This is the best “how we met” story you will ever hear.
Yes, it happens to be mine. Narcissistic, much?
One year ago today, Eric sent an email that would change both our lives.
On Nov. 23, 2009, Eric ran a Google search for music in Orange County. He stumbled upon my now-defunct personal blog and found a recent post on a Hanson concert I had attended. Don’t judge.
When he realized I lived in the area, he emailed me, said he liked my blog, told me a little bit about himself, and suggested we could meet up for coffee one day. He even included a disclaimer: “Strictly as friends, I’m not really interested in anything more right now.”
I had just broken up with my boyfriend a few weeks prior, and was set on enjoying my new found single-dom, but I figured this guy might have some cute guy friends he could introduce me to. (I found out later that Eric had also broken up with his girlfriend a few weeks before as well, so we were both newly single).
After a few emails back and forth over about two to three weeks, we finally met up for coffee. He was easy to talk to, but it wasn’t like I felt a “spark” or anything. I was still hoping he might have some cute guy friends…
Over the next few weeks, we continued to hang out as friends, and my interest slowly started to peak. Then the holidays came and we each had obligations. About a week after New Year’s, we were finally able to meet up again–and by this point, I was really excited to see him. The following week, we went on our first official date (he took me out to sushi) and the rest, as they say, is history.
Well, not quite. I guess you could say our courtship wasn’t your average cup of joe.
Three weeks after that first official date, I told my mom this was the guy I was going to marry. You know all those cliches people say that you absolutely hate? The worst one being “You’ll know when you know”? Well, I hate to say it, but in my case, it was absolutely true. I just knew.
Still–I had NO CLUE that we would be married less than three months later.
Basically, he met my family, the “I love you’s” happened, and then we were trying to figure out what we would do when he left for the Air Force in the fall. Should we break up? Should we try long distance? Talk of marriage arose…and we toyed around with a couple of ideas..all of them two to four years down the line. A week later, we went on a pub crawl, decided “let’s just get married now,” and a month later, we were married.
If you had told me on Nov. 23, 2009 that in a year, I would be married, I would have laughed in your face and committed you to an insane asylum. I never ever would have expected my life to be like this by now, but it is so much better than I ever could have expected.
While it all happened incredibly fast, it didn’t feel like we were rushing anything. I guess because we started out as friends first, there was no pressure whatsoever to show our “best” side–as we often do on first dates–and instead we just showed our raw real selves. Everything was effortless…it just flowed.
And for all those single people out there who keep asking when is it going to be your turn (I was sooo there!), our “how we met” story is proof that love finds you when you least expect it–and in the most surprising of places…who knows, maybe your prince charming is reading your blog right now?
Ok–let me hear your best how-we-met stories!
Photo credit: Joop van Dijk
32 comments
Wow these are all such cool stories. I like your debt story and how you stick to your yearly goals. I bookmarked your site and and going to keep coming back!
Ah I still remember my first official date with my love. I still remember as well November 23 but defferent year when my husband gave me a surprise as a special day to his heart. I would like to thank you for sharing your story.
I blog often and I truly thank you for your content. This great article has truly peaked my interest. I will bookmark your blog and keep checking for new details about once per week. I opted in for your Feed too. This is the best how-we-met story I’ve heard, it’s really lovely.
May I say that November 23 2009 is the exact day my husband proposed!!
Hubby and I met at a friends house when I was 16, he was 20. A few minutes into talking to him, I had that moment of thinking “I’m going to marry this guy”. We became good friends, liked each other, then I broke his heart, realized I was stupid to dump him, came grovelling back, at one point I told him some cheesy line like “don’t think just feel” we started dating when I was 19 and were married a year later 🙂 10 years after meeting and 5 years of marriage and a daughter, he was the best choice I ever made 🙂
This is a cute story! I’m glad that it worked out. It is funny how life just happens like this sometimes and you meet someone in a way that you never expected to. Two of my friends also have a really great story and just got married: http://stevensmauriello.wordpress.com/our-story-2/
Ohh, this story really is one of the best “How We Met” stories ever! Quite frankly, I have had such a great time reading your blog! I just got here through Google but I think I will include your web site in my daily routine to check for updates on a regular basis: You have earned it! You are a really talented writer and I hope to hear from you very soon!
