What day did we get married?

My husband and I were married on Nov. 12, 1988. We both remember it was the first snow of the season that year and many people did not make it due the weather.

I also recall there was a Hawkeye football game that day and my husband-to-be and his groomsmen seemed more interested in the game then getting photos taken.

The date - 11-12 - wasn't selected on purpose, as an easy way to remember the date, but over the years it 's been easy to recall.

The first couple years, Curt thought the date was 11-8-88 (if he had been paying attention to the wedding instead of the Hawkeye game, he would have known it was 11-12) and I gave him a bad time when he'd get my card to me four days early. Better early than late. He soon memorized the 11-12 date.

I asked him if he thought our wedding date was a floating holiday, changing each year, and we laughed.

This year, however, was a different story. I bought cards a week in advance knowing that our anniversary was Nov. 14. I have no idea where that one came from. I probably would have given him those cards that day, too, but Nov. 11, he told me he forgot to get me a card for our anniversary the next day. I abruptly told him, "Our anniversary isn't until Sunday." And it was then I realized I was the confused one! So know he can accuse me of not knowing what is going on in our world!

How can I prevent this from happening again? Maybe, look around our room more often - there are two cross stitch items with the date sewn in them hanging on our wall and even a copy of our wedding invitation in a frame on a shelf! Wow!

I went to the internet for advice and this is what was recommended for remembering wedding anniversaries (maybe they will help you, too)

* Write it down in your planner. Whether you are a high flying executive or a busy stay-at-home parent, a daily planner is an essential part of your life. Make sure you mark your anniversary in its calendar, whether the pages. To emphasize its importance, decorate the page with stickers and felt-tip hearts.

* Make use of technology. If email, mobile phones, PDAs, and even iPods are your thing, make use of all the surrounding technology you have to record your anniversary date.

* Give yourself ample reminders before the big day.

Reminding yourself on the day itself may not be enough. In addition to the reminders on the day, do everything above the same way but schedule it for a month in advance, the first day of the calendar month, a week in advance and three days in advance.

* Tell the people around you. Lastly, remind your children, siblings, cousins, neighbours, colleagues, members in your social circles of your wedding anniversary after recording it in your diary / mobile phone / email. This curbs the chances of the day going past without being remembered.

Great advice but wait - this won't do me much good if I think that 11-14 is our anniversary. I may just convince everyone and myself that it really is!