How The Princess Bride Landed Me a Husband

May 28, 2016


Tech Support and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary last week, which is actually a bigger accomplishment than it sounds like because we dated for 13 years before tying the knot. We wanted to be really, really sure. 😛

We already knew each other from work – Hole’s Greenhouses and Gardens, my first teenager job that wasn’t babysitting – but we might never have gotten together if not for The Princess Bride.

princess bride

In Which We Make a Shocking Discovery About Liz

It all began the summer after I graduated high school. Kelsey, bestest friend and Sister of the Traveling Chocolate, had the house to herself that year, because her dad was… somewhere else (it was 21 years ago. Details fade). We spent a lot of time over there, so she wouldn’t be lonely, and spent most of that time watching movies, because we were the kind of boring, well-behaved teenagers parents never hesitated to leave home alone.

Then Kelsey’s cousin Liz came to stay. And while discussing movies, we discovered that Liz had never seen The Princess Bride.

Since The Princess Bride is quite possibly one of the best movies ever made, that situation had to be rectified immediately. We piled into the car and headed to Blockbuster Video.*

In Which a Chance Encounter Leads to a Shocking Question

So we’re combing the aisles of Blockbuster, trying to figure out where the heck they’ve shelved the movie (is it romance? action? comedy? YES), when I bumped into Tech Support, who was there renting a movie of his own. Kelsey and Liz dispersed to continue looking, while I casually chatted with my coworker. I don’t remember what we were talking about (see above re: details), but I do remember the shocking question.

Tech Support: Can I have your phone number?

No one had ever asked me that before. Seriously. And Tech Support was out of my league then, too, so it was even more shocking. But I’m pretty sure I managed to pretend like cute guys asked for my number all the time. And being a writer, I had both a notebook and pen in my purse, which made it easy to provide the requested information.

In Which Kelsey Remembers It Slightly Differently

In her version, she was coming up behind me to tell me they’d found The Princess Bride and were ready to leave when she heard the question, did an abrupt about-face, and moved out of earshot to give me privacy.

According to Kelsey, it was the only time in her life she’d ever picked up on a cue. She did return promptly, which might have been even more important, because my brain was too stunned to drive my wobbly legs in anything like a straight line.

In Which Romance Ensues, and Kelsey Gets to Do the Thing She’s Been Waiting Thirteen Years For

One date led to another, which eventually led to my mom saying that if I didn’t marry Tech Support, she would adopt him as a second son.

We got married. Less paperwork.

Kelsey was the MC. After thirteen years of waiting, she stepped up to the podium and said, “Mawaige. Mawaige is wot bwings us togewar, today.”

Not sure if anyone else got it, but the bridal party cracked up. 😀

What about you? Are you a fan of The Princess Bride? Have a great story of how you and your true love got together? Share, please!

For those of you who’ve grown up with Netflix, this was a store that charged you money to borrow movies. Like a library, but with late fees that required your entire allowance and possibly a spare limb.

 

 



12 Comments on ‘How The Princess Bride Landed Me a Husband’

  1. Aww. What a cute story. Now I love ‘The Princess Bride’ even more! Congratulations you two – on your courage… 🙂 and happy belated anniversary!

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    1. Thanks, Antje!

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  2. The Princess Bride is definitely on my all-time Top Five list – enjoyed reading your story of how it changed your life 🙂

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    1. It really is that good, isn’t it?

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  3. Wov. Twew vow. … Is what brings us together today.

    Happy late anniversary! ?

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    1. Twew wov, will fowwow you, fowevah…

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  4. I have not seen this flick, so I guess some wectifying is in order. Glad you and Tech Support are having so much fun!

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    1. Watch it! You will be an instant fan. It’s completely perfect.

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  5. One of our all-time favorites. My Bob and our kids all had it memorized. I watched it again just last Friday. I tried to get my grandkids to watch it with me, but alas, 7 and 9 is apparently too young … they didn’t get it. I’ll try again in a couple of years. Of course, I can watch it by myself in the meantime.

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    1. I wrote a paper on it for a folktales class and didn’t actually have to rewatch it – I could just play it in my head! Definitely try the grandkids again. When they’re older, try them on Stardust, too. Another fantasy favourite, but a bit darker.

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  6. LOL!!!

    Hi Lindsey, this is a funny and cute story.

    All those years I have known “Tech Support” (we too used to call him that, amongst other sobriquets) and never knew those cute details, it simply confirms how nice of a guy he is.

    Happy belated anniversary to the two of you.

    Take care,
    D

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    1. Thanks, Denis! Tech Support already loved The Princess Bride, so it was clearly going to be True Love from the start.

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