Today is our one year anniversary. Today is also our best friend's wedding day. How incredible is it to share our favorite day with our favorite people. We have been so excited to celebrate their day, but I have also been trying hard to make this day special for Michael and I as well. I knew I wanted to finally be the one to pull off a surprise this time around (Michael is the king of surprises). I knew he would be busy doing groomsmen things this week and thinking about rehearsal and the wedding today, so I took some time to put a little something together.
Last night, after our friend's rehearsal dinner, we walked into the house together and I had him look for two special things in the fridge while I "fed the cat." For the first time in a whole year, I slipped back into that gorgeous lace dress that I had dreamed of my whole life about. I left my hair down, tied the beaded belt into a bow, and walked out of the guest room to the dinning room. The candles I had left on the table were lit, on top of the gold sequin runner we had on our head table. He found the champagne and poured them into our rose and gold glass flutes from the wedding and put the one year thawed cake onto our plates that we had from his mother's house. When I walked into the dinner room he played Adele's "Make You Feel My Love" the song from our first dance. I turned off the lights and spun into his arms. We danced, I cried, he smiled and just twirled me around.
Today I reminisce on the what is behind us and what we promised each other this day last year. We wrote our own vows, but to be honest with all the adrenaline of that day I don't think either of us heard or remember them. Good thing I still have a copy we sent to our pastor. Michael went first.
Emily,
When I look at you all I have in my heart is Love, the joyous feeling that has restructured my heart and mended my soul since the first day I met you in the halls of Olentangy High School. At that time we were young simple-minded teens with no experience or knowledge of what love was or the significance of what it would become. Now almost seven years later through the complications of living long distance, graduating from separate colleges, starting new careers, moving, moving and moving again I am nothing more than excited to show you the love you deserve. The uniqueness of our love is something that I believe in. It has stood the test of time and without a doubt has led me to grow to become a better man than I ever expected to be. This is all because of you and your love for me, which I will always be thankful for, as it is my constant to an otherwise chaotic lifestyle. I promise to be by your side, to love and cherish you, and always give you my very best whether in physical presence or like we have done for so long through emotional support. No matter where, when, or how our journey might lead, it’s finally ours, together from here. Emily I love you and always will.
As I said, I was ugly crying the whole time, so I caught some of that but most was a blur.
My turn. Here were my vows to Michael.
Today I give myself to you in marriage.
Today I have loved you for 2,506 days.
I fell in love with you, but I also walked into love with you,
With my eyes open
Choosing to take every step along the way.
I believe in fate and destiny
But I also believe we are fated to do the things we choose.
And I choose you
In a hundred lifetimes
In a hundred worlds
In any version of reality
I love you for all that you are
All that you have been
And all youre yet to be
I do not wish to change you into someone else
I love you means I do not expect perfection from you
Just as you do not expect it from me
It means that I will love you and stand by you
Even through the worst of times
It means loving you when youre down
Not just when youre fun to be with
I love you means that I know your deepest secrets
And do not judge you for them
Asking in return only that you do no judge me for mine
It means that I care enough to fight for what we have
And I love enough not to let go.
I will spend an eternity loving you
Caring for you
Respecting you
Showing you everyday
That I hope you as high as the stars
You are the sunshine of my life
The exclamation point to my happiest sentence
The love of my life
And the only soul I want to love
From this day forward
And the rest of forever
I still honestly can't control my emotions when I read our vows, look back at our pictures, or think about the most perfect day any of us could have imagined. On a hot and muggy July day last year, in front of God and our closest friends and family, I married my best friend. The decorations, flowers and things I had so meticulously planned and made, I don't remember honestly. Here are the things I can recall perfectly, like they just happened yesterday.
My mom and I's last "sleep over" in the hotel before I become a MRS.
How slow time stood that morning
Breathing through mini panic attacks all day
Walking out of the elevator, clutching my dads arm, walking through the door to the aisle and stopping before we got there because I just wanted one more second before I saw my handsome man
Turning to look at him at through the crowd of guests
Loosing literally ALLL FEELING in my feet, I was walking down the aisle on pins and needles because I just wanted to get to my groom.
The 2 full minutes of clapping right before we walked out as man and wife, I cried uncontrollably
Our first dance
His dance with his mother
Dancing the night away with the most amazing people we could have shared our day with
I wanted to write this because it's so easy to get caught up in the planning and the things you can almost forget what the day is about. YOUR MARRIAGE! This is just a day but marriage is forever. This day is just the beginning. 365 days later has felt like a lifetime for us. We have lived and grown years since that most beautiful day. I wanted to take the time to show the love for our friends and family for the continued love and support. I also wanted a little look back and review because I don't ever want to forget the promise I made to my best friend that day.
So to my husband on our one year anniversary,
Michael Shane, here's to a year of smiles, cries, laughing in bed until we can't breathe, arguments, learning experiences and just fun with you. You make life easy. You make it worth living. You are the only person I want to share this crazy train with. You are the only one I choose to grow in love with. Because I promise to you, again, to continue to learn with you and love with you until the end of our time here. You are my first love, best friend, secret keeper and soul mate. One year today marks the beginning of a lifetime. Lets take on this world head on
xoxoxo your wife
Excitingly, we have been featured on a few sites.
First a shoutout to our amazing photographers from Nicole Dixon Photographic, Nicole and Becky. We couldnt have asked for anyone more perfect to capture our big day.
Heres the blog
http://www.nicoledixon.com/emily-michael-just-married/
We were also featured on Columbus Monthly Wedding Blog which shows all our vendors!