ABSOLUTELY LOVE your story! My hubby and I met by fate too… neither one of us looking! It’s amazing how love can find you sometimes and it truly is a blessing! Best of luck to you both!!!
I will right away take hold of your rss feed as I can’t find your email subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly let me realize so that I may just subscribe. Thanks.
What a great story! I recently launched a website called Howdidwemeet.com (http://www.howdidwemeet.com) dedicated to the stories of love and how husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, friend, family, or significant other meet. You can share your story, read other people’s stories and comment on the stories. Please submit your story with photo or without photo. There is “Random Posts” link where people post short comments on a just a few sentences. Some are just funny, embarassing, scary, etc. You can submit your posts as well.
Omg i am sititng here reading all these stories and crying my eyes out they are all so touching.
I guess you could say my how we met story is pretty unique as well.
in 2007 i met a fellow who was here for a visit , we hung out and talked and when he was leaving to return home exchanged email adresses and kept contact through email…my new friend being some what of computer geek created a virtual chat room and hooked up a few of his email contacts including me and my now husband on this chat line…
long story short as we were all talking back and forth i recieved a an email asking for my phone number so we could talk seperatly…reluctlanlty i sent my phone number to him and we chatted for a bit…i felt a connection with him and we continued to call each other….it was hard because we lived in different countries …. i could not visit because all my id was stolen a few months before and was in the process of getting them back … plus with my work situation…it was hard to get any time off .. yet we continued to talk corrospond and falling in love with each through emails & phone calls. Then in June of 2010 My Grand father passed away. Oh did i mention he is from the same country as my family orginated from. Either way my grand father passed away in June and i finally got a chance to Go back home. He met me at the airport and for the month i was there we were inseperable. The day i was scheduled to return home, he propsed to me at the airport … i said yes…my family and i returned in December ….we got married and now we are in the process of applying for him to come here and live.
This isn’t narcissistic at all! It’s a GREAT story! Even though I knew what happened, I’m still beaming at my laptop. xoxo
A Chinese restaurant — one of those college student hangouts with cheap food that still tasted good.
He sat at my table. Him: an Engineering student. Me: in grad school English. I wouldn’t give him my full name or phone…he wrangled it from the Grad School secretary, saying he had a ‘project’ with me!
Met late March. Engaged Aug. 1. Married Dec. 26.
And it will be 29 years in just a few weeks…
No cute story for this still single girl 🙁
YOUR story, however, is one of the cutest EVER!
Awww. These stories are so cute!
I loved your story, Erika and I followed your old blog! So happy for you and Eric.
My BF and I were friends for a while before we started dating. I had just come out of my first relationship that lasted almost 5 years. I went abroad to study for 4 months in Singapore and was determined to enjoy my single time. I enjoyed my time being single and loved it. I was completely myself because I didn’t care to impress anyone. I wasn’t looking for a relationship. That was in January 2007.
Fast forward the fall of 2008, we had both just graduated from college and started working full time. He asked me to “catch up” over dinner (he later told me this was him testing the waters). He officially asked me out in November, and I wasn’t sure if it was a date, but after a night of laughing, talking, and kissing, there were sparks. And we went out again. And again. And again…
Umm. What an AMAZING love story. Seriously…it’s so hard to find true love these days. And I love that you “just knew”. 😉
Cute story! Congrats! My husband and I (if you can believe this) actually “met” in the hospital in which we were born! Our birthdays are two days apart, we were both c-section babies at Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, and our mothers’ rooms were right beside each other! CRAZY! Then…we met again in high school while both working at Hy-Vee…dated for a couple months and broke-up before we went to college as we didn’t think it would last. But, we found each other again after college while both out one night and the rest is history! We have been married 6 months and are expecting our first baby in June!
What a great story!
We were introduced by a girl that had my teaching job before I did and was then working with my now husband. She didn’t know either of us, but she made a perfect match! Our first date was Friday, October 13, 2006. We were engaged on Friday, July 13, 2007 and married on Friday, June 13, 2008. So we were barely together 2 years before we got married but we knew early on that we wanted to get married. I knew for sure after I met his wonderful family (I’d had some bad previous experience).
