Twelve Years of Wedded Bliss!

Our wedding invitation, designed by Erminio Pinque.

Today is our anniversary of marriage.

12 years ago today, my wife and I rented out a former dance hall in Yonkers, gathered 150 of our closest friends, family members, and co-workers, went under the chuppa, got our rings out of a crackerjack box, and then we said "I do."   

I then crushed glass with my feet, in an ancient Jewish tradition.  (It's also a joke that this is the last time a man can put his foot down in the marriage!) 

 There was klezmer music, and food and wine flowed and so did some harder libations.   We had cake, and we invited people to come up and entertain us, which they did.

If you weren't there, you can still read about it, because the NYT was kind enough to write a feature article about it.

This is the start of the NYT feature article about our wedding.  READ THE REST

You can also see what we thought the day after the wedding, because the NYT also sent a videographer to do a little story.  (Sometimes, having a flea circus can be a positive!)




I'd be lying if I were saying it has been all bliss.  There's been plenty of dark moments, and frustrations, and moments of feeling terrible, and a fair amount of yelling on both of our sides.  But there's also been laughter, and engagement, and games, and fun, and moments of beautiful and strong connection and intimacy.

No one is perfect, least of all me.  I told my wife when we started that I didn't expect to have a 100% happiness level.   But I am very clear that there is no one else I'd rather be a partner with, and that somehow we can and will work through any and all hiccups, disagreements, and discouraging spells. 

It seems all a blur, being married, like it is both an immutable fact of life that has always been, and simultaneously like it just happened yesterday.  I'm guessing that 12 years from now I will feel similarly.  I sure hope so.

Then

Now.  (Actually, last year.  We haven't been wearing fancy clothes lately.)

Nine Years- Happy Anniversary to Us!

It was nine years ago today that my wife and I got married.

Congratulations to us!

Our wedding invitation.
I feel that so far we have delivered
on our promise.

 I joke that it simultaneously feels like yesterday and forever.

The real joke is that it's true.

The time has flown by, but at the same time, I don't feel like I really remember what it was like before I met her.  I know I had other girl friends and that my wife was married before (but like Rick Reynolds says in his masterpiece Only The Truth Is Funny "She didn't enjoy it.") Read his hilarious book here.

Anyway, my point is that I remember those times, those times before Stephanie, but they feel like they happened to somebody else. Not to me.

I'm not saying that our life together has been perfect.  It has not.

Our wedding article in
NYT.  Click to make larger,
or read online.

 We have had our fights, and our issues, and our disagreements, and we continue to have them, and we have had terrible things happen and we've faced adverse situations and we've made lots of mistakes (probably me more than her)  And there are moments when I have had doubt.  And I am sure that she has had those moments too.

But we have also had wonderful things happen, and great moments, and more importantly fantastic little moments.  Moments where I am reminded how and why I love this person. And those moments heavily outweigh the negative.  Overall,  I know that my life is better, richer, and more meaningful because of her. At this point, I'm not sure who I would be without her (and I'm sure I don't want to know!)

I am looking forward to the next 9 years, and the next 9 after that, and god willing, 9 more, and then 9 more, and then 9 more. After that, I'll be 97 (oy, my back), she'll still be 29, and we'll see how it's going.

You can click the image to the left to see our wedding article in the NY Times. (or just click here)

And here's the video they made: (It's dated a week later, because that's when the article came out) It was shot the day after our wedding, just before we went to Paris for our Honeymoon.)

We are still a good team.