Although they’d technically known of each other for 15 years, Patricia and Frank had never had a real conversation until running into each other at a friend’s engagement party. He chased her to New York City for a third date and then to Europe for the next few dates. He told her he loved her in Oxford, and told her he was planning to marry her alongside side Lake Como in Italy. Despite the entire 29-person wedding party falling into a lake during their wedding (yep, they’re that couple), it was one of the best days of their life. They moved to San Francisco after the wedding and have been adventuring together ever since!
We are so excited to celebrate Patricia and Frank as they renew their vows at The Big Fake Wedding San Francisco, tomorrow night at General’s Residence at Fort Mason Center. We hope to see you there!
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What was the absolute best memory from your wedding day?
From him:
You may or may not have already seen this, this, or maybe this. The above is definitely the most memorable, but not the best memory for me (although I had a good laugh even at the time). Some of our favorite memories from the day are:
In the whirlwind of wedding planning we’d both forgotten to pack for the honeymoon…about 4 hours before we’re supposed to get married we both showed up at the same house at the same time to throw things into suitcases. Expecting an empty house and finding someone else in it, Patricia called out, ‘Frank?!’ and she tucked quickly into the bathroom. No one else was home. We had a nice little wedding day chat through the closed door.
From her:
When we came off of the sailboat to be introduced. Flooding through a tunnel of my closest friends and family in the warm string lights under the trees on our way to the dance floor with my new husband…it felt like a blurry glimpse of heaven.
Another one of the most fun memories from the day was walking down the hill during the reception to see all of our friends and family from around the globe dancing gangnam style in unison behind my brother leading the charge with a big cigar sticking out of one side of his mouth.
Finally, one of my favorite memories was pushing off in a small red sailboat (which we’d asked to borrow just a few hours earlier from the neighboring dock because the other sailboat had to go) and watching the lanterns from the shore start to take flight as we listened to “Come Away With Me” by Norah Jones. We lit our own lantern and watched it join the others. They reflected on the lake as all of our loved ones on the shore started to melt out of sight as we slipped out into the dark lake. I felt like I could explode with gratitude for such a beautiful experience.
What is the most awesome thing about your marriage?
I think the thing that has made our marriage so awesome is that we’re still tenaciously kind to each other. We put it in our vows and have been delighted to stick to it. That simple consistent kindness makes us a source of comfort and refuge for each other instead a source of stress. It’s not about just being polite, or about hiding how you really think or feel, or “not being yourself” – it’s about how you do all of those things and being sure to do them in a way that is true to the fact that you care about them and want the best for them.
What advice would you give an engaged couple?
Talk about what you want your marriage to look like. What do you consider “success” in your marriage to be. Make sure you’re striving after the same ideals.
Photo Credit:
Chase Andrews | Achor & Eden
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The Big Fake Wedding San Francisco is completely SOLD OUT! If you missed out, we invite you to join us at another one of our events – check out the rest of our 2015 schedule here.
