16 Years of Wedded Bliss

Three days ago Prince Charming and I celebrated our 16th Wedding Anniversary. The years have flown by, years full of love and joy, blessings and sorrows, deep happiness that comes from being married to my Prince.

All week I was wooed, it reminded me of the days of our courtship, on Monday I received a lovely card, Tuesday a large box of chocolates, Wednesday 16 roses; 9 were white for our nine blessings.
Thursday we went out for a hot chocolate; now that was definitely memory lane, and Friday PC took the day off work and we spent the day together and went out for tea to a new restaurant recently opened. What a Prince indeed:)

I saw a marriage meme on Jessica’s blog a few months ago, and enjoyed it so much I thought I’d share too. Now I’m not technically savvy enough to know how to scan in photos prior to digital cameras so no wedding photo:( unless a reader would like to enlighten me and I’ll give it a go.

1. Where/How did you meet? We met at a dinner in Sydney, we were attending the Royal Easter Show with our respective clubs. We were both members of Rural Youth, known internationally as Junior Farmers, Young Farmers or 4H.

2. How long have you known each other? 17 years.

3. How long after you met did you start dating? After we met I went out west to governess for a homeschooling family. A few months later I came back, started a Faith study group which I invited PC to and we started dating. Sort of. I thought we were going out for hot chocolate as friends, he had a bigger plan;) Sneaky.

4. How long did you date before you were engaged? Six months. He proposed on Pentecost Sunday.

5. How long was your engagement? Six months.

6. Did you have a bridal shower? No but I had a small kitchen tea party.

7. What was your favorite Bridal Shower gift? A clothes basket that lasted years. Practical I know.

8. How long have you been married? 16 years.

9. How old were you when you got married? 2 months before my 21st and PCs 25th. Our birthdays are 2 days apart.

10. What is your anniversary? December the 12th. Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe although we didn’t have a devotion then.

11. Where was your wedding? Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church. The patron of Australia. This was the Church in which I had made all my sacraments. Very special.

12. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? Yes, lots.

13. How many people came to your wedding? 120. Although many parishioners came to the Church or waited outside to see us.

14. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? The flowers were done by the ladies of the parish, I think lilies. All I remember was the love in which they were given. Our bouquets were artificial though as I worried about fresh ones wilting in the heat. They were beautiful, in fact our children have the bouquet in their dress up box to play weddings with.

15. Describe your wedding dress. White satin, beaded front, longish sleeves (crazy I know in December’s heat)but I fell in love with it and had to have it.

16. How many people were in your wedding party?Five. I had my cousin as Bridesmaid and my 12 year old sister as Junior Bridesmaid. PC’s brother was Best Man and his 13year old brother was groomsman. My 5yr old brother was page boy. We included all our siblings 13 between us, in various roles; altar servers, readers, offertory procession, chauffeurs etc

17. Are you still friends with them all? Why yes:)

18. Are your wedding bands engraved?No.

19. What did you dance your first dance to?Could I have this Dance for the Rest of My Life by Ann Murray.

20. What kind of cake did you serve?Three tiered fruit cake. Our neighbour and friend made it. We kept the first tier for our First Child’s Baptism.

21. What did you serve for your meal? I can’t remember, it was buffet style, that’s all I can say.

22. Most special moment of your wedding day? When the priest announced us as Husband and Wife.

23. Any funny moments? When the Best Man dropped the ring and it rolled under the seat.

24. Any big disasters? My 9month old sister screamed the entire time directly in front of the video camera and overrode any sound:(

25. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? I would hire a professional photographer. A friend of the family took the photos but they didn’t turn out as well as we were led to believe.

26. Do you have a favorite wedding gift? So many lovely gifts, one that first comes to mind though is PC’s grandmother gave us a large sum of money to buy a bed. It came with a sweet family memory, when very young PC advised her to invest in term deposits when the interest rates were great. The money grew quickly and she always credited PC.

27. Where did you go on your honeymoon? We spent a week at the beach and a week in the mountains. Within a few hours drive of our new home.

28. How long were you gone? Two weeks.

29. Greatest challenge as a couple? Uninterrupted time.

30. Greatest strength as a couple? Our Catholic Faith and our ability to communicate.