Thursday, September 22, 2016

25 Years Ago in September

September 21, twenty five years ago, I got into a cake fight with my best friend.


In some ways, it still feels like it was yesterday. We paid for our own wedding. It wasn't big and fancy, but considering I was making $5.00 an hour and David was making $12.00 an hour, it wasn't too bad. In fact, David gave me money from his savings to buy my dress. It was actually a used dress which originally cost over $2,500. The lady I purchased it from sold it to me for $600, which was still a ton of money for us.

I took it to a wonderful seamstress who changed the neckline from a high neck to a sweetheart neck, changed the back and took the long sleeves and turned them into 3/4 sleeves. The train was really long and the dress weighed a ton with all the beading, but I loved how it bustled up under a big giant flower on my butt. To this day, it is the only dress I have ever loved and yes, me who doesn't keep things, still has this dress.

We couldn't afford a limo, so we rented a city trolley so our wedding party, family and friends could ride with us.


My BFF, Beth, was my maid of honor. We have been best friends since we were twelve years old. She and I shared an apartment the year before I got married. It was so much fun. To this day, she is the only person besides David that I could ever live with because, like David, she is the calm to my hyper. We always joke around that we will be roommates again when we move to the nursing home. Hee,hee,hee.

Beth came to visit me in Wilmington this summer. We had a blast. Although, she did say the humidity about killed her. She lives on top of a mountain in West Virginia. We visit each other once a year and we talk on the phone every Wednesday. There are lots of friends who come in and out of our lives, but some friends are meant to share our lives forever.


David and I have always had an obsession with houses. A sense of "Home" is the most important thing to us both. Instead of going on a honeymoon, we built our first house. We were dirt poor, had no furniture and ate a lot of spaghetti, but we were so happy to start our life together with a new home.


Today, we are on our fifth house and while it's cute, we know there will be a sixth. ;)


This is our engagement photo from September of 1990. This was one of the best years of my entire life. I was so happy and so free with everything to look forward to. In my mind, I  will always want to be twenty two years old. ;)


Here we are today. I miss having good eyesight (four different prescriptions now) and my long hair. As for David? Well, he just misses his hair. hee,hee,hee






I think back to when I was twenty three and all the things I did that September. I got married, I bought a house and I also got promoted to Office Manager and Bookeeper for a commercial roofing company. I took over for Margaret, who had worked there for 42 years. Not easy at all. Margaret always said she loved all my energy. Well, looking back today, it makes me tired! Haaaaaaaaa!

Who knows what adventures and houses the next twenty five years will bring, but one thing I am certain of...



See you next Thursday!

Michelle

29 comments:

Janet said...

This is a wonderful montage of your wonderful 25 years together...thank you for sharing it with all of us.....hope you will have many more ....your Facebook friend and blog reader.. Jan from Ontario.Canada 😊

KaHolly said...

Happy Anniversary! Such a darling couple, even after all these years! XO

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Happy anniversary - lovely, sweet post to share.

Janet said...

This is a wonderful montage of your wonderful 25 years together...thank you for sharing it with all of us.....hope you will have many more ....your Facebook friend and blog reader.. Jan from Ontario.Canada 😊

Lesley said...

Happy Anniversary! Lovely to see all the pics. You are such a sweet duo!

Createology said...

Happy 25th Anniversary. You two are so adorable together. Quite the accomplishment to stay married 25 years...Congratulatons. Love your sensibility of building homes together. Blessings...

Petal49 said...

Happy Anniversary to you both and best wishes for many more. The fashions have certainly changed but you looked lovely then and still do now.

Val Laird said...

Congratulations and happy Anniversary, Michelle, - a wonderful milestone!

Sharon Decker said...

Happy Anniversary. Just like you said, it feels like yesterday. However, our "yesterday" was over 52 years ago. Yes, I married my best friend too.

Anna said...

We also have a Sept. anniversary!! love those old wedding photos!

Jeanette said...

Happy Anniversary Michelle & David. Hugs, xx

Fiona said...

what a lovely post... happy anniversary and best wishes for the next 25
Hugz

Michelle Ridgway said...

Happy Anniversary to you both. I loved wandering down memory lane with you. Such lovely photos. You were a beautiful bride and a lovley couple. I wish you many more happy years together xx

Draffin Bears said...

Happy Anniversary Michelle - congratulations on your milestone 25 years!
Love the photos and you both, looked lovely back then and now.
Have a wonderful weekend
Sending love and hugs
Carolyn xo

DIGBY said...

Congratulations on your 25th Anniversary! Such lovely pictures. I didn't even recognize you in your wedding picture. Wishing you at least another 25 years of happiness!

WinnibriggsHouse said...

What a lovely story....so far! Happy Anniversary to you both and many more to come. We will celebrate our 50th next year and I'm pleased to say That like you I think we found our soul mates.

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Darling friend,

I am giggling over here, about David "missing his hair!" Oh my, how TIME makes us even more beautiful, I swear......

Like you dear heart, I TOO MISS having decent eyesight. Between a lousy bifocal prescription, I have FLOATERS that are so annoying. I LOVE to read, but in the evening after school, I can't read. I have to relax my eyes.

But in all of this change, Ruben is there. 34 years for us, 35 in March. Like you, we had NOTHING when we got married. We had a low cost but ever-so-fun Mexican style wedding. My family and his family hooked up the night before to prepare homemade Hispanic food (a combo of Mexican for me and Puerto-Rican for him) and the music and laughter at the reception are what we didn't have to pay for....years have gone by for you and me in a pleasant way, and I wish you and David many years of laughter and bliss!

Frog Quilter said...

What a beautiful post. I can feel the love coming from you! Keep the love happening.

Christine M said...

Happy anniversary to you and David. Thanks for sharing your lovely story, Shell. xxx

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Happy anniversary! What a beautiful story! I think we need more happily married people to talk about their marriages. Sometimes it is hard to know that they exist. That is a beautiful wedding dress - I can see why you kept it.

JudyCinNC said...

Thank you so much for sharing all of your wonderful photos ... I love seeing my wonderful and happy friend in her stages of life ... You definitely won the cake fight. Hugs from JudyC

fernandez said...

hola franbuesa michelle mil gracias por compartir tu hermosa historia de 25 años , ademas de hermosa es motivadora.
recibe un saludo desde y con mi corazon en cristo jesus
carmen

Binka said...

Michelle that is such a sweet post! Thank you for sharing it and Happy Anniversary!

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

What beautiful bride you are--Happy Anniversary my dears!!!
loved hearing all about your wedding, first home and best girl friend--
may you have many more anniversaries!!!
love and laughter, di

Linda in Calif. said...

Awww! How sweet...Congrats. And many more. :-)

Tina said...

Just the BEST post ever! Thanks so much for sharing your memories with us - you guys are sure a cute couple!! Wishing you both a very, very Happy Anniversary!!!!!
PS Love your pictures - you were such a beautiful bride and David was very handsome groom. You guys remind me of Cinderella and Prince Charming - so pretty :)))))))

WoolenSails said...

Happy Anniversary and may you be blessed with many more years together.
Loved reading your story, your wedding was lavish compared to mine, lol.

Debbie

Susanne said...

Dear Shell and David. Many happy returns on your silverweeding, I do not know if it is called that also in USA. You both look so much in love both then and now. Hope that you will have many years to come, best regards from your family in Danmark.

Unknown said...

A very HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY to you both!!! Hope you enjoyed your special silver wedding anniversary. You make a very beautiful couple and you have many memories to share over the 25 years. Wishing you another 25 years to collect many more memories.

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