Three years later

I'm thrilled to say Happy Anniversary to my husband. Thomas and I got married at our home in a fun backyard wedding which meant most of our wedding planning revolved around hard labor in our yard. The yard was a barren pit of foxtails and sun-baked clay, and with the help of some family members we managed to build a retaining wall, a deck, new stairs and put in a small army of plants. (Who needs a wedding workout plan when you're hefting 75 pound landscaping bricks and 16 foot lengths of timber?) All that work meant we had a beautiful, lively wedding party outside. And it was perfect.

The day was perfect, 07/07/07. The food was perfect. The temperature was perfect, which we knew it would be. July in San Diego is always perfect, always 72 and sunny. But Thomas' very English granny was convinced it would rain. We tried for weeks to tell her that it wouldn't rain on our wedding day. "Granny," we'd say, "it stops raining in April and it won't rain again until November." To which Granny would say, "But where will you put all your guests if it rains?"

"It just doesn't rain here this time of year, Granny!"

So Granny, today I'm here to tell you that my perfect wedding venue is blanketed in a very cool, very English rain on our third wedding anniversary.