Four.

We started dating in college, my senior year and his junior year.  By the time I graduated I was head over heels for Bob Chuck {one of Charlie's many college nicknames}.  We stayed together after graduation, and Charlie joined me to spend the summer working on a guest ranch out in Wyoming.  Charlie headed back to school in Tennessee, and I moved back to Richmond where I began teaching and attending graduate school.  We dated long distance for three years.  In 2008 Charlie proposed and we began planning our wedding for the following spring.  After several months of planning, some family problems came up and we decided to put the wedding on hold for a little while.  But we were ready to get married, so we decided to take the leap.

During a hot week in July, Charlie and I each packed a bag and headed to the Eastern shore of Virginia.  We checked into a cute bed and breakfast with amazing food, picked up a marriage license at the courthouse, and visited the national park's headquarters to pick up a permit to be married on the beach.  

I threw on a white J.Crew sundress {my sister's graduation dress, which I snagged from her closet} and my cousin's pearl necklace, and Charlie put on a white button down and blue seersucker pants,  and we headed to the beach in Chincoteague where we met up with Captain Spider {ship captains have the power to marry people} and were married on the beach.  We came home, greeted by the fellow B&B-ers and the owners, who treated us to wine and champagne, and we giddily called our family and friends.  It was a Wednesday, and it was wonderful!

It's hard to believe that was four years ago.  Happy anniversary to my sweet husband! I look forward to many more years filled with love and adventures!