Gametes In Love

Posted by S

Three years ago today A and I spent a fantastic day at Nestldown for our wedding. It was an amazing day and one that I think about often. Given that our family is growing, I just can’t help but to think back about the events that led to our relationship. It’s these same thoughts that went into our wedding vows, it was actually the entire script to our wedding ceremony.

A and I agonized over every word in our wedding ceremony. We wanted the words to reflect our true thoughts and philosophy of our relationship. We didn’t craft these words solely on our own. We pulled from other wedding ceremonies – some found online, some from friends (I know they recognize the lines we pulled), some from quotes, and some are our own words. By piecing these together we made something unique – like a great DJ who mixes samples to create a new song or a mash-up video artist that takes pieces of videos/songs to create a new video. In the end, it’s something special.

Each year I go back and read our ceremony (I’m glad they are still on our wedding site). This year they’ve taken a different shading for me given that our family is now at 2.9 (with 1 month left until Baby G is a full member of the family I give him a .9). The lines that hit me this year are (with bolding to emphasize the part that stands out to me):

do you now choose, A to be your wife, to share your life openly with her, to speak truthfully and lovingly to her, to accept her fully as she is and delight in who she is becoming, to respect her uniqueness, encourage her fulfillment, and compassionately support her so long as love and life shall endure?

I will love you enough to risk being hurt, trust you when I don’t understand, weep with you in heartache, and celebrate life with you in joy.

These circles [the rings] are the completeness of a promise to stand by one another’s side, the vow to grow together, laugh together, and love together.

Marriage is serious business and hard work. It’s not just becoming roommates, it’s becoming soul mates; it’s not just signing a license, it’s sharing a life. Now that you’ve exchanged your vows, you can only imagine what they will really mean, what hills and valleys stretch out in front of you in the years ahead. There’s only the future, unlimited and unknowable, and the promise to make the journey together.

Marriage is not self-sustaining; it requires nonstop nurturing.

Together, you will half your sorrows and double your joys!
You may now seal your vows with a kiss.

As we stand at the point in time with 3 years of marriage behind us, it’s clear that 3 years is such a tiny fraction of time compared to the years that lie in our future.

A – Happy Anniversary. “I choose you to be my wife, my friend, my love.”