Aww!! LOVE this and can’t believe it’s been a YEAR since you two met. I loved reading your post revealing you two got married, it gave me goosbumps, just like this one. You two were DEFINITELY made for each other. (agree with Shannon, after meeting you two, it was SO evident!!). XO! Congrats!
This time last year I was sick of my job.
Sick of being single.
And not looking forward to the snowy winter.
So I accepted a research grant to move to Ethiopia for 9 months to a year.
January 15th 2010 I left the country.
My organization was hit with severe legal challenges in getting a new NGO license that keep me locked up in the Capital of Addis instead of in the rural village where I was to live about 4 hours south. The whole time I was attending government meetings, working on proposals and trying desperately to get our program back on track there was a cute boy sitting next to me.
We became friends, flirted went to lunch and before we ever really went on an official date he said: You are the kind of woman I would never be bored of.”
I said: I feel the same way
He said: why don’t I just marry you then?
I got a little scared, he continued pursue me and ACTUALLY date me.
In May my dad flew to Ethiopia to meet Adam.
In July he asked my dad permission to official marry me.
& October 5th , all my dreams came true.
Aww I love your “how we met” story…so sweet and you are so RIGHT..when you know, you know!
I met my husband through mutual friends. At first I thought we’d just end up as friends since we had so many of the same friends even though I did have a slight crush on him. Then one night, all of us got together, and went bowling. I saw him hug one of our single girl friends! I was sooo jealous and knew I needed to pursue this. So, we started dating here and there and realized we were, in fact, best friends and loved one another! Four months later we were engaged and three months after that, we were married! We were married exactly nine months after meeting and will have been married 2 years in June! It can happen!
Aww, happy anniversary of the day you met! I absolutely love your guys’ story, and it’s similar to mine! I could’ve written this part:
“I guess because we started out as friends first, there was no pressure whatsoever to show our “best” side–as we often do on first dates–and instead we just showed our raw real selves. Everything was effortless…it just flowed.”
When I met Joe, I was very clear that I wasn’t looking for any kind of relationship. So we started out just talking as friends, and I was 100% honest and real (something I was never able to do in my relationships before), and the fact that we were just our actual selves made it so much easier to know that we were meant for each other.
The brief breakdown of our timeline (although I may have already told you) was:
May 2008 – We met
June 2008 – We became “official”
Four days later – He said he loved me
August 2008 – I moved 120 miles to be closer to him
January 2009 – We started a premarital class
February 2009 – I bought my wedding dress
April 2009 – He proposed
August 2009 – We were married!
People thought (and maybe some still think) we were crazy to move that quickly. One of my coworkers ACTUALLY told me, two weeks after we said “I do,” that I might get divorced someday. But every day we’re together, I know it’s the most RIGHT thing I’ve ever done. 🙂
Aw – your story is so sweet. And I’m loving reading those of all your commenters, too!
Here’s mine, summarized in a recent post: http://keeniebeanie.blogspot.com/2010/10/decade.html
We met back in the summer of 04′. I accepted a summer position out of the blue. He and his mom both worked there, she was the boss. One day, we were all in the lounge getting ready for lunch. He was getting ready to go out to lunch and i was pulling out a tupperware i packed for lunch out of the fridge. I opened the tupperware to find that i grabbed the wrong one that morning. There i was, with a tupperware full of refried beans, shocked to say the least. My options were to 1) eat a whole lot of refried beans or 2) ask him to bring me something back.
When i asked him if he could bring back a salad, he told me to go with him instead. So i did.
That was the first time we spoke well, other than half smiles and head nods in the hallway.
And we lived happily ever after.
Knowing the both of you and knowing your story – I still get goosebumps and want to tear up. You two were just meant for each other. I love it. And I love you guys!
Oh, goodness! 🙂
I was in a very unsatisfying relationship with a guy everyone else told me was perfect for me. I stuck it out because I wanted to believe they were right, but in May 2008, I decided to test the waters. I signed up for OKcupid just to see what was “out there.” I sent a message to a guy who had the funniest profile. In his “You should contact me if…” section, he said, “if you get my sense of humor. Send me a marriage proposal NOW. I’m convinced you don’t exist.”
I messaged him and we sent emails back and forth for a while. Finally, I decided I should give my relationship a fighting chance, so I signed off without saying goodbye.
