Meri (my best friend, maid of honor, etc) was my college roommate and went to high school with Justin. I had heard a little bit about him from Meri, but I actually met him when he and his friend Andy came to visit our apartment one day in 2002. Both of us were in serious relationships at the time, but we struck up a friendship. I remember Meri asking me what I thought about Justin later that day and my exact words were that he was "very hot", but that I would NEVER date him. He came across extremely cocky at the time, but I could still tell that he was a nice guy. Long story short, a couple of years went by where we would hang out with our group of friends, and although we remained strictly friends, it was obvious there was more there. I remember one day we drove to Edisto for the day with Meri and Andy and split a ham and pineapple pizza. Still-we were only friends. I really think everyone else saw it before we did. As time went on, we started hanging out more and more together. At this point we both single (for the most part! :) We were both dating people, but nothing serious. One night our group of friends ended up meeting up for breakfast after a late night out and me and Justin hung out talking for awhile. The next day, something changed.
The next part of the story changes depending on who is telling the story. Justin's version is always more dramatic than mine and makes me look like a lush. He thinks he remembers the night better, but I remember it clearly. Here is what happened. I started the night out early with my friends Ashley and Lauren. We hit up King St. Grill and as I mentioned, the celebration was in full force. Later that evening, we walked across the street to what used to be The Warehouse (now it is a store called Biton) on King Street for a concert by Will Hogue. We ran into Justin. My friend Ashley thought he was gorgeous and basically said "If you don't date him, I will!". As the night went on, I noticed that Justin was there and on a date with someone. I remember thinking to myself "Exactly WHAT does he think he is doing?". Up to this point, I had not seet him with another girl in a long time and it sort of jarred me to see it. I really did feel angry at him. So, what is a girl to do but make a complete fool of herself, right?
And that is exactly what I did. I came sauntering up to him while he was talking to the girl. I (boldly) interruped them and stepped right smack in between them and gave Justin a big hug. His version includes the part where one of my hands ended up on his butt. You can choose who to believe! Ok, I admit, that part is true. HA! And since I hope Jackson will be reading this one day, I will censor the next part. Basically I asked him what he was doing with her. Not in a mean or angry way, but in a "Come on, seriously? Why are you wasting your time" type of way. I told him he needed to drop this chick that he was with and be with me. This was completely out of character for me. As you can imagine, Justin was blindsided and in an awkward place. He said that he had no idea that I felt that way and it was news to him. At this point, he somehow summoned Andy to come to the bar and intervene. Andy offered to drive me home, as the night was coming to an end and I clearly needed to go home anyway (!) The poor girl that was with Justin that night was pretty ticked off. (FYI I think she knew better than to say anything to me. If you know me, you know I NEVER go down like a punk! haha) Anyway, Andy drove me home. This part of the story is where I accidently leave my credit card at the bar, so Andy has to drive me back. You know its a bad night when you leave your card at the bar!
So I get home and my phone rings. It is Justin. He says "Are you feeling ok?" and I say I am fine. Then he says "Are you going to be wierd about this tomorrow?". I can only say "Yes.". He then suggests that we meet up the next day for lunch. In a nutshell: We do. It goes amazingly well. We are inseperable pretty much from that day on-so much so that our close friends start calling us "Jamber". And there you have it. That was in 2004.
Now here we are: happily married for 4 years. Our wedding was a perfect fall day and all that I imagined it would be. I can't say enough about what a wonderful husband and father Justin is. He is everything and more that I ever dreamed of and although he drives me CRAZY sometimes, I love him more and more every day. There is no doubt that I lucked out with one of the good ones. No, one of the great ones! But most importantly, not only is he a wonderful husband, but he is a wonderful father and that makes me love him even more. His family is his first priority and he shows that every single day. What a lucky girl I am! Happy anniversary sweetie!! LOVE!
The first picture of us as a couple:
Yes, that is who you think it is. No, despite his appearance, this is not a wax figure! :)
Engaged at the Biltmore on New Years Eve.
October 28, 2006
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