Happy Anniversary to Carrie on 19 Years of Marriage to this Guy #Anniversary #19years #wedding #celebration

Nineteen years ago today Carrie and I were married. It feels like only yesterday. We have so many memories from our nineteen years together. For today, I will post what we had on our wedding site 19 years ago today as we led up to our big day.

The Meeting

Carrie's Remembers: We only live 30 minutes from each other, but Fate decided a Caribbean cruise would be the best route to true love. A big group of us (about 150) were all going on the same cruise booked from a travel agency in Topeka. It took some coaxing from Brenda to get me to go. After all, this would mean missing the King Biscuit Blues Festival with my Dad! But we saved our money and couldn't wait for our vacation. I had heard through the grapevine that an acquaintance of mine was rooming with some guy named John. Who was John, we all wanted to know. Was Joell dating? Turns out they had mutual friends who convinced them to room together to save money. 

We met at the hotel the night before our plane departed. He seemed to be sitting at the edge of our group and I thought I'd be nice and strike up a conversation. Although, neither of us seemed to sense the chemistry between us till halfway through our trip.

We flirted on the high seas and knew by the end of the cruise that something very special had just begun.

John Remembers: True love could have happened anywhere between Carrie and I. We had met once before a year ago in a bar we both happened to be at. I remembered, but Carrie did not recall the encounter until later.

It is also interesting to note that both Carrie and I are Neil Diamond fans. After we started dating, we realized that we had been to his concert at Kemper Arena during the 80's. So again, our paths crossed, plus we have a mutual interest that we discovered during the cruise.

Our first introduction a year before did not lead to either one of us falling in love with the other. Instead, it took a week long cruise to bring us together.

It was not until Wednesday on the cruise that there was a mutual interest. I asked her to dance, we went on walks. We were becoming more and more interested as the week continued.

About the time the cruise ended, I did not want it to end. I was having so much fun with Carrie and spending time with her on the boat. Neither one of us were sure what would happen after the cruise.

After returning from the cruise, I called Carrie two days later to ask her out on a date. Two years later and we are going strong!

The Proposal

Carrie's Version: John was taking me out to dinner in Topeka to celebrate our 11 month anniversary. It was Friday, Sept. 21, 2001. 

After dinner we went to his apartment in Lawrence. I was not in the best of moods and thought I might watch television. 

John took my arm and stopped me in my tracks. He turned a chair around and sat me down. I was confused as I watched him walk to his room and back. 

In his hands was a small gift. He handed it to me. As I started to unwrap it he could tell I was getting excited and whispered "It's not what you think." 

I settled down and opened the gift. It was a beautiful pink tourmaline ring set in white gold! He told me he had been talking to my friend Sharon at the jewelry store where she worked. He wished me a happy anniversary and I thanked him. 

He stood up and told me he had talked to Sharon some more, then disappeared from the room. Tears welled up in my eyes as he returned with a dozen red roses and another ring box. 

He handed me the flowers and began the most wonderful speech I have ever heard. John got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. Crying, I said yes at least half a dozen times. I could barely see the ring through my tears. 

He placed the most beautiful diamond ring on my finger and we hugged. Not ten minutes later, we called his parents and mine. They had all known he was planning on proposing. Then we called everyone else! 

We knew right away that we would have to marry on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2002. Exactly one year from the date he proposed.

John's Version: I had planned how I would ask Carrie to marry me for a few weeks. I did not know how I was going to say it, but I had a good idea of how I was going to go about it. I did not want her to have any idea what I was doing or when I was going to do it.

I took her out to Olive Garden and we had a nice dinner. We had stayed a little later than expected over at her parents before leaving to go eat. While this was not a problem, I wanted to do the proposal before it got too late. I knew that Carrie would want to call her parents (they knew I was going to do it that night) and I wanted to be able to call my parents too.

I drove back to Lawrence as fast as I possibly could. Carrie asked me why we were going so fast and I think she thought I was upset about something. Not in the least! I wanted to get home to get things set up to ask her to marry me.

I had purchased flowers and champagne the night before in preparation. I had all of these hidden away so she would not see them when we entered my apartment.

Carrie, still thinking that I am upset about something since I drove home so quickly, entered the apartment. Still not suspecting anything... I took her arm and asked her to sit in a chair in the middle of the room that I turned around for her to face me facing towards the kitchen. I told her to wait one second.

At this point, Carrie looked confused but very curious as I went into the laundry room and brought out something. It was a small box!

She started to cry as I gave it to her to open. She had just started to open the lid of the ring case as the tears streamed down her face. I told her this was not what she thought it was... However, I had spoken to her friend and had something else for her.

I went back into the laundry room and came out with a bottle of champagne and the roses. I put the champagne and roses down and looked into her eyes. I started telling Carrie how much I care about her. How perfect we are for one another. It seemed as though I talked for an hour, but I know it was only a couple of minutes. I then knelt down on one knee, took her hand and asked her to marry me. I could see the tears streaming down her face and she whispered out "yes". 

Event

We were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lawrence, KS. The reception took place at the time was called Shawnee Country Club. We were married at 5 pm and the reception started at at 7 pm in Topeka. So many great memories from this day 19 years ago today.

Future

Carrie and I are looking forward to our twentieth wedding anniversary next year. We are beginning to discuss where we will go and what we will do to celebrate. I look forward to twenty years with Carrie being married but also to the next twenty years and whether it will still seem like just yesterday that we were married.