Moore/Mannella Marriage Meme

This Marriage Meme was sent to me by a friend who found it on Kerry’s Khaos. What fun! And, how appropriate for this week’s installment of Love Thursday!

1. Where/how did you meet? We met in the burbs of Paris in 2000. We had seen each other around for a few months, and were officially introduced at.a.bar….(my mother hates this part!) You can read more about how it all started here!

2. How long have you known each other? This summer will be EIGHT years. God, time flies!

3. How long after you met did you start dating? Over two years. When we met in Paris, we were just friends. We had the language thing happenin’ and well, to be honest, I wasn’t looking for a husband!

4. How long did you date before getting engaged? Wow. About four years!

5. How long was your engagement? Seventeen months. The average is 18, so we were “quick!”

6. How long have you been married? March 16 will be FOUR months!

7. What is your anniversary? We were married on November 16. He first visited me in Texas on November 12. We discussed our feelings on November 14, and counted that as our “dating” anniversary. November is a good month for us.

8. How many people came to your wedding reception? 85-90

9. What kind of cake did you serve? We had cake coming out of our ears!! We served each adult guest an individual white wedding cake. (Please forgive the poor image quality, I just can’t seem to find my professional pictures of the mini cakes.)Then, we had a small three-tiered cake to cut and serve to the children. The top layer was tiramisu, the middle layer, chocolate, and the third layer, Italian cream cake. Delicious! The individual cakes mirrored the design on the larger cake.

10. Where was your wedding? Beaumont, Texas! The ceremony was at Saint Anne Catholic Church, with the reception following at the MCM Elegante’ Hotel.

11. What did you serve for the meal? We had a cocktail hour preceding dinner, where we served crab-stuffed drunken tomato bruschetta, sausage and cheese-stuffed mushrooms, fruit, and assorted cheeses. We had buffet stations for dinner. One station featured a Horseradish-Crusted Beef Tenderloin, with assorted rolls and accompaniments, another station had Jalapeno-Crusted (we were into the “crust” thing) Tilapia, served with homemade jalapeno jelly. Our third station had a full salad bar and a shrimp and pepper-infused Asian salad. And, ya know…I think there were some rosemary potatoes in there somewhere, too!

12. How many people were in your bridal party? We had 4 bridesmaids, 3 groomsmen, a Maid of Honor, a Best Man…and, Cole!

13. Are you still friends with them? Goodness, yes…it was only a few months ago. Plus, many of them are family…so “for better or worse” applies.

14. Did your spouse cry during the wedding ceremony? No. Neither of us did. But, I wore waterproof mascara-just in case!

15. Most special moment of your wedding day? Pep and I have discussed this, and we can’t choose just one. He loved our first dance. I loved seeing him for the first time when I walked down the aisle. He came almost half-way to meet me, since I had to go solo…it was nice. We had a Texas BBQ for the Rehearsal Dinner, and hired a professional dancer to teach line dances. It was a great icebreaker for the wedding party, and it really set the mood for the following day.

16. Any funny moments? My 96-year old great-grandfather came – and DANCED. He even complained to my mom that the daughter who brought him wouldn’t let him drink! My cousin tried to get Pep’s cousin to keep up with him on Miller Lite rounds. After, oh, I don’t know…10 drinks, Pep’s cousin started making up Italian dances and teaching them to everyone. No one even knew he made them up! It was hilarious!! My mom rented us an old-fashioned photo booth and the owners sent me a CD of all of the pictures from the night. THAT was fun to see!

17. Where did you honeymoon? We stayed in town for a few days with our out-of-town guests and visited a new winery in Beaumont. We then flew to south Florida with Pep’s cousin and visited my aunt. Italians are pazzi for Miami, and I planned to surprise Peppe with the trip. But, when his cousin decided to make the wedding, I told Pep and we included Giu. It was very fun – and very relaxing. After having Thanksgiving with my family in Texas, Peppe and I went to Belize and Guatemala.

18. For how long? Belize/Guatemala was one week.

19. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? Hmmm…I would hire a different florist, because that was single strongest source of stress for the day. (Say that five times fast!)

20. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Right side-that’s mine!21. What size is your bed? Right now it is like a Full/Queen, but we are upgrading when we move.

22. Greatest strength as a couple? We work really well together. We have patience for each other, and we can talk each other out of being upset.

23. Greatest challenge as a couple? Cultural differences. Sometimes we just can’t understand WHY something is so important to the other one.

24. Who literally pays the bills? Well, we work together for Il Cedro, but (don’t tell him I am admitting this) he does most of the work. We pay bills with this. The money I make from teaching and writing is my “fun” money…you know…like Palermo!

25. What is your song? We have several…I LOVE “The One,” by Shakira, and we both think of this as our song. Actually, I wish we’d have used this as our first dance song (amend question #20.)

26. What did you dance your first dance to? The Way You Look Tonight, by Frank Sinatra.

27. Describe your wedding dress. I flew home immediately after Peppe and I got engaged, and bought a wedding magazine as soon as I hit the states. During my five-hour layover in Philadelphia, I tore out a picture of a beautiful Maggie Sottero dress. I tried on at least 50 other dresses, but couldn’t choose one until I had found *that* dress. I finally found it, and it was the one.

28. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? Calla lilies and roses

29. Are your wedding bands engraved? Yep. Mine says, “Peppe 11-16-07.” Can you guess what his says?

Ahhh….thanks for letting me relive it all, folks! This was a fun meme. If you are interested, you can read more about our wedding here. If you do this meme, be sure to let me know!

Happy LT, everyone!