Four years ago today, I was in D.C. visiting Steve. We'd been long-distance dating for over a year, although we had known each other for at least 4 years (3 1/2 of which he was still living in England). The constant leaving each other at airports thing was getting harder and harder. We had been talking about getting married and all that would mean. Me leaving a job in surgery that I loved in order to move to D.C. (9 hours away from my family). Was he committed to living in the states permanently (because while I like visiting England, I would never want to live there)? Would we try to move closer to my family eventually? Were we ready to go through the horrendous INS greencard process? (After Steve finally got his greencard, I remember telling a friend that I didn't see how people who DIDN'T love each other tremendously could ever make it through the INS process. These people who supposedly get married just to get the greencard ... they must be on crack thinking it's an easy thing. It's a very long process and WHY would you put yourself through that if it wasn't for someone that you loved with every fiber of your being? )
Back to the 4th of July, 2000.
We had planned to spend the 4th in downtown D.C., tour some museums, and then stick around for the spectacular fireworks display. So, July 4th, 2000, we hopped on the subway and went downtown early in the day. Steve was being particularly attentive to his backpack - never letting it out of his sight the whole day. That night, we went to the Lincoln Memorial to claim our spot on the steps to warch the fireworks. (The entire stretch from the Lincoln Memorial past the reflecting pool to the Washington Monument was PACKED with people). The fireworks started around 9:30 and lasted for almost a full hour. They have some of the best fireworks - really beautiful ones that just go up one right after another - there's no break. Everyone should go see the fireworks there at least once! The finale started, everyones faces are lit up by the fireworks in the sky, and as the last one goes up, Steve has moved down in front of me and asks me to marry him.
I said yes ... :heartbeat: The mass of people around us saw him proposing ... and cheered for us! (And now my English husband has something to celebrate on July 4th!)
Aww, that's so sweet! :heartbeat: Happy Anniversary (one day late, but close enough)!
And when I say anniversary, know that I did mean of the proposal, not the actual wedding anniversary. Did you get married Christmastime that year? I can't believe you put together that gorgeous of a ceremony in 5 months... I've heard horror stories about the preparations!
We got married December 2, 2000 ... 5 months later ;) I had always wanted a Christmas wedding - and there was no way I was waiting a year and a half for the next Christmas. (AND having it in 2000 gives the nice side benefit of our anniversaries being easy to remember. If its 2014, we've been married 14 years. 2060? It's our 60th anniversary!)
Planning a wedding in 5 months is not hard if you know what you want, and don't feel the need to get opinions from every person you know. It's YOUR wedding - not theirs - so do what YOU want. (I say this because a close friend of mine got married a year before I did ... and everything in the wedding she had to run by all the bridesmaids, their friends, their lawnmowers buddies, etc. :headache: It took a week just to pick out napkins!! I kept telling her -- when you look back in 25 years, you want to see pictures from YOUR wedding, not the wedding your friends would have liked!)
I'm a super-organized person and had this big notebook with everything to do with the wedding. Just setup a dated checklist - and list every single thing that needs to happen, be ordered, be designed, etc and when it has to be done by. If you're organized ... it's more than possible :)
That's a great proposal! :thumbsup: