not too sweltering to sit outside Friday but I can probably tolerate it!

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  10. Happy Anniversary to you and Tom! You were a beautiful bride! We always take time on our anniversary to reflect on the good and difficult times. This year it was 27 years and we went to a high end steakhouse for dinner. We had agreed that if either of us felt the least bit uncomfortable we would leave, but the restaurant did great table distances and everyone had masks on. We only took ours off at the table and it was 12 days ago, it was a treat to be almost normal. It is a second marriage for both of us and my dad has passed away earlier that year, then my mother had a stroke, so we decided to have our ceremony in Las Vegas at The World Famous Chapel of the Bells. (I love saying that!) We had lived together for a year, but I’m old school and believe in the commitment of marriage. It was small and meaningful to us both.

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    1. Thank you Nancy! I am making a table of memories to look at and reflect upon. I think that’s important, too. 27 years is an accomplishment! That sounds perfect for your situation! Marriage is hard work but so are most things that are worthwhile in life!

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  12. Happy anniversary! It sounds like you and your husband really balance And support each other. We will celebrate 25 years on this coming New Year’s Eve. We thought it was so funny and clever to get married on New Year’s Eve, but really don’t celebrate much on that day because it’s kind of a pain to get out and about and to have a babysitter back in the day when we needed one.

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  13. Happy Anniversary! What a beautiful wedding and bride. And hasn’t photography improved with all the digital technology. We will celebrate 20 years next April. I also loved your sentiments about marriage…so, so true!

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    1. Thank you! Yes, it has. We hardly have any photos compared to what couples get today! I hope you get to travel next April! Wouldn’t that be nice? It’s hard to articulate all of my thoughts and I’m sure I didn’t do it justice!

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  15. Happy 20th in 2020! What a beautiful wedding you had. We will be married 19 years on Nov 3. We had each been married before and we met in 1998 and married in 2001. Right after 9/11. It was so surreal and we xcld our honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean because we didn’t want to fly …..we have plans to go to Newport Beach, Ca and stay at a nice resort and golf. Who knows if we will get to. I hope so. Our plan is to go to Maui next year for our 20th (we love Maui) but who knows what that will even look like! I hope you have a great evening celebrating and again…happy anniversary! Congratulations to 20 years!

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    1. Thank you! I’ve thought about 9/11 in all of this! I hope you do get to take your trip! We were hoping to be in Spain right now to celebrate our anniversary and our boys’ graduation. Maui in 2021 sounds like a great plan and I hope and pray we will be safe by then.
      Thanks again!

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  17. Happy Anniversary! At least you’ll never forget what you were doing for 20 years, being stuck in a global pandemic 🙂

    We’ve been married 11 years and it’s FLOWN by.

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  18. Beautiful photos and memories. Congratulations on celebrating 20 years! The memories about your dad are so sweet. It is great to remember the wonderful times with those who have passed away.

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    1. Wow! 58 years! And we share the same wedding date? That sounds like a nice day. It would be fun to get the wedding party together one of these years!

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