Confessions of a 90's Bride

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary, which means that we were married WAY back in 1999. That's right, the same year that Prince (or the Artist Formerly Known As or "Symbol" depending on how old you are) wanted us to party like it was. You know, THAT YEAR.

And now when you talk about it, it seems like ancient history. And let me fill you in on some details about being a 90's bride that will cement that notion for you. 

In 1999:

1. We planned our wedding without the aid of Pinterest. Gasp! Shock! Horror! (Pinterest was launched in March 2010.) I remember "the olden days" when many vendors didn't even have websites . . . and to plan your wedding you had to actually call them . . . on the phone. And I bet when you left a message, sometimes it was on an actual answering machine. Oh, the humanity!

2. The "blue" that I wore for my wedding day was blue fingernail polish. Classy.

3. I wore my hair in the ever stylish corn-rows as seen here:

4. Before it became a commonplace wedding phenomenon and the corresponding videos swept YouTube (and before YouTube was even invented - in 2005 for those of you keeping track), Ryan and I chose to choreograph our first dance, which was to Lauryn Hill's version of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" which she had recorded for her 1998 solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Because the footage of this is only on some old video somewhere that I didn't have the time to find and transfer to the blog, you will just have to believe me when I tell you that we got down. ;-)

5. Our first dance with our parents was to Vanessa Williams' version of "Oh, How the Years Go By" which had been released as a single in 1998.

6. Our cake cutting was Mary Lou Lord and Semisonic's version of "Sugar, Sugar" which was recorded for the Saturday Morning Cartoons Greatest Hits tribute album in 1995.

7. The photography for our wedding and honeymoon was all film photography. We actually lost a roll or two of film on the way back from our honeymoon because it had been through the airport X-rays one too many times (all the photos developed from that film turned out black!). AND, we actually included disposable Kodak cameras on each table at the reception because that was en vogue at the time (put those guests to work!)

8. Our reception was held in a theater and we had them put a 1990s movie tribute to us on the marquee. Ever After: A Cinderella Story had been released in July 1998.

9. The Cuisinart coffee maker that we received as one of our wedding gifts was one that makes up to 12 WHOLE CUPS of coffee at one time. And it still works perfectly fine to this day. However, we retired it last Christmas when Ryan bought me a Keurig.

10. And as I finish this blog post, I will share it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, StumbleUpon, and Pinterest (created in 2004, 2006, 2011, 2002, and 2010, respectively). THE WORLD will know about it. :-) Just know that in 1999, I believe both Ryan and I each had work and personal email addresses and we had a landline. I am certain that I did not own a cell phone. I don't really know that Ryan did way back then. I do remember that we shared one computer in our teeny apartment.

The world has changed for this 90s bride, but as it changes we're in it together for the long haul. And now we have two wonderful boys to watch it change with.

Love you, Ryan Barrett Walkush.

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