I Do

This weekend kicks off the wedding season in my family. Many years ago when my sister was searching for her wedding dress, my mother thought she should wear something elegant like in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. For months she talked about the high necked gown Audrey Hepburn graced the screen with. My sister, not yet born in 1961 when the film was released, couldn’t picture this beloved gown so the two of them rented the movie with remote control in hand to freeze frame the desired scene. Imagine their disappointment when there was no wedding scene in the film! Right actress, wrong film. Eliza Doolittle wore the remembered dress in My Fair Lady.

Having been married now for more years than not, it’s difficult for me to remember the importance or lack thereof that I placed on the dress. For me it was more about the groom. I spent many years wishing I could marry Charles Ingalls before moving on to Fabio and then Nicholas Sparks . (Is there any man more romantic?)

Romance is usually where the story ends. Most romance novels do not include the years after the honeymoon. At some point my life moved from Danielle Steel to Dr. Laura Schlessinger, as in The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands , which my husband can attest, I have not yet mastered. That’s okay, he isn’t exactly Porn for Women , but I do see a little of Charles Ingalls in him.

What about you?

Is there a character that you envisioned as your significant other?