A Flashback of Love

This Saturday, I headed out for my usual morning ride. As a meandered my way down to the ride start in Petaluma, I rode past the Church of the Oaks in Cotati.  It just looked so perfect that I had to stop and take a picture.  That also gave me a moment to reminisce about how this lifelong story began.

You see, Sherry and I were married in the Church of the Oaks. Well, at least that’s were our California wedding ceremony occurred.  The first ceremony was in Stateline, Nevada.  Allow me to elaborate.

Sherry and I were already engaged, and living together, when we decided to elope to Nevada one night in August.  The plan was to use the increase in my housing allowance (I was in the Coast Guard at the time) to pay for the “real” wedding, which was scheduled for the following June. So, we piled into our Suzuki Samurai and headed for Nevada.

That first ceremony is actually a story onto itself. Let me just say we were married at Love’s Wedding Chapel by a guy who could be best described as more animatron than human.  I don’t think he could talk and move his head at the same time. The whole thing was so surreal that I clearly remember everything about that day.

Fast-forward to a short 9-months later and you have our second ceremony at the Church of the Oaks.  There were only 3 people who knew this was the second wedding because they attended the first ceremony in Stateline.  That’s because we didn’t tell anyone about eloping.  Not even the minister (or Sherry’s mother for that matter).  We actually have 2 marriage licenses. One from Nevada and one from California.

Of course, we did tell everyone eventually and they all thought it was a lovely and charming story.

What a wonderful way to start our lives together. It also makes for a great story, which is still unfolding to this day. After 27 years together it’s pretty awesome that our love of live, and each other, will continue to add chapters to our story for many years to come.  

Au revoir!