First comes love, then comes marriage — so goes the children’s song. But David and Elizabeth Weinlick have sung a much different tune for a decade now.
The Minneapolis couple were introduced and married at the Mall of America after David publicly recruited a bride and relied on his friends to choose from the candidates.
Today, the Weinlicks — all five of them, counting their three kids — are celebrating David and Elizabeth’s 10th anniversary, commemorating a successful union founded on unfamiliarity.
It all started with a random comment from David in 1994 that somehow snowballed into a self-fulfilling prophecy. While a senior at college, he told friends he would get married on June 13, 1998.
That foretelling hit a bit of a stumbling block in the spring of 1997, when David broke up with his girlfriend.
With the date of destiny drawing closer, David’s friend, Steve Fletcher, suggested he run a campaign to seek a qualified bride. Leaflets were distributed. A commercial was made. A Web site was established. And the press reported on and publicized it all, resulting in more than 300 applications from prospective Mrs. Weinlicks.