This weekend is our third wedding anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, I thought I’d post our vows.

♀ I love you. Not just for who you are, but for who I am when I’m with you; a better friend, a better lover, a better dad, a better writer, maybe even a better baker, but definitely a better person.

I love you not just for what you’ve done with your life, but also for what you’re doing to mine. You’ve taught me so much and brought me so much joy and beauty. I promise to do my best for you.

I love you for making me good and happy and whole. Because that is what you do. Without a word, without a gesture, without a doubt. Just by being yourself. Such a simple thing, but no one else in the world could do it. Only you.

You saw into my heart when no one else could and you believed in me. I promise to spend the rest of my life living up to the faith you have in me.

All I have is yours. I’ll love you always.

and hers;

As you know you are my very best friend. With you I feel I have found something I never thought possible. Knowing the other persons needs and wants or just what makes them click has helped us through a lot in the past year creating a very strong bond that I believe can stand up to any challenge. Our love shines so bright everyone around us feels it.

The groom is expected to make a little speech. Here’s what I had to say:

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for being here and sharing this wonderful day with us. You were invited not out of obligation, but because each of you has touched our life in some special way. You are the friends and family that have seen how happy we are together and have shown us that you believe in this union.

Shortly after we started dating, ♀ told me that kids can make or break a relationship and that has been so true. I doubt that we would still be together if either of our boys had decided that it just wasn’t going to happen. So I want to thank Junior for letting me move into his house, for letting me be a part of his life, for sharing his Mom and for not trying to smother me with a pillow. (at this point the best man leaned over and said Junior didn’t realize it was an option)

I think Mini has faced the biggest challenge in our family. For the first five years of his life he enjoyed one on one contact with the adults in his life. Not only did he need to learn to share my attentions, he also needed to find his place in a whole new family. He brings light and laughter into our home and he is my hero.

My Uncle has changed my diapers, caught me smoking his cigars, gave me my first beer and I stole my first dirty magazine from under his bed. He gave up a trip to Cuba to be here. He has been a life-long friend and confidant and really, has always been my best man.

I didn’t need a psychic to tell me M was the best choice for Maid of Honour. She has been incredibly supportive and has encouraged ♀ in so many ways. She has also given me the best glimpse of the history of ♀ and knowing who she was has helped me to understand who she is.

This is my first wedding, but in many ways it’s my second marriage. For ♀, it’s her second wedding, but in many ways it’s her first marriage. I have some thoughts on doing this a second time. We’re older and wiser the second time around. We know what we want in our lives and what we don’t. We know what type of body will turn our crank. We know the personality we’re compatible with. We know what music, books and movies our new partner should like. We can look back on past mistakes and see how we want the rest of our lives to unfold and how our new partner will fit into this new and improved master plan.

What a load of crap that turned out to be! We met online two and a half years ago and I know that we couldn’t have met any other way. We weren’t who either of us had thought we were looking for, but there did seem to be a connection between us. When we spoke on the phone for the first time and I heard ♀ laugh, it reminded me of my Granny’s laugh. It was a hearty, unabashed body-shaking laugh and I knew that I wanted to meet her in person. Since then we have discovered as much about ourselves as we have about each other and somehow I have become younger, healthier and maybe even wiser.

One year after we met, ♀ proposed to me on her knee with my Dad’s wedding ring in the Copper Room at the Harrison Hot Springs Hotel with the Jones Boys playing an accompaniment and a hundred strangers looking on and I had no doubt that this was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

♀ is very organized and we bought her wedding dress and rings last summer. She had already lost quite a bit of weight before she met me, but decided she still wanted to lose some more. She’s lost another 45 lbs since September. I thought she was beautiful before, but to see her today in this dress with the love light in her eyes I’m filled with admiration and a love deeper then I ever thought possible. Thank you ♀ for making me so happy.

So on behalf of ♀, Junior, Mini and myself; may all your days here after be filled with fond memories, happiness, and laughter.

————————————————————————————-

I have been told on more then one occasion that there is a special place in hell for making a bride cry on her wedding day. I have a knack. I made ♀ cry on our special day, but it was all good I think. About a year before the wedding, ♀ found an engagement and wedding band set at an estate sale. She really liked the rings, so I bought them. About six months later we found a wedding ring for me at a jewelry store closing out sale. It was similar to hers, but mine was higher quality and a nicer design. Unbeknownst to her, I had a ring custom made for her that matched mine and she was moved to tears when I placed the surprise ring on her finger.

Cheers,

sss

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3 Comments »

1. 

   That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever read. You two are so purrrrfect for each other. I’ll just send along my love and deep hugs to you both.

   Here’s to many more years!

   Mwah!

   Comment by Tricia — May 23, 2007 @ 2:35 am

2. 

   Congratulations on three years! That’s awesome.

   Your vows and your speech were very beautiful. You guys make a fantastic couple.

   - M & C.

   Comment by erdnase — May 23, 2007 @ 4:27 am

3. 

   from ♀…..

   Love is…
   More beautiful than roses
   Much deeper than the seas
   Stronger than a hurricane
   But timid like a breeze

   Real as in a picture
   But yet it can’t be seen
   More beautiful than anything
   As vivid as a dream

   Precious as rare jewels
   A bond between two hearts
   A symphony of feelings
   When time is spent apart

   Sharing common interests
   Working through all fears
   Looking at yourself
   As if two were in the mirror

   Finding common ground
   On issues not agreed
   Giving into arguments
   Tending all your needs

   Being there for always
   Is all I want to do
   Holding you forever
   Because our love is true

   Comment by sweatshopsissy — May 23, 2007 @ 12:20 pm

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