LIFE TAKES a lot of strange twists, but have you ever heard of a snakebite being the reason people get married?

There's more to it than that, of course, but the main reason my daughter, Diana, and her fiance AJ, said "I do" on Nov. 1 and not next June--as they were planning-- is because she was bitten by a copperhead in August.

After I wrote about a snake lunging out at her in the darkness, in her driveway, many of you shared concerns and stories of similar encounters. Some also were outraged that the antivenin used to treat her was, as the doctor said, a little expensive.

Turns out, it cost her her health insurance.

Diana was laid off last fall and had been paying for COBRA coverage through her previous employer. After the insurance company got her snakebite bill, which was more than $12,000, the company decided it was time to cut her off.

She got a notice in October that her policy had expired in August.

Maybe that's as long as the coverage would have lasted anyway, but I got the feeling that the copperhead killed the cobra.

Meanwhile, AJ recently started a great job after finishing school to become an electrician. His benefit package includes solid health and dental insurance.

So, after the snakebite, the two started talking about getting married sooner than planned so she could get on his policy.

I don't know if that's the most unromantic thing I've ever heard or if it's typical of the stranglehold health insurance has on us.

Now, before we go much further, you need to know that Diana and AJ haven't just met.

They've been together for 11 years. They bought a house seven years ago.

We all knew they were going to get married one of these days, before little ones came along.

So, it's not like anybody was shocked by their announcement--although one or two relatives did ask if she's pregnant. (She's not.)

I can't speak for the groom's side, but we Dysons didn't need a piece of paper to make AJ a part of the family; he has been for more than a decade.

Because of the time factors involved, we didn't have the normal buildup to the wedding that many people have, but I'm not sure that was a bad thing.