Today, Dean and I celebrate our 20th anniversary!!
It hardly seems possible!
We started out young, with lots of poofy, thick brown hair. An agnostic Jewish boy and a lapsed Catholic Arab-English-Lithuanian girl. Perhaps an unlikely duo.
Still with the full, poofy hair and now full, poofy shoulders, we joyfully rehearsed our vows.
The Big Day arrives! Into the limo! Helped by bridesmaids with poofy hair.
Such a handsome young man! Is it any wonder I fell in love?
I wore my mother's gown. Thank goodness there were no poofy sleeves in 1964 when she bought it!
Oh, and those mountains are real!
My father walked me down the aisle to meet my beloved.
It was a breathtaking, perfect night in Tucson, Arizona. 
I apologize right now for the hideous bridesmaid dresses. Your eyes might be drawn to the big, poofy sleeves. Things in 1990 were obviously very, very poofy.
July 28, 1990
The two shall become one.
You will note the grotesquely long fake fingernails. They were big, but at least they were not poofy.
(And my waist was not poofy then, either!)
First dance as husband and wife.
First dance as husband and wife.
(Sorry for the grainy quality of these scanned photos. We had no digital pictures in 1990... or email, or the Internet. And I had a black and white computer screen at work!)
No fancy, schmancy poofy cake like on Cake Boss. I guess not everything was poofy in the olden days!
Best tasting cake of my life. Chocolate with raspberry filling. I can still taste it.
Here's to us...
...and to the next twenty years!
I LOVE YOU, HONEY!!!
XOXOXOXO
XOXOXOXO
Yay, I get to post first. HA! Congratulations my dear, dear friends. May God continue to reign down His blessings upon you!
ReplyDeleteGORGEOUS! I love the poofy parts too! You too look amazing. 20 years of happiness SHOWS!
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary Leila and Dean!!!! Many blessings to you on this special day!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm laughing so hard, but I'm not sure I should be laughing! D-looks like your boys...OMGOSH! It's crazy the resemblence...Oh the sweater, so funny!
ReplyDelete20 years wow! We are about to hit 5 and I can't believe where the time has gone! Its been the best 5 years of my life! I can't imagine what 20 feels like!!!
Your mother's dress was gorgeous!
Ahhhhh! This is my favorite post ever! Happy anniversary! !
ReplyDeleteOh I love these pics!!! Takes me back!! ha ha!!
ReplyDeleteYou are such a beautiful couple, and praise God for His blessings upon you.
(PS I love your wedding dress!)
LOVE IT!! Those mountains are beautiful!! Is been waiting for this post!! Happy Anniversary!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations - 20 years - what an accomplishment! And I had no idea your husband had been Jewish and agnostic at that. What a testimony :) I wish you at least 40 more!!!
ReplyDeleteOh congratulations on 20 years! Wow! And what a beautiful wedding and bride you made!!! Love the dress and even your poofy hair hehe! Btw, I was a jr. bridesmaid in 1995 and my dress looked almost exactly like your bridesmaid dresses, haha, even the color! Oh those 90's.
ReplyDeleteYour Mother's dress was beautiful! And if it's possible, you both look even better now than you did then. That's a sign of a good and healthy marriage:)
ReplyDeleteThat church (and cake) is amazing. Cake...Now I want cake.
Happy Anniversary. You're like Rock Stars of Marriage:)
Congrats!! How is it possible that while the hair has changed in the past 20 years, y'all look almost EXACTLY the same?? What a great looking couple, then and now. Here's to the next 20!
ReplyDeleteWhat a handsome couple! May God bless you and your family on this special day!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary! What a wonderful couple – then and now! Dean is such a handsome guy and you are just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHappy Happy Anniversary!!Y'all are precious:) I hope you have a blessed day!
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary! I love this post! :)
ReplyDeleteH A P P Y A N N I V E R S A R Y ! ! ! ! !
ReplyDeleteI LOVE seeing pics of y'all in your wedding! Leila you were gorgeous then and you're gorgeous now!
And, um, no I don't blame you for falling in love. What a hottie! :)
By the way, that first picture could totally be an album cover for greatest love songs.
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary! Love all pics, poofiness and all :). You guys are gorgeous, btw.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! Happy Anniversary!!
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable couple then and now! Happy anniversary!!
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary, you poufy thing you!
ReplyDelete;)
(And yeah, your mom's dress is gorgeous.)
Awwww!!! Happy Anniversary!! What a great looking couple!! 20 years down and a lifetime to go!! Congrats!!
ReplyDeleteYou two are a BEAUTIFUL couple! Happy anniversary!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I might be the only one here, but I actually liked when tops/dresses gave women a little shoulder. Maybe not that much, but some. My dress had a little and it made my shape look so much better. Mainly because I have NO shoulders!
P.S. What Church is that in Tucson? It looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary!! Gotta love the poof!
ReplyDeleteYou guys look great...then and now!
Happy 20th anniversary! I love your mom's dress. The poof is so fun. It's like how you can tell 70s weddings based on tuxedos.
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS!! We are celebrating our 17th this weekend. I think you looked beautiful! I miss poofy hair, sometimes
ReplyDeleteCongrats!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, you guys! You are all sweet and funny, and have great fashion insight!
ReplyDeleteJust remember two things when looking at the last picture:
Lighting is everything,
and
It's all smoke and mirrors!
Congratulations!! I loved your pictures with the Tuscon night in the background. You and your husband still look happily married and in love. "Love never ends..." :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. You are right-- lots of bloggers got married in the summertime!
Yah!! Happy Anniversary!
ReplyDeleteYou two were glowing then and are still glowing with love!! I love it!!
Gorgeous pictres and dress! Enjoy your day :)
Happy Anniversary! I love the mountains in the background. I love AZ. Beautiful pictures...beautiful couple. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete1. Congratulations!!
ReplyDelete2. You look gorgeous and your mother's dress is also gorgeous!
3. I share a common heritage with both you and your husband. I'm Lithuanian Jewish (well, technically Lithuania was under Russian control then, so I always say Russian Jew, but as you know Lithuania has its own strong culture distinct from Russia.)
4. I was in a wedding in 1990 as a flower girl and the top of my dress was almost exactly like your bridesmaids. The puffy sleeves were very 80s/90s, but maybe it is a timeless style because remember Anne Shirley loved puffed sleeves too.
Happy Anniversary! My Dad and step-mom got married in 1992 - and I have (had) a bridesmaid dress that looked very similar to those - things were still poofy in '92!
ReplyDeleteOh, and that church with the mountains, breath-taking!
Happy Anniversary! :)
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful! The bride, the groom, the dress, the church, the mountains, cake, big nails, poufy hair, poufy shoulders .....
ReplyDeleteCongratulations and here's to many more!
Happy Anniversary! I love the pics- poof and all! You and your hub are adorable! I hope you enjoyed your special day!
ReplyDeleteI loved walking back in time with you-what a great post! The pics are so fun to see-you both looked great then and now! What a nice tribute on your anniversary!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your dress! What a gorgeous couple you are!
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary!!
Happy Anniversary! Lovely photos. Ditto to Sarah's comment above....I, too, was a junior bridesmaid for my sister's first wedding in 1995 and my bridesmaid dress was exactly like your bridesmaids dresses, except my dress was white satin with a floral pattern (and huge poufy sleeves). And I wore a hair comb with the pearls dripping off of it....lol
ReplyDeleteLove your bridal gown, very Mad Men!
I am late to the party (obviously), but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to wish you a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! God Bless you Leila and your dear, dear husband!
ReplyDeleteWow, your's is the prettiest wedding dress that I've seen from a late '80s-early '90s bride. Good for you for going with your mother's dress! And happy very late anniversary. I just followed the link in your comment on matchingmoonheads.
ReplyDeleteRae, thank you!! That is so sweet!
ReplyDeleteYou're beautiful! What a gorgeous couple. Happy anniversary!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! What a beautiful wedding you had!! Do you plan to renew your vows?
ReplyDeleteDD
Happy anniversary! And while things might have been poofy, I can still tell that it was a very stylish wedding. And that dress! Gorgeous! I'm sure not many wedding dresses stand the test of time like that one.
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary to a gorgeous couple who made a gorgeous family! Now your two daughters are grown and married. Oh gosh, the onions in this room are killing me.
ReplyDelete