Thursday, September 10, 2009

It Had To Be You

Four years ago today...

wedding day

Our story began in 2001. Melbourne, Australia. On our wedding website, Bill wrote:

Ria and I met my first day at Frank Tate house (a residential dorm for Monash University in Australia). I was being shown around by Jenni Simmonds the person in charge of the dorm and Ria and a few of her friends happened to be moving in. She was in her third semester in Monash Graduate School finishing up a master’s in international business and I was studying a semester abroad. We hung out at first with all the other residents, partied and had a good time. After a while I realized that I really enjoyed her company and thought about her often. My favorite thing to do in class was to discreetly text her and chit chat about being bored in class. We began to see each other and had our first date in St. Kilda (we ate dinner at a cafĂ© and watched a very nice sunset on the beach).

scuba diving in the Great Barrier ReefThere was only one catch to our newly found relationship though. We knew that our time together was to be limited to one semester. Knowing this we agreed to make it the best semester we could and spend it together. During the semester we traveled and saw new places and did new things like: scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef and go snow skiing.

At the end of the semester, I sadly returned to the states and she moved back to Brunei for a while and then to the Philippines. We kept in touch several times a week through e-mails, instant messaging, and the occasional phone calls. This often involved us staying up incredibly late due to the time difference. There was even one time when Ria fell asleep in the middle of instant messaging me. It was clear after a time that I wouldn’t be happy unless I at least tried to get her to come to the states. With some encouragement from my sisters I asked her and here we are.


Millenium Hotel w/ revolving restaurantSo I moved here in August 2003 to see how things would work out between us. Needless to say, it worked out very well. Bill surprised me in January 2005, proposing at a revolving restaurant in St. Louis.

Engaged
We were married in September that year at the Old Cathedral in St. Louis, the oldest Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi and right next to the Arch. We rode in a stretch hummer limo with our wedding party from the church to the reception. We danced to Harry Connick, Jr's rendition of It Had to Be You at the reception, surrounded by family and friends we love. Overall, the day turned out beautifully even with a few minor snags such as the church coordinator forgetting that I wanted BOTH my parents to walk me to the altar, so my mom ended up walking the aisle twice.

wedding ceremony at the Old Cathedral

Today, we celebrate another terrific year of all plans that played out beautifully and all the snags along the way.
For nobody else, gave me a thrill
With all your faults,
I love you still
It had to be you, wonderful you
It had to be you

22 comments:

Adrienne said...

Happy Anniversary! Lovely story and what a gorgeous church you got married in!

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary!
Ria- it was an easy decision to encourage Bill to try to work things out with you coming here. In the months you were apart, he was uncharacteristically miserable... cranky, droopy, and easily annoyed. In other words, he was driving me NUTS! When you arrived, the effects were instant- joy returned to his eyes. What I didn't know at the time was what was in it for me. As it turns out, not only did I get my little brother back, I also got a dear little sister who quickly became one of my closest and best friends, and not long after, a wonderful little nephew who has added so much to our lives... we cherish his smile, his friendship, and his love.
So, Happy Anniversary, and Thank You!
Love,
Your sis-in-law Kris

ds.mama said...

Beautiful pictures and a wonderful love story that continues on.

M.Hilton said...

congratulations on your anniversary! those are gorgeous pictures - you were such a beautiful bride! :)

Unknown said...

Happy Anniversary Ria & Bill! What a beautiful wedding picture. I love the way you wrote this post. First Bill and then you. Have a GREAT day!

RK said...

Awwww...you guys are too adorable. Happy Anniversary! See you Saturday!

Sara P said...

happy anniversary:)- beautiful pictures:)

Angie Willey said...

What a beautiful wedding you had. Congratulations!

heather said...

Happy Anniversary! I love Harry Connick's version of "It Had to Be You". It was on our wedding DVD as well. Have a wonderful celebration today!

Monica Crumley said...

Happy Anniversary to you both! What a beautiful true-love story. Thank you for sharing!

Rochelle said...

Happy Anniversary, you guys are adorable! Thanks for sharing your story and your lives with all of us..very sweet!
Hope you have a great date night planned!

Lisa said...

Congratulations! Happy anniversary!

Beverly said...

Happy Anniversary Ria and Bill!!! What a wonderful story, thanks for sharing!

Julie said...

Hope you had a wonderful day! Happy Anniversary you two!

Renee' said...

Happy Anniversary. Loved all your pictures and the story that went with it. What a beautiful place to get married.Hope you two have a very special anniversary. Ria, you were a beautiful bride and Bill so handsome. Here is to many many more anniversaries to come.

Chipper said...

Happy Anniversary! Great story, taking place halfway across the world at that!

Ann said...

Awwww! How sweet and romantic! Meant to be!

Happy Anniversary!!

Anonymous said...

Bill and Ria,

Bill and I knew you were made for each other the first time we met Ria in Melbourne. We fell in love with her that day too and actually talked about buying a plane ticket and bringing her home with us! It was a long hard wait before she moved to Washington, for all of us. And now we have Matthew! Our seventh grandchild and what a great little guy he is. We love everything about him: his smile, his giggle, and his enthusiasm. He has his parents determination and the longest attention span we have ever seen in a toddler. We can hardly wait to see all the neat things he's going to do in his life and will enjoy every minute of watching him grow up. We are so very proud of the three of you! Happy Anniversary and many, many, more. Love, Mom and Dad

Lisa said...

Congratulations! I love the pic by the arch showing off the ring...so cute! And now, there's Matthew!

(p.s. my word verification is "fushon"--fusion, very appropriate for the occasion.)

Beth said...

Lovely story! Beautiful wedding! Happy Anniversary!

Michelle said...

Happy anniversary and many more years together! What a beautiful story, thanks for sharing from his perspective of how it all happened :) and I just saw your SILs comment - how very sweet!

Stephanie said...

Wow I can't believe I missed this post. Happy (belated) anniverary!!!