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“We liked the idea of something rare in the world, something that just appears every now and again,” Mark said.
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Mark Englund looks at his wife, Lynn, as the Winona couple reviews their wedding video taken Feb. 29, 2004. Married on Leap Year Day, the Englunds will be celebrating their first anniversary today, after four years of marriage.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News) |
The Winona couple celebrates their first — and fourth — wedding anniversary today. Mark, 41, and Lynn, 57, met at a mutual friend’s birthday party. They hit it off immediately, sharing a love of British comedy, Garrison Keillor, theater and cooking. Lynn credits an early date of salmon and Scrabble with reeling Mark in.
They got engaged after a year of dating. When they discovered a leap year was coming up, they immediately agreed a leap day wedding would help make the day extra special.
Both had been married before. Neither knew if they’d marry again.
“Just finding each other was so special. We wanted the day to be unique,” Lynn said.
They married at Watkins Manor, with Lynn in a green velvet dress and Mark in a cashmere top coat.
Lynn walked down the aisle to The Beatles’ “In My Life,” carrying stargazer lilies and wearing a headpiece Mark bought at the Renaissance Festival. The only thing Lynn would change about that day would be her not-so-comfortable shoes.
The couple usually celebrates their anniversary Feb. 28 or March 1 — whichever day they prefer. This year, they’re spending their anniversary in St. Paul.
They watched a tape of their wedding earlier this week, both tearing up as they listened to the vows they wrote for each other. Mark’s favorite part: “That I’d never have to walk alone again.” Lynn’s: “How life could’ve been simpler without me but nowhere near complete.”
They compare their wedding day to “Brigadoon,” a musical about a small Scottish town that only comes to life one day every 100 years.
“It’s a day that’s not usually part of the calendar or the world,” Mark said. “It’s ours.”
Contact Käri Knutson at kknutson@winonadailynews.com or (507) 453-3523.
rusty wrote on Feb 29, 2008 2:56 PM: