Sarah And Tim

I married my lovely Sarah on Valentine's Day, 1997. We met about 9 months earlier while we were out celebrating our birthdays. A lot of people don't believe in love at first sight, but we do. It didn't take me too long to figure out that she was the one.

We're both rather headstrong and we like to do things our own way. Neither of us wanted a big wedding, and I was just fine with eloping. We were so comfortable with each other, that we really didn't do a lot of talking about marriage until about February 6. It took some concentrated effort, but within a week we got the marriage license and asked Judge Roland Faricy to marry us on Valentine's Day. He was open and after that, the hardest part was keeping the secret. It went off without a hitch. Sarah's long time friend Ali Turner was the "Best Woman" and my long time friend (since Kindergarten) Illya Haynes as the "Best Man." We went to Al's Breakfast for our reception. After the reception, we all went back to our jobs.

This elopement did not have it's price. Sure we saved thousands on a big wedding, but we upset a lot of people. My Dad was hurt that he didn't get to see the event. My Mom and Stepmom were both OK with it, I think because they thought I'd never get married. Sarah's parents were shocked. Naturally, we didn't mean to hurt anyone and everyone who was bruised by our actions seems fine now.

We eloped because we just couldn't bear the thought of putting a big wedding together. Sarah's brother and my sister had just gotten married the summer prior and had had huge weddings. We saw the kinds of strain it put on EVERYONE involved in the process and decided that it would be for the better for all of us--and especially for Sarah and I--that we just elope and have a reception after the fact. We had a lovely private party at the 128 Cafe in St. Paul about a month after our wedding.

Through the time we've been married, we've survived unemployment, remodeling the house, and various other ups and downs. I'm still crazy about my girl.