The Story Of Bill And Kerstin

When Bill and I are asked how we met, Bill’s favorite short answer is “In a bar.” True, up to a point. Bill DJ'd for various local clubs during the late 80’s through the 90’s. One of his longest runs was at a local Bennigans that had a small dance floor attached to the restaurant. Bill was the DJ there for “Alternative Nights” every Tuesday for around six years. A group of my friends and I (all Renaissance Festival geeks) used to attend every Tuesday. It was sort of like a private party; everyone knew everyone and we all had a good time dressing Goth and dancing to Morrissey songs, pseudo-moshing to Stigmata by Ministry and catching up on gossip. As for Bill, I knew him as the DJ guy whose name might be Bill, who wore weird hats and looked a little like Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

One night I walked by the DJ booth and Bill and I locked eyes. We kept the contact as I walked around to the opening in the booth. Bill put down his headphones, came up to me, pressed me against the wall and kissed me till my toes curled. After that, I went my way and he returned to the booth. Neither of us, to this day, can give you straight answer as to why we kissed. Fate sounds goofy, but there ya go.

We dated steadily after that for around five years. Both of us were a bit gun shy about the idea of marriage, so I guess it took us a while to wear each other down. I don’t regret taking our time however, it was worth it. In 1997 Bill took me to one of my favorite spots in the USA, New Orleans. I thought it was just a very cool Birthday trip, turns out it was Bill’s evil plan to get my defenses down over a plate of Bananas Foster at Brennans and propose. How could I say no? Of course, I spent the rest of the evening freaked out, and you really DON’T need to know how I got all the beads that night.

So we married on October 3rd 1998. Both being Florida Natives, we wanted to have our wedding be reflective of our state's history so we had our wedding at the St. Andrews Chapel in Dunedin, Florida. Our hReception at the Belleview Biltmore. We went up north to see the fall colors for our honeymoon and it’s been groovy ever since.

I love the guy; he’s amazing, kind of like MacGyver meets a techie. Bill has a laser beam brain, when he gets focused on something, it’s almost scary. He can fix ANYTHING and do everything from lay tile and pergo to repair a roof. He’s in marketing and advertising, but don’t hold it against him. He’s an avid collector, golfer and poker player. He IS the Vodka King; check out his site, Vodka Life.

As of this writing we will soon be celebrating out 6th anniversary (which means 11 years together total) and I count my blessings everyday that I’ve got this goofy, smart, and special guy for a husband.

Respectfully submitted,
Kerstin Upmeyer
8/29/04