Joe and Heather’s story was shared at their wedding….that I also had to share it here.  I love all the unique stories of how people met and how the universe brings people together.

………..Story Provided by Heather & Joe……….

Joe and Heather met at work…the important part of their story is that if everything was based on their first date, their relationship should have never made it to this point. It should have been over right away.

How did their date begin?  Their date started out great with the idea to go to Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada. Not a bad idea, but Heather didn’t have her birth certificate to cross the border with. When she told Joe about this, he seemed disappointed, so she decided that they would go to Vancouver no matter what. Maybe, Heather should have taken this as a sign and made a new date plan, but no! Instead, she drove a two-hour round trip to get her birth certificate from her father the night before.

They made it tp Canada and to the park the next day for their date.   First, they visited the local aquarium and afterwards decided to go on a long walk around the park. A couple yards into the walk, Heather noticed her eyes starting to sting. She didn’t want to interrupt the fabulous conversation going on to complain, so she continued on. Soon, her eyes started watering a little. Heather, embarrassed over her eyes and not wanting to look like she was crying for no reason, tried to nonchalantly brush them away while looking out across the Vancouver bay. Joe probably thought she really liked boats, but it became apparent that her eyes were giving her a problem because by the end of the first mile, jokes started being made about how everything along their walk seemed so touching. This went on for the whole ten mile walk.

At about mile seven, Heather’s knee went out and she started feeling excruciating pain with every step. Not wanting Joe to think her weak, she sucked it up and tried her best not to stumble, while keeping her leg as stiff as possible and trying not to appear like she was limping.  Joe offered her a piggyback ride back to the car, which was still about a quarter mile away. Heather declined the gesture too humiliated enough already and figured she could just walk it off.

By the end of the walk, they were hungry, so Heather, as mortified as she was with her physical issues, covered up her embarrassment and accepted Joe’s dinner suggestion. Heather’s eyes slowly returned to normal after they left the park, and she figured she could cover up her gimpy leg for the rest of their date and pretend that it was better too. Dinner was a success, so they made their way slowly back to their vehicle.

Now it was time for Joe to get a dose of embarrassment. While they were waiting for an elevator to take them down to the parking garage, a moment happened. You know, one of those moments when things get quiet and two people lock eyes and slowly go in for a kiss. Well, things got quiet, and they were looking at each other. However, Joe decided to use a smooth move he saw in the movie, Hitch, where the man is suppose to start going in for a kiss and wait for the woman to close the gap. This is suppose to make a woman feel empowered and think the guy isn’t pushy, but  it doesn’t work when the girl just wants to be kissed.

Joe went in for a kiss and stopped. Heather, seeing him come closer, wondered why Joe stopped. She looked around quickly and noticed someone was close by and thought he might have been self-consciousness that the gentleman stopped. Then, she thought, “Fine, if he won’t kiss me, I’ll kiss him!” Only, as she started taking things into her own hands, Joe quickly pulled back completely embarrassed, thinking that Heather didn’t want him to touch her. Heather didn’t want the last impression of their date to be “the moment” which followed her ten mile allergic reaction to who knows what. So, she invited Joe for a round of drinks at the local Beaver Inn and got to know him in a more casual environment. It was here at the Beaver Inn that the date was saved by good music and better company.

At the end of the night they found themselves standing in front of Heather’s apartment.  The had a second chance for their first kiss….and this one was not Hitch-inspired. From that moment, the worst first date blossomed into a romance that led Joe and Heather to this moment.  If they can laugh their way through that, there is nothing that can stand in the way of their love.