I just can’t even believe I’m writing this post. You guys, Nick and I have been married for 10 years (!!!!!!!!) today – a whole decade, more than a third of our lives which is the weirder part of that. We wanted to share a little bit about our love story (cue the awww’s) and some fun facts – 10 fun facts to be exact – with you. (Rhyme unintentional.)
We met at Big Country Baptist youth camp. Not. Even. Kidding. That’s really the name. I hesitantly went to camp, and Nick was in what he calls the worst praise band in the history of youth camps. Clearly the formula for love match. Let’s top it off with the fact we were both 16.
In retrospect, it was probably the leopard collared mechanic shirt that got me.
The first time I saw Nick he was getting a coke. My friend pointed him out and said what about that guy he’s hot. (Youth camps are about picking up guys apparently.) I said, “Meh. He’s really too skinny.” But then at some point during the camp…
…I was really into the skinny boy that played bass. I was actually the one who approached him. We connected over a particularly snarky moment making fun of his cousin (who was standing in front of us). We knew it was true love which leads us to 10 interesting tidbits about us.
1. I also called Nick first. I was a barista and the coffee shop I worked at needed a band to play on Friday. I just happened to know a bass player in a band…he was in an actual band not the people he played with at the camp.
2. Our first date was at Mama’s Pizza. Nick hadn’t showered in 3 days. I overslept (for lunch…oh to be a teen), so my hair was wet and in a ponytail. Nick’s dad canceled the credit card he had given him right before he remembered Nick had it, so he had to borrow money from his uncle for our pizza buffet. Afterwards we just walked around the mall.
3. We lived an hour and a half away from each other which required a drive through downtown Dallas (real safe for a 16 year old). Nick would skip school to miss all the traffic and come see me. Unfortunately he missed 100 hours (I don’t know how that’s even possible) of school his junior year and had to make up the hours by sitting in the cafeteria after school. Detention style. It was so many hours they just told him to come every day and sit.
4. Obviously we went to my senior prom in 2002. Nick missed his cd release at The Door in Dallas to be there. I did offer to go with someone else so he wouldn’t miss, but he wouldn’t have that. Nick surprised me by cutting his hair into a mullet for the special event as well. It was embarrassing to both of us.
5. We had our first kiss at Celebrate Freedom which is an all day outdoor concert. He leaned in to kiss me (his first kiss), and I told him to stop. I was really nervous and scared, but eventually (like 5 minutes later) I let him kiss me. In retrospect it was probably a bit on the slobbery side, but neither of us really knew much better.
6. Not to make this all about kisses, but that whole “you may kiss the bride” thing at weddings did not go so well for us. Nick tried to slip me the tongue, so I hit him. Only on his leg but what a way to start a romantic marriage huh.
7. The plan was not to smash cake in each other’s face because that’s what kids would do. We were mature 19 year olds who had just gotten married (sarcasm alert). Someone yelled get him back for the kiss. I got his nose. He got my ear.
8. We honeymooned in Niagara Falls. This was the view from our room. Incredible right. By lucky coincidence the drinking and gambling age in Canada is 19…and we just so happened to be 19. Thank you guy on the plane that tipped us off to that. We had 1 Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Nick lost all our cash, and I won it all back. Winning all around.
9. We took a Marital and Sexual Relations class in college. It was online. We got into a tisk with the professor over some extra credit, so she accused us of cheating on our tests. I mean technically we did cheat by doing the tests together, but that’s beside the point. How dare her.
10. Shockingly we had been to youth camps and several lock-ins together before we actually met. It’s crazy to think about all the opportunities that we had to run into each other and just didn’t. Not like we had to wait very long, but it’s no coincidence that we met a month after Nick got his driver’s license.
A very happy anniversary to us! It has been an incredible decade full of unimaginable things. We are headed out to Knife tonight in Dallas. We went to Spoon for our 9th, so it’s the logical step. In case you are wondering the 10th anniversary is tin (lame). We decided to donate 120 canned foods – 1 for each month of marriage – to a food bank in lieu of getting each other something.
Full disclosure if I win the lotto today I will also buy myself an anniversary airstream. Here’s our 8th and 9th anniversary posts if you want to know all about our gifts and plans with some mushy stuff along the way.
