Tara & Lee Wedding Trailer from Fresh Focus Films on Vimeo.
Hey friends! Today is a special day because it is mine and Lee’s SIXTH wedding anniversary (we’ll have been together TEN years this coming April)! Since he tends to shy away from the camera and you don’t see him much on the blog or social media, I thought this would be a great opportunity for anyone new around here to get to know a little about us and our love story!
These stories can tend to drag out so I’ll stick to the basics! Haha! Lee is originally from New Jersey, and of all the places in the country he moved to Texarkana, TX when he finished residency. The man had been in school for more than 15 years for training (he’s a neurosurgeon) so he was ready to move somewhere a little quieter and low key, and Texarkana was just that.
Meanwhile, I was born and raised in Texarkana, AR (Texarkana is a twin city located in both Arkansas and Texas….he makes sure to tell people he lived in Texas while I stay true to my good ol Arkansas roots). I was actually in college in Fayetteville and then Little Rock when Lee moved to Texarkana so we didn’t meet until several years later. He actually operated on my dad in 2007, and I briefly met him in the office at my dad’s appointment, but that was it. I did know who he was because I was the Director of Nursing at an urgent care clinic at the time so we referred many patients to him…..but I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS imagined he would someday become my husband!!
Fast forward to a time when my mom was getting impatient and ready for me to find a husband (true southern woman!) so she and her friends actually set Lee and I up on a (semi) blind date (Basically she printed off my picture and had her friends give it to him without telling me. Talk about mortifying!!) He later told me he thought it was kinda weird and wasn’t gonna call, but his neighbor was actually a really good friend of my family and he happened to stop by to hang out one day. The subject came up about this girl and the picture and Troy (his neighbor) told him to go call me right then! So he did, and we went on our first date two days later! If it weren’t for fate stepping in when it did….I probably wouldn’t be here right now telling you this story. Crazy isn’t it!?!
Our dating life was filled with adventure….and I mean lots of adventure. We went scubadiving in Bonaire for two weeks after only dating for 5 months, one weekend we woke up and just decided to go skydiving (sorry about that one, mom), we went ziplining, rock climbing, camping….we just loved doing exciting things that challenged us, and doing it together made it that much more fun.
Lee eventually decided it was important to move back to New Jersey and change up where he practiced medicine, and I made the HARD decision to give up my career and move with him. Talk about scary! But I’ll never forget what my mom said…..”You can go, try it out, and if it doesn’t work you can always move back. Or you can stay here and risk losing the love of your life.” Right then and there I decided to just do it! So here I am now, talking to you on my blog, in New Jersey, with two beautiful children, and a husband who works SO VERY HARD every day to give us this blessed and amazing life. He pushes me to chase me dreams and not be afraid of failure. There are so many things I would have missed out on or wouldn’t have done if Lee wasn’t right there pushing me to go for it. He brings out the best in me, and truly believes in me and anything I want to do. I’m not saying every day is easy because we all know marriage has it’s challenges, but t is so worth it to get to spend your life with your best friend!
I said I would keep it short, but then I got all excited typing it all out! Haha! Hope you enjoyed reading our story, and I’ll leave you with some photos from our wedding! That day was truly a dream come true! I had a vision and knew what I wanted, and Kyle Barrett went above and beyond and blew my vision out of the water!! I still look back and think “Was that really my wedding??” I’m just in awe of all the things I’ve been blessed with, and I certainly don’t take any of it for granted. Happy Anniversary, Lee Buono! All my tomorrows belong to you! I love you with all my heart!
