Couple take ride of their lives by saying ‘ I do’ on city bus
Pair who found love on the No. 3 route return to exchange marriage vows
If you were on a bus and stopped checking Twitter, removed your headphones and didn’t pretend to sleep, could you possibly meet the love of your life? Jarred Greff and Nina Schmidt did.
Greff and Schmidt, both 31, met last April on a No. 3 TransLink bus, and soon began dating.
On Tuesday, in the midst of TransLink’s I Love Transit Week, the pair tied the knot on — you guessed it — a No. 3 bus.
“It was our dream wedding,” a glowing Schmidt told reporters on board the bus parked at Burrard and 15th where, only minutes earlier, the couple’s wedding ceremony had taken place.
Standing at the front of the bus near the driver’s seat, Schmidt and Greff said their vows as friends and family watched from their seats. Their marriage certificate was signed on the bus’ luggage storage area.
Greff wore a short- sleeved, collared button- down with suspenders, while Schmidt donned her mother’s tealength wedding dress with lace overlay from 45 years earlier.
Since Schmidt is from Germany and isn’t accustomed to the tradition of wedding bands, the bride opted for a delicate gold chain with an infinity symbol charm.
The ceremony venue was a surprise for the 30 guests but made perfect sense to the stylish couple.
“It felt right to do,” Greff said, while Schmidt called the unique venue a “symbol” for their love.
On April 18, 2012, Schmidt was chased out of her apartment by a roommate so she’d catch her bus on time. She boarded a No. 3 on Main Street and sat near the accordion- like section. Soon after, Greff — who opted for the bus instead of walking that day on account of being late for work — also boarded.
“He sat a couple metres away from me and we had eye contact the entire time,” Schmidt said with a smile. “Then a seat got available next to me, so he stood up and sat down.”
Greff chimed in: “And didn’t say a single word. I just kind of froze.”
Eventually, Schmidt asked her new seatmate if he’d said something, and the pair started chatting.
With only three blocks before Schmidt had to disembark, Greff wasn’t able to get her number but told her to visit him at the hair salon where he worked.
“She did later on that day and we went on our first date ... and haven’t really parted ways since,” Greff said, beaming at his new wife.
The pair went bowling on their first date. As Greff prepared for what he hoped would be a strike, his foot became caught and he went flying down the lane, headfirst.
“The ball skipped my lane and into another ... and my pants kind of fell down and I’m on my knees now on a first date,” he said, adding Schmidt was a good sport about the mishap and didn’t flee. “So I figured she was in it for the long haul at that point.”
The Saskatchewan native said he’s still not sure what made him get up and sit down next to the woman who he would later wed, but credits the “large amount of chance” that contributed to their meeting.
“I think I just saw a super- cute girl on the bus that I figured I should talk to,” he said.
“I also believe that our lives were just meant to be together.”
Schmidt, who’d moved from Germany for the 2010 Olympics, said she’d come to believe she wasn’t going to meet a romantic partner in Vancouver.
“I’ve talked to several girlfriends about it — no one ever walks up to you and talks to you in Vancouver,” she said. “I was in a state in my life where, ‘ I’m not going to meet the right guy’ and there he was on the bus.
“Every time we think about the bus, we’re just really thankful that it happened.”