In honor of football season and the upcoming ‘Bowl’ games (which I knew nothing about before meeting Marmot), I’ve decided to highlight some of the unique differences that stand out when a Northerner marries a Southerner.

First Meeting: He was dressed to the nines in Abercrombie and Brooks Brothers. I’m wearing a college sweatshirt and trackpants, no makeup.

First Dinner Made for Each Other: He made Black Angus hamburgers, perfectly seasoned and grilled to perfection, served with homemade potato salad. The first meal I made him was microwaved ‘baked’ potatoes with fat-free sour cream, and bag salad with fat-free ranch dressing.

Our Accents: I thought he sounded like a hick, and he thought I was harsh and a frontrunner in a speed-talking contest.

Our Parents: We met each other’s parents about a month after getting engaged. Marmot’s parents were so sweet and polite, very traditional Southern genteel. I was greeted with a nice hug, and told that I could address them as Mr. P. and Mrs. M. When my Mom came to meet Marmot, she told me (not realizing he was behind her) that she was so excited to meet him that she’d almost peed herself. My Dad met Marmot, he invited him into the basement to see his large collection of firearms.

Our Siblings, Grandparents & Extended Families: Marmot’s grandparents and family are very quiet, polite Southerners. A visit to them in the Deep South is a lot of good food, nice conversation, and relaxation. The first meeting with my extended family was a lot of loud Italian music, and getting hit on by my crazy Aunt P. who hadn’t brushed the hair on the back of her head. Upon finding out that Marmot went to law school, Aunt K. launched into an anti-lawyer diatribe, then told me that Marmot was a helluva improvement over the last boyfriend, the doctor, who they really didn’t like anyway. All of this in front of Marmot.

Our Wedding: Southern traditions were upheld with a tiramisu groom’s cake, the wedding being very formal by Northern standards, and of course no dancing out of respect for Marmot’s Baptist roots. The Northern influences were the pine bough themed decor (‘creative’ according to my mother-in-law) and an entire branch of my family roadtripping to our wedding in a Winnebago. I reserved the hotel bar until 2am for my family who were still ticked that the only alcohol at our reception was red or white wine. And at our reception, my four uncles each went up to my poor mother-in-law and introduced themselves as Honey’s first husband, Honey’s second husband, etc.

And the differences never cease…to be continued!