I know I only had the pleasure of meeting you two once, but I got to spend two glorious days in your company and this post is perfect! It is SO your personalities (or at least what I know about them). You two are an amazing couple! You seriously light up a room, make things WAY more fun than they would otherwise be and you’re both so damn fun! 😉 Nick has amazing charisma! Amber is beautiful and has the best sarcastic personality ever! Love you both! So happy you met and so LUCKY I got to meet both of you!
Oh, and happy anniversary! Probably should’ve included that in my novel above, huh?
Haha thank you Jessica! I’m so glad we got to meet you and even more thrilled that we hit it off! I could blame Nick’s charisma on the alcohol at Alt and my sarcastic tendency on the fact I couldn’t have any alcohol there, but it wouldn’t be true. That’s pretty much how we are regardless of liquid beverage.
oh my gosh, i LOOOOOVED reading this! i just love you guys! chris and i hit 10 years last september! woot woot! it’s epic. we didn’t meet in the same way, but i think i should share the story one day. 😉
You definitely should!! I love hearing other people’s love stories. We love you too Cassie.
Okay, this is the best “how we got together and stayed together” story ever. You guys seem like the perfect match! So cute. Congrats!
Oh man the how we stayed together part is really still confusing to me. 😉 Kidding. Thanks Laura.
Happy Anniversary Amber and Nick! We love you both
Thanks Emily and the rest of you Felkers! We love you too.
I had so much fun reading this! Your story is so great. I cannot believe you two have been together that long… gives me hope! Happy anniversary!!
Emily
Thank you! I really can’t believe it either. It doesn’t feel like that long, but seriously who marries the guy they dated at 16?? No one or if they do it’s over quickly. You and Aaron are adorable! Also you had the benefit of getting married post pinterest. I’m green with envy!
Happy Anniversary!!!!! Super fun post! 10 is also aluminum; we got bikes. for awhile we even used them :).
You clearly don’t know me well Gretchen. I have an irrational fear of bikes. Completely terrified of them. Nick is always complaining about how boring I am and how much he wants a bike. Maybe I should just him one…except I’d never let him ride it because I’d be afraid I’d end up a widow.
oh, that’s right–I DID know that! That’s why you’re scared of Denmark 😉
I kept thinking last night that I’d told you, but I couldn’t figure out when we would have had that conversation. You’re right Denmark! You’ve already seen my crazy.
Happy Anniversary! Loved reading more about how you guys met. Very sweet that you donated canned foods in lieu of a gift
I was really proud for thinking about the canned food. I’m not the gift giver, so when I have a good idea it’s real exciting.
Before I can say anything else, thanks for pointing out the leopard collared mechanic shirt. Thank you. Next. The mullet. Thank you
But seriously this part had me rolling: We are headed out to Knife tonight in Dallas. We went to Spoon for our 9th, so it’s the logical step.
Are you just going to ask Nick to fork it over for the 11th… or what.
Oh – with all the fabulous new information, I totally forgot: Happy Anniversary!!!
Ha thank you!
Girl, Nick wore that leopard collared shirt all the time. I can’t decide if we can blame being teens or the early 2000’s more for that one.
There is a restaurant here called 3 Forks, so maybe we can go there. Probably not though. It’s unrelated to Spoon and Knife which have the same chef. We are pretty big on going to chef driven restaurants.
Happy 10 Wills’ Buddies!! Congrats! It was fun to go down memory lane with you!
Thank you! It was fun to write this last night. We were cracking up the entire time.
Happy anniversary! This was the best post to read. Love when people share back stories!
Angela @ Number Fifty-Three
Thanks Angela!
Happy Anniversary!!! I am so proud of you !!! I can’t believe, it’s been 10 years, you mean so much to me! I love you both! Awesome post!
Thanks Angie! You’ve seen it over time, but it’s still weird to think it’s been 10 years. Also weird to think Kelsey just graduated college! We love you too!
You guys are hysterical. Love that he didn’t shower for three days on your first date. That’s awesome
And that leopard collared mechanic shirt is so stylish!
A match made in heaven…ah I mean youth camp.
