Asheville Guitar Bar

Shortcuts

• Address
• Opening Hours
• Alerts
• Contact The Business
• Claim ownership or report listing
• 

  Want your business to be the top-listed Event Planning Service in Asheville?

Mark & Julia, Our Beginings

This is a photo of Mark and I and our 4 kids in 2001: Lucas, Lindsey, Hayley, & Jeremy. The six of us were on a Thanksgiving vacation from Orlando to Ohio, so that all of of families could meet each of us together. A full week in an SUV loaded to the roof with kids, belongings, the excitement of travel, and newly forming friendships between siblings, proved to be the trip of a lifetime! No drama, no challenges, just lots of silliness, and amazing memories.

Mark and I met in March of 2000 when he brought some of Lindsey’s high school graduation photos to be framed, into the picture frame shop that I was working in at the time. Over the course of the next nine months, Mark would show up on Saturday mornings with more framing! He ended up having hundreds of dollars worth of framing done that he really didn’t need, an excuse of course, to see me! We would share conversations about his artwork and his daughters, and about my paintings and my boys. He learned how to pronounce and order my favorite Starbucks coffee, (no small feat either!) and would drop one off each Saturday with a cookie or brownie, just to say “Hi!”. After a while he’d bring each of his daughters in to meet me. They laugh now at the story of asking him on Saturday mornings, “What are you doing today Dad? Going to the frame shop?!”

This went on for months. I couldn’t figure out why this guy wouldn’t ask me out. I knew he liked me! After all, he brought his daughters in to meet me. That’s a big deal, right? Anyway, in October 2000, I had some of my new work in a cancer benefit art show, and had received 2 admission tickets to share; I thought of Mark. I pulled his address from our frame shop computer, bought a cute little card, and sent him an invitation to my 3 day art show with a ticket. In my invitation I mentioned that it would be nice to share my artwork with him on any of the 3 nights of the show, and that I hoped to see him.

Well, he came to the show the first night, not using his ticket but paying to get in. He did the same on the second night and third night, and he still has that ticket in the card as a memento of when we started dating. Toward the end of the first night of the show, Mark walked me to my car. We had small chit chat before leaving and he asked if he could kiss me. With an embarrassed smile I said ‘No’, but he kissed my shoulder that was exposed by my off-the-shoulder dress. So romantic! We’ve been together from that weekend on, 19 years this coming October, and only apart when traveling for our previous jobs that sometimes didn’t allow for a partner to tag along. To this day as well, Mark continues to be just as sentimental and romantic as he was when he courted me for all those months in 2000.

 ...