How it All Began

Five years ago today, I married hubby.

If you would have told me the day I met him that I’d end up marrying him, I would have told you that you were nuts. He was so shy, so unfailingly polite, and you could barely hear him above the roar his friends created wherever they went. And the hair. Oh, the hair. (What you’re about to see in the pictures below is hubby’s “tame” hair from those years!) At the time, I had the horrible taste in men that many 20-somethings have and poor hubby was just a little too sweet.

We were casual acquaintances most of the year who turned into friends toward the beginning of spring. Over time, though, something about his steadfastness, his gentleness, and his easy smile started to speak to me. By April we were dating, and by May he told me he wanted to marry me.

(There’s a longer version of this story that involves a pimp hat and a fraternity lip-synching competition, but I think I’ll leave that for another day.)

The two of us just before the wedding.

A year later he proposed, and a year after that we were married. July 29, 2006

If I could re-live a day in my life, I think I might choose my wedding day. It was such a celebration. We were surrounded by love and laughter and light and joy. It was a beautiful day.

Yes, there's an extra guy here. My little brother was a bridesmaid!

I cried happy tears throughout the entire wedding. The second I heard the music start in the chapel, I was a blubbering mess. Two family friends filled that chapel with the lilting, joyful sound of Irish folk music as people were seated. I walked down the aisle to “Twilight and Mist” from Legends of the Fall, arranged for fiddle and guitar by my friends.

Dad and I walking down the aisle. Me crying, Dad staying strong.

Our dear friend Ravi opened the ceremony by singing a Baha’i prayer, Blessed is the Spot, and the sound of his beautiful voice soared through that chapel and left such calm in its wake. To this day people tell me how much they enjoyed that prayer, how it set the tone for the ceremony. Friends and family read aloud from the Baha’i writings and the Bible and we lit a unity candle.

When it came time for vows, I could barely get them out. Hubby had had the forethought to write his down. He told me that I was a guiding light, and I told him that with me he would never have to worry about having a home. I would be his home no matter where we were. We exchanged rings, took the Baha’i wedding vow, and that was it. We were married, two birds seeking shelter in the same nest.

Taking our vows.

It’s been five years. We’ve accomplished some of our goals, some are still out there to achieve, and others have fallen by the wayside while new goals have taken their place. Life has thrown us some curve balls, and it is only because of hubby’s steadfast love and patience that we stand here today, ready to tackle together whatever else life throws our way. He is an absolute rock and I know just how blessed I am to be his wife. I have learned so much from him about how to love and parent and how to just be.

Happy anniversary, hubby. I love you more than I can really say.