Happy Anniversary to Me!

by Jen Garry

Three years ago today my husband and I got married at The Riverview in Hastings-on-Hudson. It was a perfect day. Sure, there were things that went wrong (like getting lost on the way to the ceremony and ending up on the Tappan Zee Bridge when we didn't need to be). But aren't there always? We had a great time with great friends and family. Plus, the most important part is that we got married, right?

To celebrate, I thought I'd share some pictures of my day along with some fun little blurbs we had up on our wedding website. It's always fun to look back at this stuff (especially on a day when you throw some laundry in and your darling husband has yet again left a tissue in one of his pockets).

My husband's aunt officiated our ceremony, which made it incredibly personal. It was one of the best decisions we made. After all, the ceremony is the reason you're there in the first place! Sidenote: notice that my bridesmaids are all in celadon green. Here at Bijou we break our own rules!

The prettiest little flower girl I ever did see. She also happens to be our daughter.

We had a little ring exchange with her since it was her wedding too.

How We Met

Tim's version:
Jen and I met freshman year of college in Spanish class. We also had a philosophy class together. Eventually, I came to create my own philosophy. “Marrying awesome babes.” This philosophy took me a while to come up with, so I didn’t decide to marry Jen–perhaps the ultimate awesome babe–until years later when the philosophy was perfected. To bring it all back home, my novel was written in Spanish, and it was called “filosofía de la unión a las mujeres asombrosas.”

Jen's version:
We met freshman year of college in one of the first classes we had. As soon as Tim walked into the room I looked at Meg (who, along with Berbs, was also in the class with us) and we both knew it was trouble. It was immediately decided that he would be my Crush. After four years of sightings (ok, borderline stalking), smiles, and batting of the eyelashes, Tim finally asked me out (I'm a chicken). We've been crazy about each other (and driving each other crazy) ever since.

Jen according to Tim

Where does one start, when asked to describe the person with whom he wants to spend the rest of his life? The beginning would seem appropriate, but I believe we’ve covered that in some detail in the “How We Met” section. So let’s maybe instead start with the present.

To suggest that Jen is a living Saint might imply that she is a woman of both infinite patience and infinite charity. As some of you reading this have lived with me for extended periods of time, you must bear in mind we are talking here about a woman who has agreed to live with me forever.

Anyway, in the present. There are times when I am driving with Jen in the passenger seat, or we are watching TV on the couch, and I can see her out of the corner of my eye, looking at me with a smile and I know that I am unconditionally loved. I often (this will surprise 0% of you) react to these looks with a joke. A ‘what are you lookin’ at’ type remark. This is because I am genuinely overwhelmed at having such a wonderful person look at me with such an immense amount of love in her eyes.

In the present. Jen is the most loving mother I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing, with of course no offense to my own wonderful mother, who happened to do a not-so-bad job herself. Having been home for longer stretches of time lately, I’ve grown a great appreciation for exactly what type of job it is–being at home with a 2 year old all day. When I have Sam to myself on rare occasions, I am usually ready for a nap after about 30 minutes, even though I like to think of myself as superdad.

What else about Jen do you people want from me? Luckily she has malleable taste in the arts. I won’t lie. Some of her musical choices were almost deal breakers. When I see a Third Eye Blind CD in the car I have a mantra I repeat over and over. “Jen is a beautiful girl and wouldn’t appreciate it if I broke this.” To be fair, she has probably seen movies like “I, Robot” and “Boiler Room” far many more times than one should. And she doesn’t complain when I refuse to watch Rom-Coms. That’s the type of woman you marry. That’s what we in the industry call a keeper.

Tim according to Jen

Most people know him as incredibly sarcastic. You either find him hysterical or you think he's a total asshole. But I know him as something different. He's definitely sarcastic and often abrasive–but underneath that hard shell is one of the sweetest, most loving and loyal people I have ever met.

Tim is the kind of guy who makes me candlelit dinners for no reason other than the fact that I like them. He's the kind of guy who sneaks into the bedroom when I'm getting ready for bed and turns down the blankets and puts House Hunters International on TV for me, just because he knows I like it (even though he hates it). He's the kind of guy who makes his presence known in the morning when my primping is threatening to make me late for work–annoying at the time, but sweet upon reflection. He makes me dinner every single night and worries about what I'll eat if he's not there. While he's not the best at speaking his feelings, little things like these tell me more than I need to know. He loves me madly.

And then there's Tim the dad. Whoever would have thought? This is a guy who, before Samantha, didn't really care for kids. He didn't know if he ever wanted to have any. But the minute he saw her little face, he was done for. He speaks to her in a voice that was previously reserved for his cat. He humors her and takes on the voices of her favorite stuffed animals for way longer than I ever would (sucker!). He is completely smitten with her and the feeling is mutual.

I know that I could manage without Tim. My diet might be poor and I would never be on time, but I'd survive. The thing is, I don't want to. From the day that I first saw him in that Spanish class eight years ago I've been hooked. As much as he can drive me crazy, there's something about him I just can't resist. And I don't want to.

photos by Surprise Photography