I couldn’t say no to this one!

Melissa over at Melissa the Mouth just tagged me to do a marriage meme, in honor of Valentine’s Day. In agreement with Melissa, I don’t think much of Valentine’s Day, but I adore my husband and love, love, love to share our story…

1. Where / how did you meet?

We met online, at Match. I was working way too many hours, along with the other gals in my office. We decided, for fun, to give online dating a whirl together. I went on a few dates (they sucked) and I was about to turn off my account when Erick e-mailed me! He was coming to Seattle for a long weekend and wanted to get together. I said, “No”, but he had just finished an Eco Challenge race and I was intrigued. We started having a very interesting dialogue by email, which quickly turned into long phone conversations. I decided I needed to meet this fascinating man!

I was also looking for another job at the time and finangled an interview with my headhunter for the morning Erick was arriving into Seattle. This gave me a legitimate excuse to be downtown to have coffee. The minute I saw him, I knew I was going to follow this man to the ends of the earth.

2. How long have you known each other?

Five and a 1/2 years, almost to the day.

3. How long after you met did you start dating?

Um, well, we were talking about getting married two days after we met, so I suppose the answer is immediately.

4. How long did you date before you were engaged?

See answer #3. Well, actually, Erick slipped the engagement ring on my finger the day I moved to Idaho three months after we met. But, the second visit I made to Idaho, we went ring shopping.

I have to say, we recently figured out that we spent *maybe* three weeks in each other’s company before I moved to Idaho. I’m not sure this is a fact I want to share with my daughter, and now that I have a little girl, I can see why my parents were beside themselves with suspicion…

5. How long was your engagement?

3 months!

6. How long have you been married?

Coming up on 5 years.

7. What is your anniversary?

February 15th. So you see, we are coming right up on it!

8. How many people came to your wedding reception?

Our wedding and reception were combined~ maybe 25 people?

9. What kind of cake did you serve?

Oh my god I still dream about this cake… dark chocolate cake with huckleberry filling (a local McCall delicacy) and cream cheese frosting. It. Was. To. Die. For.

10. Where was your wedding?

We were married in the mountains of Idaho, in the town of McCall. We rented a humongous log “cabin” for the weekend and everyone came and stayed the weekend! The house slept, I think, twenty one people, so nearly everyone could sleep there!

Since Erick and I were married so quickly after we met, we thought it would be nice for everyone to spend a weekend together. It was magic. Everyone pitched in to make the weekend what it was, from decorating the house for the wedding, pitching in to cook, helping me get dressed, helping Erick with his bowtie, etc. We had brought snow shoes so people could go play in the snow… All the ladies went to a local spa the day of the wedding and got enjoyed some pampering. It was just amazing. I can’t even adequately describe the closeness and joy of that celebration!

11. What did you serve for the meal?

Caldo Verde (Potato Kale soup), salmon baked on alder planks, garlic mashed potatoes, green salad and CAKE!!! One of Erick’s really good friends from LA is a caterer and took over during dinner! Erick and I had thought we would serve everyone (what were we thinking??), but John took over and handled it all brilliantly. The food came from a local restaurant- some of the guests went and picked up the food right before the ceremony, John baked the fish and warmed everything else up…

12. How many people were in your bridal party?

No one. Our wedding was so small…

13. Are you still friends with them all?

HA!

14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?

Like a baby… it was so precious. I grinned like a madwoman and wiped his tears.

15. Most special moment of your wedding day?

The whole weekend was special, but our wedding day was clear and sunny (it had been snowing, snowing, snowing), Erick and I walked down the eisle together while the string quartet played their piece (which I’m sorry to say, I can’t recall at the moment). Kissing Erick in the middle of the ceremony, which cracked everyone up! After serving dinner to all the guests, everyone gave John a standing ovation for stepping in and handling dinner so well… My brother played swing guitar and sang after dinner while people danced and the fire roared. But, my favorite thing was that everyone got into their pajamas after a while and we all played Cranium. I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding weekend.

16. Any funny moments?

The funniest thing for me was the musicians. We had told them they could eat dinner AFTER everyone else (we wanted them to continue playing music through dinner) but in the middle of dinner they came up and told me, while enjoying their food, that this was the funnest wedding and reception they had ever played at… uh, are you PLAYING??

Oh, and the cello player had a broken arm, so they weren’t sounding that great anyway…

AND, the mayor, who married us, showed up in a sweatshirt. It was brilliant!

17. Any big disasters?

Absolutely none at the wedding. Although I did have to buy a new wedding dress two weeks before the wedding. The dress I had ordered from Spain (chiffon, bias cut, hand-beaded bodice…) got over-altered in Boise and I had to scrap it. The dress I ended up wearing was a very simple Nicole Miller. That felt like a disaster, but probobly enabled me to be a lot more comfortable eating at the wedding. Bias cut chiffon is unforgiving….

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?

About five months after the wedding, we went on a tour de force of Europe. Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Tuscany, the Cinque Terre, Switzerland… it was fabulous. I gained five pounds on that trip alone! Gelato, twice a day, will do that for a girl.

19. How long were you gone?

Three weeks. It was incredible!

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?

Nothing. It was perfect!

21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?

I sleep on the left. I’m *very* left handed…

22. What size is your bed?

King!

23. Greatest strength as a couple?

We are a fabulous team. We both love the same things in life. We are different enough for things to stay interesting- I think we teach each other a lot. Well, at least Erick teaches me a lot. I won’t speak for him.

24. Greatest challenge as a couple?

Finding alone time. We are both so introverted! By the time Clara goes to bed, we both end up in our own little corners of the apartment, recharging, introvert-style!

25. Who literally pays the bills?

It used to be me, but now that we are in Italy, he pays the Italian bills and I continue to pay our bills from the US. If I paid the Italian bills, it would be a nightmare. Thank god Erick is fluent in Italian…

26. What is your song?

We don’t have one. However, Nora Jones first album was all the rage during our courtship and marriage, so that CD got a lot of play time… I still get goosebumps when I listen to it.

27. What did you dance your first dance to?

Nora Jones, at the W, in Erick’s hotel room in the middle of the night. We make a habit of frequenting the “Jordan Family Dance Floor” (designated in each of our homes) often. Clara now leads the dance parties… just last weekend, she spontaneously led us on a “train” dance through the house!

28. Describe your wedding dress.

The one I ended up wearing was a simple sheath dress, off white.

29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?

Oooh, I don’t remember the names. My stepmom is a botanist and she helped me pick them out… I know we had some orchids, some maidenhair ferns, and some other flowers that I can’t remember the names of. They were lovely.

30. Are your wedding bands engraved?

No, but they are matching hand-cut platinum. I love them.

And now, who would I like to learn more about in terms of their relationship? Who wouldn’t I is more like it! So I will tag Half Pint Pixie, Lilalia, and YogaMum. This is a no pressure meme, so by all means, feel free to ignore it. And if I didn’t tag you, don’t take it personally! And feel free to go ahead and do it anyway (it’s a good one!). But please, leave me a comment that you’ve done it so I can read it!

Thanks, Melissa.! That was fun. It it IS nice to remember that Erick is everything I ever wanted in a partner and MORE. I couldn’t have designed a better match for myself…