Karen & Brian’s story

Wedding Date: Jan 2, 2010

Do you believe in love at first sight? Soulmates? Kismet? Have you ever met someone and instantly felt like you’ve always known them? Well, neither had I …until I met Brian. The minute we met and started talking it was as though we were picking up where we left off in a recent conversation. Though we had never met before (him being from Maryland and I from Brooklyn) we knew each other immediately. We talked about nothing and everything, with zero awkwardness or game playing, and we haven’t stopped talking and laughing together since. That chance meeting was eight years ago, and, for no good reason, he still remembers exactly what I was wearing (”that black shirt with white polka dots. Uchh!”) and I, not known for my stellar memory, also remember every detail.  We were instant friends.

Soon after we met, Brian was making arrangements for a cross-country move (DC to California). The very day that he flew out to CA to secure an apartment, I showed up at my DC office only to find that the company was going under. They told us to pack up our desks and go home, giving us a nice little severance check to cushion the blow. With some cash in my pocket and time to kill, I accepted Brian’s spontaneous invitation to join him as he checked out San Diego. Uncharacteristic as it was, I hopped on a plane and met him in LA. As I flew I was thinking, “am I really meeting this guy I barely know in a city I’ve never seen?”. Even my best friend said I was crazy (and boy, if that’s not the pot calling the kettle black).
When I landed in LA, Brian greeted me with a huge smile. Almost as if he knew we were about to embark on the adventure of our lives.  We rented a car (I used my severance dollars and job-related misery as an excuse to upgrade to a convertible) and we spent the next three days driving from LA to San Diego to Tijuana, then out to Las Vegas and back to LA. We didn’t sleep, we could barely sit still. We took amazing photos. We saw amazing things.  We both laughed harder than we ever had before. It was the best first date the world has ever known.

And he never did move to California.

Seven years went by in the blink of an eye. So, fast forward seven years (hey, it’s not a cop out!  There are literally thousands of adventures and romantic notions I could tell you about that took place in that time. But it all went so fast)!    Where does the time go?

On July 11th, 2008, seven years to the day after our three-day-first date, we could be found at a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert in Charlotte, North Carolina.  A little backstory is in order: We tend to follow that particular band around when possible, as we both always have such a good time at the shows.  Okay, truth be told, we’re huge fans.  Huge, huge. Also, not having much money between us (he’s a substitute teacher and I work on government contracts for the National Cancer Institute), little weekend roadtrips became our version of true vacations. And, let’s face it, since ol’ Tom’s not getting any younger; we think it wise to go to as many shows as possible, while it’s still an option. So, there we are in Charlotte in July. It’s about 800,000 degrees outside (okay, I exaggerate. But it was at least 700,000 degrees out) and the venue had run out of water. We were dying of thirst and there weren’t even sodas or smoothies available to purchase. Therefore, I was forced to purchase, and drink, a few giant beers.  So, when Brian got down on one knee, in front of thousands of screaming fans, and asked if I would be his wife, I had no idea what he was doing. On bended knee, fuzzy black ringbox in hand, Brian looked up at me and asked “will you go to the end of the line with me?”. To which I responded “what are you doing”?  If this telling seems disjointed, blame it on the beers and the humidity; my memory of this moment is not what it should be. I am told he was down on his knee for a very long time. A “very, very long time”.

Eventually I realized what was going on and I said, “yes”!

You may wonder, was I truly surprised …after 7 years of dating? Truly? Yes! I mean of course, the topic had come up.  And of course we had our moments, our arguments. But pretty  much since day one were both quite that we were going to be spending the rest of our lives together However, in that moment, when Brian proposed I could barely breathe! Especially when I realized that everyone around us, thousands of fans, were watching and waiting and anticipating!  After I realized what was going on, and after the thunderous applause, I asked if he would mind if we stepped outside for a minute (as much as I’d hate to miss a minute of the show) to catch my breath.  But I also had to call my mom and best friend!  Turns out that everyone (and I mean everyone; from my cousin in Toronto to my third grade teacher) already knew of Brian’s proposal.  Brian had called my parents the night before to ask for their permission, and blessing, to propose.  Good news travels fast!

I know Brian is the right person for me because he makes me laugh, so often and so easily. He makes me laugh like no one else can. He is my protector, my confidant, my best friend. In his eyes I see the future. He is truly romantic, sensitive and all around wonderful. To be frank, he’s also a smart-ass jokester, who always keeps me on my toes.
I know Brian is “the one” because I never really believed in “the one” until I met him.