After our previous relationships ended, we supported each other, and as we gradually grew closer, I found how thoughtful and caring Anthony was. We both love to dance, and one night we found ourselves alone together on the dance floor.

Originally we thought about a destination wedding, since he has family here and I have a lot of relatives back in Ukraine. We thought this would be a fair compromise, but the travel wasn't a viable option for the older people in our families.

So we had an intimate but elegant wedding here. I'm an interior designer by profession, and after a lot of research, I had a very clear vision in my mind about what our wedding should look like. It was the details that mattered most to us: walking down the aisle with both my father and grandfather, who raised me when I was a child and flew in from Ukraine for the wedding; our signature cocktails (his-and-her martinis); the candles as the backdrop of our head table; our initials monogrammed on the cake and flowers; and many other things that made it personal and memorable.

And then it rained the entire day! Morning until night, it rained. The guests were supportive; all the married couples were telling us about things that went wrong at their weddings, and pointed out that they were still happily married.

Anthony and I had taken a three-hour dance session to do a waltz for our first dance. We were both nervous, since it was to be a surprise for our guests. And then to compound everything, my gown had gotten wet at the bottom and was sagging down. As I walked, I found myself stepping on it. I was in tears. No one knew that we were about to do this elaborate dance, and now it was falling apart.

My mom rushed over and said, "What can I do to make you happy?" and I said, "I want you to cut three inches off my wedding dress." So she did, and Anthony and I danced, and suddenly it all seemed so silly yet so perfect, just like the two of us.

In the end, it was a wet but perfect day. I saved the three inches of my wedding dress. If I have a daughter, someday it will come in handy at her wedding.