Today is Our 25th Wedding Anniversary

It is true.  On April 28th, 2000, Jamie and I exchanged vows in front of family and friends in a lovely ceremony in South Austin.  

It was a whole thing.

The pics, by the way, are my scans I did real fast on my phone which is about 5 generations behind.  Be kind.  The pictures were shot on film.  This was in ye olden daze.

I don't know what to tell you about 25 years of marriage.  I recommend it if you can work it out.  It helps to marry someone with whom you get along pretty darn well.  There's a tip for you kids.

Jamie at Green Pastures, now Mattie's in South Austin

Jamie and I decided to get married in October of 1999, I believe.  We were the first of our friends to get engaged, and I remember telling a friend we were engaged and he just sorta said "in no way is anyone surprised".  So we were that long-term-couple.  

The road to the wedding was mostly uneventful.  Jamie secured the location and date, and I was 24 at the time of our engagement, so my response was "y'okay".  I was making no money - just a terrible salary - and so our rings were more or less a mix of Jamie resizing and resetting a family ring and me finding the most affordable gold circle I could find.  

We had friends as ushers, guarding the guest book, etc... Jason and The Dug stood for me, and Jamie's bridesmaids were Rebecca and Heather. 

Mostly I remember it in flashes.  Forgetting the rings, and realizing it a few miles from the house. and having to dash back home.  Standing around with my mom before the ceremony, watching people come in.  Jamie in her dress headed my way.  Jamie wiggling the correct finger at me as I produced the ring.  The photo they took of everyone.  Doing the robot on the dance floor.  Circulating and talking to people.  Getting off my feet for five minutes and somehow winding up eating shrimp with Rebecca.  Cake cutting and our solemn vow not to shove cake into each other's faces, which was a treaty we respected.  First dance to Satellite of Love.  And then getting whisked away. 

We spent the night at the Driskill Hotel.  We'd been sent with trays of food we didn't eat from our buffet, so the evening wrapped with us in shorts and t-shirts in the bathroom eating shrimp.  Very romantic.  But we did also sit on our balcony and watch folks rock out on 6th.  

In the morning, we realized we had no way to get home as we'd been driven to the hotel.

I should probably be talking about how much Jamie means to me, and the answer is:  everything.  And I think people who know me know that.  Marry your best friend.  It's the bee's knees.

Not every day is sunshine and rainbows here at League HQ.  And you need each other for that, no matter what's got you down.  And you also need the person you turn to look at first when things are going well.  In the coming weeks, I'll have spent more of my life married to Jamie than I spent it not married to Jamie.  And that's maybe one of the happiest thoughts I could have.

Anyway, here's a few pictures of the wedding day.

Jamie and Dug plan to take over the world

Rebecca, Heather and Jamie

Dug, Jamie, Judy and Dick

Me!, Dug, Jason

Jason, me, KareBear, The Admiral

Wedding Ceremony with Pastor Margaret

everybuddy

Trying to make a height-difference kiss look graceful

Cake cutting

the instruction was "pretend I said something hilarious".  Only Robb complied.

Our first dance

peacing out at the end of the night