If their NotWedding is half as fun and beautiful of a celebration as their real wedding last summer, we are in for a treat, Charleston. Even though Laura and Charlie have only been husband and wife for a few days over a year, they exude this peace and confidence in their marriage that many couples seek to find for years. It is such a honor to celebrate with these two as they renew their vows tomorrow at the SOLD OUT 2nd Charleston NotWedding!
Charlie and I repeatedly say that timing really isn’t ‘our thing,’ but timing was definitely on our side when it came to our meeting. It was fall of 2007 at Clemson University where we both were in undergrad, he a fifth year senior and I just starting my junior year. During registration that summer, I signed up for a class that was outside of my major based solely on the fact that I really liked the teacher offering the course. Charlie decided toward the end of his senior year that he wasn’t quite ready for the real world and thought he’d stay in Clemson a little longer to get a minor in addition to his declared major. As luck would have it, we found ourselves in the same microbiology class that semester. As well as I can remember, Charlie sat next to me on the first day of class and every day after. We had awkward small talk. You know, the kind where you want to talk to someone but don’t know them well and having nothing to talk about in a calculated five minutes before class will start. I still tease him and say he must’ve asked me 57 times if I would be ‘going downtown this weekend.’ I wasn’t even 21, which he knew. Despite my strategically planned outfits and friendliest smile, nothing materialized from our casual banter. Oh well, I thought.
If you knew Charlie personally, you’d definitely know that he isn’t in a rush about anything. Once he finally gets where he needs to be, he takes a month waiting to make a decision. Eight months after we met, I took to my sorority sisters and did a little investigative work which included my first mission, get Charlie’s phone number. I, unlike Charlie, am calculated and motivated. My second mission, tell Charlie that I have a crush on him. Six years later, I find myself sitting at Charlie’s computer writing this message to all of The NotWedding fans. Six years later, Charlie still isn’t in a rush about anything. Once I finally told him how I felt about him, we lived together before he took me on our first real date. I not only planned, but booked, our wedding before we were engaged.
I am a planner, a fixer and a doer. I believe that the word ‘opposite’ was created to perfectly describe Charlie and me. That passivity that haunted me every night for four years while I was anxiously waiting for that diamond, I now look at and see as patience that will be invaluable when up all night with a crying newborn. That indifference that I thought I saw picking out a new pair of shoes, I now see as self-control that will be precious when big decisions need to be made. I cannot always rush into things. He cannot always avoid them. Together, our timing is perfect. We are not perfect. Through him, I am able to see the person that I am and the person that I want to become. We make mistakes and we correct them. We go to bed mad, but wake up forgiving. We are the perfect combination of ketchup and mustard on your fries, which we both love by the way. Cheers to there being no manual for a perfect marriage, but figuring it out all along the way!
Photos: Gene Ho Photography
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Laura and Charlie will be tying the NOT tomorrow at the SOLD OUT 2nd Charleston NotWedding at Boone Hall Plantation. We can’t wait to celebrate with all of you!
marriage goals 
“we didn’t reali
guys! We’ve been on a summer sabbatical.
