A Minor Wedding Detail: Deciding on the Groom

I met Mr. BB at the best time possible. And I wasn't even looking for him.

Personal Photo

After an on-again-off-again relationship from college officially went bust during a semester abroad in Australia, the last thing I was looking for upon my return home was a relationship. I had always been a girl who saw the silver lining in being single. I was wild, fancy and free all by my lonesome despite the fact that most of my closest friends were serial monogamists. After a final heartbreak from the aforementioned relationship, I was equal parts angry, hurt, and sick of men. I was 22 and on the prowl for fun and flirting but nothing serious. Turns out, this is actually a very successful recipe for acquiring a relationship. Ironic, huh?

I settled into post-college life pretty roughly. A breakup, unemployment, and my parents divorce all came to fruition at the same time. Add in the fact that my friends were no longer just a room away and I was in a bad place. Luckily, I was re-offered a position at my former summer job doing data entry. It wasn't glamorous, but it paid the bills and provided a fun, casual environment of young 20-somethings. Plus, we worked right next to a bar and you just can't go wrong with that.

At some point during March 2006, a tall, handsome, blond-haired and blue-eyed drink of water entered our office. A new employee. Fresh man meat. I studied him from afar and allowed myself to develop a totally innocent school-girl crush. You know the kind of crush I'm talking about. It's the "I've-never-ever-talked-to-him-but-am-sure-I-would-love-him" type of crush. Allegedly I used to utter the phrase "I hate to watch him go but I love to watch him leave" every time he left the office for the day. I can't confirm nor deny this allegation, or the accusation that I threatened every female in the office that they better stay away from him. I'm sure my misconduct came from a place of love.

Personal Photo

As weeks went by, mutual friends began to invite the future Mr. BB out to the nearby bar for after-work cocktails and dart games. It wasn't long before I was a faithful tag-along to these outings and that Mr. BB and I began actual verbal communication. My crush intensified.

We spent probably every single night after work during the month of May 2006 at the bar. And often, Mr. BB and I would be the last men standing, competing against each other in games of pool and sharing our most ridiculous drinking stories long after everyone had left.

Personal Photo

After about three weeks of this, I had decided it was time for Mr. BB to profess his undying love for me, or at least his general "liking" of me in an official way. So, naturally, I told my girlfriends that I was "so done" with our little friendship since obviously he wasn't going to pull the trigger on anything romantic. Maybe he didn't enjoy spending time with me after work...perhaps he just liked to drink which is why he'd stick around and chat.

Fast forward to the fateful night of May 22, 2006. An office coworker was celebrating his birthday at, you guessed it, the bar next to our office. The same formula followed for this night. After games of darts and drinking beers, everyone left. Everyone except for Mr. BB and I. At some point, I offered to drive him home since he'd missed the train. We were in full-on flirt mode as we walked back to my car. I remember him making some joke and I turned to playfully push him...and then we kissed. I stepped back, somewhat stunned and told him straight out that I wasn't looking for a "hookup" so if he wanted to take the kiss back, he better do it now because I don't play games. I'm so romantic, right?

Personal Photo

Mr. BB in all of his drunken glory proclaimed that he "liked me yesterday, liked me today and will like me tomorrow." That's a pretty bad-ass thing to say to a girl you are trying to "woo," yet I may or may not have called him out on the corniness of his statement.

The rest, as they say, is history. We continued to hang out even after we both left our job for different ones and slowly began spending more time together. We have continued to like each other during all the of "tomorrows" we've experienced together and this "like" turned to love. We couldn't be more excited to become husband and wife.

How did you meet your fiance? Do you think that timing had anything to do with the formation of your relationship?