Congratulations you two
We set our first date standards really low. He was recording stuff with his uncle and couldn’t be bothered to shower. When I got into his truck, he said let me move my other girlfriend – his bass which was in the passengers seat. I said um I didn’t know I was your girlfriend. I was pretty sassy even back then.
Oh this post was fantastic! My favorite two pics have to be Nick, with the bass, and the “who me?” look and then you in the next pic, rocking the fluorescent lime green shirt, and the “I’m a Christian band groupie yea” look. Classic. You two are just fabulous together and I hope you have a happy tin-filled anniversary (maybe Bo and I should send 120 cans of food as a gift? To replace what you and the hubs donated 😉 ).
I think we are probably the only family that has zero canned foods in their pantry. Not because we donated them all, but we generally just don’t have any. Chef Nick only works with the freshest of ingredients. Oh Nichole there are so many more stories. Y’all need to come stay with us. We can put the girls (and Beckett) down and giggle the night away!
Oui, oui! I am dying to see the house and pressing Bo for a June or July visit. We need quality Nick and Amber time and the girls need quality Nona and Baby B time. Btw — Can I sleep on that gorgeous kitchen island……bwhahahahaah…
You definitely can sleep on the island, but you are not allowed to sue if you fall off.
I love hearing how people met and this is a GREAT story. Happy Anniversary!
Thanks Haley! We love seeing people’s face when we tell them how we met. It’s generally shocked and just waiting for us to say just kidding.
happy happy anniversary- I LOVE your gift idea!! and your story. and your pictures.
Haha thanks Stephanie! Our wedding pictures are pretty terrible, but no wedding before pinterest counts against you anyway!
Happy Anniversary a day late, and what a wonderful idea to donate 120 cans of food in lieu of an anniversary gift!
Fred (a.k.a. Bob) and I are celebrating our 40th anniversary on Sunday, but I am definitely not writing a list of 40 things on my blog (especially since I can’t seem to be bothered to write anything on my blog lately). And old married men (at least my old married man) are not adventurous as far as dining options, so we will probably celebrate with a meal at somewhere more mundane than Knife.
Well Happy Anniversary a day early to you!! Knife was delicious I bet he’d love it if you stuck with the classic steakhouse options. Now driving to Dallas is the real bummer about it! I was trying to think of somewhere in Ft Worth to recommend – Bird (downtown), AF&B (7th), Magnolia Cheese (not sure if they are open Sunday). All of those are delicious and have some pretty normal choices mixed in with some adventurous ones! I actually ate a couple of raw dishes at Knife which I normally won’t do. They were both incredible.
You guys are so cute! I say next year you find a place called Spork 😉
Isn’t it amazing how layered the steps are that we have to take to “run into” one another isnt it? Fate!
I think Spork is currently doing business as Luby’s, so we might have to pass and find a new theme.
What a fun post to read!! I love your gift idea this year… Happy anniversary!!
Thanks Gabbi!
I totally loved this post. I want you guys to come hang over because I think the four of us would laugh a lot. OMG, I just did that weird blog reader thing where I project things onto you. Sorry. It’s just that I did all the baptist youth camps, and Andy and I also got married as tiny babies (I was 21, so not as tiny as you guys, but still.) Nine years tomorrow for us. Happy anniversary you guys!
I can only imagine (catch that reference) all the giggles that would happen with the 4 of us. It’s my turn to project things onto you. Happy early anniversary!
Awww… this is adorable. All of it. You two are just too much cute. Love the pictures of you two as babies. And the leopard print mechanic shirt? Rawwwr.
I know how can a girl resist that!
You are the funniest person I know. You are amazing & I love you. Thank you and have a great day.
Ha you’re so sweet. I love you too. Glad I could entertain. You know there’s more ridiculous stories to be heard!
Okay. I can’t even handle you two. I know I’m a little late to the party, but dammit, you guys are perfect. Everyone should aspire to be as great as Nick & Amber Wills. Fun fact, my husband, too, was a bass player in a band through out our high school years. We went to high school together; I was in student government, and his band was auditioning for battle of the bands. We didn’t pick them. Probably because the name of their band was “Unseen Murder.”
1) Thank you! So sweet even though you’re totally off base by thinking we are perfect. However we are lots of fun to hang out with, so get on that. 2) Unseen Murder…I died from laughter, so maybe they were onto something.