The Best Wedding Anniversary We Ever Had

By Jada Parrish

Posted: 07/11/19

Category: Personal

Birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries stress me out. There's always extra pressure put on those days to be "extra special" and then I feel bummed if they fall short. I try to not make a big deal out of them most of the time, but deep down they really do matter to me.

Last September was our 5 year wedding anniversary, the biggest milestone we had celebrated thus far in our marriage. I really wanted it to be special, but the way our schedule lined, up we had shoots all day, my Dad's Gala to attend that evening, and a wedding to photograph the next day. My expectations of the day were low. As much as I wanted it to be a special day, I thought that with the commitments we had in place there would not be room to really celebrate. I kept telling myself we could celebrate another day, but I was disappointed.

Maybe it was because I had resigned myself to the idea that our anniversary couldn't be special that year, but our 5 year anniversary ended up being the best one we have ever had.

David and I aren't big gift people. Things don't really matter to us as much as quality time and experiences do, so neither one of us had gotten the other an anniversary present. 

One of the things I love about David the most is his spontaneity. He does not like to plan ahead, which often drives me completely crazy, but then he will randomly surprise me with things that are so out of the blue and are more than I could have hoped for. 

I came downstairs that morning to find David sitting on the couch, drinking coffee, with his laptop open, browsing flights to Spain. He said, "We're going to Spain in March." I was beyond excited. I studied abroad in Spain in college, and even though David was thousands of miles away back in Virginia, Spain is where I fell in love with him. I wanted so badly to take him back to the place where, in my eyes, our love story really started. David, had not traveled much and had not been bitten by the travel bug yet, so he didn't see the value in travel and never really seemed to have a desire to go to Spain. I am not sure what changed his mind that day, but those surprise tickets were the best gift anyone has ever given me.

I was on a little bit of a high after that. The rest of the day was pretty unremarkable, but my spirits were so high that everything seemed a little extra special that day. We got dressed up, attended my Dad's Gala for a few hours, then decided to leave early to sneak in a late anniversary dinner at a restaurant near our house that we had been meaning to try.

We had the most delicious meal and then were surprised to find out the table next to us had ordered us dessert and tequila shots!

We had ubered to the restaurant from the Gala, so we decided to walk home after dinner. We held hands as we walked through our neighborhood, slightly buzzed from the tequila, and all I could think was that this was the best anniversary ever.

A little spontaneity and a good attitude can go a long way.