Five months later, when things still hadn’t changed, I broke things off with my boyfriend. I signed back on OKcupid and got a message within days from Mr. Red that said, “Hey, don’t I know you?” We reconnected and had our first date on November 16.
Honestly, I didn’t think it was going to turn into anything. I was looking forward to being single and “playing the field.” I won’t say that I “knew” we would get married – heck, I didn’t EVER want to get married! – but there were definite sparks flying on our first date.
After our first date, we played N64 and soon it was 2 a.m. He asked to sleep over since he worked so close to my place. “I’ll keep all my clothes on, I promise.”
I can only remember a handful of times that he wasn’t spending the night at my apartment after that. He officially moved in with me six months after our first date, and we tied the knot one year after he moved in. 🙂
We went to high school and I had a BIG crush on him (stalker style), but never the nerve to talk to him. My best friend had a class with him our Senior year (his Junior) and I got her to get his email address. We talked maybe 1 or 2 times, I ended up leaving for the military to Texas in 2001 after graduating in 2000 & he was with a girl (whose locker was next to mine ahhh) from my grade in HS for 6 years. We were friends, chatting online here & there. In the end of 07, they broke up. I went to visit him in February of 08, he came to Texas in March, I went to Michigan in April, he came in July, I went back in September, he came back in October…lol, you get the point. He moved to Texas from Michigan in December of 08, a week before Christmas (drove straight through, too!). He proposed in April of 09, and we’re getting married December 3.
My friend “A” was dating his roommate “R”. “A” called me and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner with them…..didn’t know it at the time, but “R” did the same for my now hubby.
Good thing we got along, because A and R had a fight at dinner.
We went out on a few “couple” dates, then he asked me out on a date without A and R. That was mid-November 1996. We were engaged on January 5, 1997, and married a year later….so we have our 13th anniversary coming up in about 2 months.
What a cute story! And I agree, when you know, you know! I knew I was going to marry my husband about 2 months into our dating. 🙂 Our story isn’t as cute… we met at a party of a mutual friend’s, I thought he was short (I’m 5’10” and was wearing heels that night) so chatted with him but gave him no second thought. We met again a few weeks later thru that same mutual friend and went bowling. He got my bowling shoes for me. We talked all night, then as I took my phone out to check a text message, he said “hey, while you have that out, why don’t you put my number in there?” Smooth. 🙂 The rest was history!!
We met in math class in 8th grade where he flashed a laser beam in my eye… Yes, I still remember! In spite of that we became best friends in high school, even going to prom in the same limo with our dates. We kept up the friendship while I was across the country for college and were the only friends there for each other when he was at boot camp and I was in France. We wrote regularly and stayed close. Now, 13 years later, we’re finally dating! If you ask everyone who knows us, “it’s about dang time!” and if you ask us, we’re surprised as all hell. We were each always the friend to mention when someone asked if men and women could be friends without it ever bring more. We certainly blew that theory to hell!
We met at college, dated the entire semester, she was going away to West Yellowstone, MT to work for a semester while I stayed in Idaho. Kept it going long distance for 10-12 weeks, then I got struck as a pedestrian by a car on campus and was literally fighting for my life. She came to take care of me, was by my side through countless hours of surgery, and I figured I had a lifetime to pay her back for nursing me back to health. Got engaged 6-7 months after we started dating, and were officially Mr. and Mrs. Malone 14 months after we started dating.
It’s been almost 3.5 yrs, and I wouldn’t change any of it.
(I’m not sure if the HTML code will go through, so I’ll just use “quotes”)
“He stumbled upon my now-defunct personal blog and found a recent post on a Hanson concert I had attended. Don’t judge.”
*ahem*………………………….
Same schools most of our lives. I was a geek, he was a bad boy who ran with the cool crowd. Eventually our social circles converged. I’d just come out of my first real relationship; we were sitting around in a circle under the stars; I was reeling off a bitter, slightly drunken list of attributes my next boyfriend would have to possess. He ticked them all off as I went.
We hung out a few times as friends. Yep, the all-night talks, etc. He asked me out. I asked for some time. A week, to be precise. A day or so before deadline I told him I’d give him a go (or something equally romantic). We became an official couple; I didn’t really foresee it lasting long, especially as he was off to the army in two months.
But hey, here we are what, five years later?
Life, eh.