In planning our wedding we got to talking about how we met. Here are two separate versions of the night we met. The short of it is that we met on January 25, 2002 at the Argyle Bar and Grill in downtown Halifax while on our respective “girls night out” and “guys night out” for the week. You can read below for each of our recollections of the night!

Jennifer’s Story – How We Met

On a snowy night January 25 2002, my friend Sinead convinced me to go to the Argyle for some dancing and fun. At the time Sinead wanted to meet a guy there and I needed to be the friend who joined her for support. After some hesitation and a promise to only stay for an hour (I was very tired and busy with school work), I decided to play designated driver and go out for a bit of fun.

We started off at the Party House (now the Pogue Fodoe), and then went to the Argyle. We were downstairs for about twenty minutes when I spotted a group of guys coming down the stairs and a very cute guy dressed in jeans and a light blue t-shirt. I pointed him out to Sinead. She told me to go talk to him and said that if I didn’t, I’d miss my chance. I was way too shy and decided that if we were meant to talk we would, but that there was no way I was approaching this guy especially in front of all of his friends – its just not me. Sinead soon met up with the guy she was interested in and I was left alone on the dance floor. I decided to send a smile over to the guy in the blue shirt. He smiled back and one of his friend’s whispered something to him (I later found out the wording went something like “Hey Gary, that girl over there is checking you out” – haha). Next thing I knew, I was being grabbed by some other guy on the dance floor and he wouldn’t let go of me. I must have had a look of “Help” written on my face because the cute guy in the blue shirt came down with his friend and saved me! He introduced himself and we danced for a few songs. We ended up sitting by the bar and talking for the rest of the night (there goes the plan of staying for an hour!). At the end of the night Gary asked me for my phone number but I decided to give him my email instead just to be safe. Sinead and I left the bar and drove home. When I got home at 3 a.m. there was already and email!:

“Hi, remember me? I can’t get you out of my head. Would you like to go for coffee or wings sometime soon? Talk to you later, Gary”.

We ended up going out for hot chocolate instead a week later at the Second Cup. After several months of msn conversations and casual meetings and movies, we ended up dating that summer. The rest is history.

Gary’s Story – How We Met

As usual, the boys did some partying at 1616 and were planning another night out on the town at the Argyle. We weren’t going to let some little snowstorm get in the way. It was Jerry, Simon, Chris, Colin, and I, and we were rarin’ to go.

We got to the Argyle and as usual, headed downstairs to hit the bar, and to scope out some fly hunnies on the dance floor. Being a sucker for blond girls, I immediately noticed Jennifer dancing with her friend, and of course, immediately pointed her out to the guys.

In the meanwhile, Colin was so drunk that he went down on the dance floor to try his luck by himself. I guess from his point of view, he noticed Jenn giving me the eye. (Little did he know that I’d already bee “on that” for at least 15 minutes by that time.)

At this point I was debating with the guys what my chances were if I was to head down there and dance. After a complex analysis, another drink or two, and the the fact that some hideous bar lizzard was trying to hit on her, it was decided that I should head down there. If anything, my friends said, it was just so that she would have an “out” if that other guy was not to her liking. (Our complex analysis revealed that this would be the case.) To me, however, it was not as simple as just giving her an option not to have to dance with some loser. My motives were deeper than that and entailed getting her to come sit down with me. If I stopped some loser from bothering her and making a fool of himself in the process, then thats all the better.

My plan worked, and she came and sat with me for an hour. In fact, I spent so much time with her that night, my friends left and went somewhere else on their own. We chatted for quite a while, but I guess I wasn’t cool enough for her to give me her number. All I got was an email address, and whats more, I had to remember it for the hour it was going to take me to get back to Park Victoria. (Anyone who knows me, and how “good” my memory is for stuff like this is, knows how difficult this task was for me.)

I did remember her email address, but I must have forgot that in order no to seem desperate, I should wait at least one full day before emailing her. As soon as I got home, I went to the box and shot off a quick, drunken email.

“Hi, remember me? I can’t get you out of my head. Would you like to go for coffee or wings sometime soon? Talk to you later, Gary”.

I guess I was expecting her memory to be as bad as mine. LOL.

We ended up going out to Second Cup on Spring Garden Road (A place that neither of us like, or have ever gone since. In fact, I’d never gone there before, and didn’t drink coffee.) It seems that we’d hit it off, and the rest is as they say; history.