Bride and Grooms name: Natalie and Jim

Date of Engagement: 8/17/02

Date of Wedding if set: 5/15/04

Romantic or Funny Story: Jim and I have known one another since before I was born. I guess I should explain... It all started about 27 years back when our mothers came to the U.S. as nurses. Both our parents were recently married and came to the U.S. to begin their careers as well as a family. Our mothers became good friends and jokingly would say that if I was born a girl then I would be promised to Jim. Well things worked out. Four month after Jim was born, I made my grand entrance to the world. Our parents travelled back and forth between the U.S. and Thailand and on a chance encounter, Jim and I, then 2 years old, met for the first time while at a stop over in Japan. This is where we shared our first kiss, although staged by our parents. Who would have known that years later it would have grown into something so much more. Unfortunately, our families moved away from one another to build better lives. My family stayed in NY, while Jim’s family moved to Maryland. During our childhood, our mothers kept in touch frequently and Jim and I saw each other once in a while on holidays. As we got older, our families grew further apart and we saw less of each other. I guess it wasn’t until about 20 years later when I heard from Jim again. Jim was now working for a consulting firm and I was just one year out of college working as a lab rat. Jim and I had reconnected and began emailing each other. Our emails led to phone calls. Then one day, while I was busy setting up an experiment, in walks a florist with a beautiful arrangement of long stem red roses with one single white rose in the center. I was befuddled to say the least. I had never received flowers before and couldn’t imagine whom they were from. Jim and I had been good friends up until then and if their had been any attraction, this was definitely a clear sign of that but what did the white rose mean? After the flowers were delivered, Jim called to confirm the delivery and simply explained “Of all the beautiful women out there, you are the one that stands out from all the rest, much like the white rose in a bouquet of red roses.” We have been inseparable ever since. The Beginning….