From a Chance Encounter to a Surprise Wedding!

The evolution of my relationship with Randy has been unexpected and unusual, at least for a girl with Midwestern values.

We met 19 months ago today on a tiny street in the southwest of France, and out of necessity spent our first night together in a tent. Over the course of the next 23 days we became more than walking partners – we became best friends, confidantes, and eventually fell in love.

On day 22 we met the mayor of Grañón, Spain. He offered to marry us in the town square the next morning at 8 a.m. But as we often did on the Camino, we overslept. We walked to the town of Rabé de las Calzadas that day, where we had a communal dinner over which we became best friends with our bunk mates. They quickly saw the value of our relationship and desire to make a commitment to one another and we all stood together as Randy and I made our vows to one another.

Over the course of the next 6 months, we had what you might call a “courtship,” dividing our time between California and Ohio, getting to know one another’s families and a sense of what real life might be like together. At the end of those 6 months, I packed up my house and my dog Jovi, and Randy and I spent the next 3 weeks visiting family all the way to California.

Four months later we returned to the Camino, to walk the final 300 kilometers together. But our first stop was that tiny street in southwest France where we first met. It was there that Randy got down on one knee and presented me with a ring he had designed special for me, a ring he had asked my parents’ permission to give to me. And I said yes.

I should clarify – I said yes to Randy, but I did not say yes to a wedding. We determined that once I was ready for wedding talk, I would propose to him!

Five months later, on August 29, I got down on one knee in our living room and, with a bread tie from a loaf of wonder bread in my hand, asked Randy to marry me. And he said yes!

Did you get all that?

• 19 months ago – we met
• 18 months ago – we said our vows
• 11 months ago – we moved in together
• 5 months ago – Randy proposed to me
• 1 month ago – I proposed to Randy

Do you see what I mean by the “unusual” order of things!

But the fun doesn't stop there! On August 29, when I proposed to Randy, I told him I thought it would be amazing to get married on September 29, because it was 18 months to the day that we said our vows in Spain. That way we could celebrate our wedding anniversary every 6 months! Plus it was a Tuesday and we’d always said if we were ever going to get married again it would be in the middle of the week.

He laughed at me and we went on about our lives. We traveled separately to Anaheim for work. We traveled together to Oregon for vacation. We spent a day in San Francisco. My brother came to visit from Texas. We went to a baseball game, took on the care of my mother-in-law's dog... Every day an adventure!

But little did I know that he was plotting and planning the perfect wedding for me!

On September 28 at 4 p.m., Randy gave me a note that said “Tomorrow at noon will you come to the old Auburn courthouse and marry me??” And this time, without any hesitation, I said “yes!”

From there we delivered a week’s worth of meals to a family in need, and then went to Nordstroms to buy our wedding attire. The next morning we went to the nail salon for mani/pedis, went to the county office to secure our marriage license, and made it to the old courthouse with 20 minutes to spare!

Randy’s entire family and a couple of our friends were there to meet us and my heart was so full! We met briefly with the judge, another family friend, who was to marry us and he said, “Do you want to get married in the courtroom or outside?” Randy said he’d been told that it was a 6-month process to get married outside so he assumed we’d be in the courtroom. The judge gave us a wink and outside we went!

Which is how we ended up getting married in the most beautiful outdoor wedding, surrounded by friends and family, on September 29!