February 25, 1989

Photo from Seattle Times

We've seen some crazy weather in the Puget Sound region this month, windy days, rainy days, sunny days, snowy days.  Schools have been closed and cars have piled up or landed in ditches.  It reminds me of another memorable February -- 1989.  Only that year the thing I most remember was ice.

In August of 1988, when Tom and I got engaged, we chose February 25 for our wedding.  We'd be married at 1:00 at Seattle First Free Methodist Church, near the campus of Seattle Pacific University, on the north side of Queen Anne Hill.  We mailed out our invitations and made our preparations.

February arrived with a vengeance, bringing with it low temperatures and lots of snow.  Lots and lots of snow!  It would warm up during the day, only to freeze again at night, covering the roads with ice, making travel treacherous.

We wondered if anyone would be able to make it to our wedding.

February 25 was a beautiful day.  The snow on the ground was no threat, nor was there any problem with ice.  Much to our delight, the church was packed!

There was a remodel going on in the building which required people to pass through a long, relatively narrow hallway that sloped from the first to the second floor.  It must have been warm in the long, slow line that took people from the sanctuary to the reception.  I think it must have made them thirsty.  Weeks after we returned from our honeymoon a friend said, "It was so cool that you served water at your reception!"  This was an error that could not be ignored.

"We didn't serve water!  We served punch!  Tom and I bought the ingredients ourselves -- we know we served punch!"

"Well, by the time I got there it was water," she replied!