First Year of Marriage
It's September 15th at 6pm and I'm walking into the chapel, sweating like crazy because I just got back from running through the hotel and our wedding venue to get my veil, left behind in our room. Also, I was a little nervous (no, not about getting married, about tripping or crying so much my Maid of Honour might be forced to read my vows for me! Don't worry, neither happened.) The wedding coordinator is fixing the train on my dress and my cathedral length veil as I walk through the doors (you can see his head in the picture below). My heart is pounding. Or did it stop beating altogether? Nope... I can tell it's still beating because I just felt a drip of sweat run down the back of my knee, so that must mean I'm good! I walk in and notice these things:
- My dad is surprisingly steady and I feel such enormous confidence that he will not let me slip and fall on the aisle.
- My mom's eye's are glimmering from tears still not released.
- Alex is completely straight-faced, but there's definite joy in his eyes and it warms my heart.
- And man, that aisle felt LONG! But it was tiny, I promise you. I think the chapel has about 12 pews on either side!
My mom meets us at the end of the aisle and the three of us stand there facing my best girls, our dear friend and pastor, my future husband, and his closest buds.Pastor Jon says a few words, which includes something like: "I asked Marquis what he loves most about Thalita and he said it's how she puts herself before other people all the time..." It was exactly what we all needed (well, it was exactly what I needed) at that moment: a good laugh. I almost thought I would bust out into an ugly cry though, because you know how laughter can sometimes just sort of quickly develop into the ugly cry when you're in extremely emotional situations? Yeah, well this one was a close call for me!
Pardon the interruption. If you're confused by me saying Alex was straight-faced, and Pastor Jon asked Marquis to say some nice things about me, don't worry... you are not seeing things and I did not marry two men that day. Ha! Marquis Alexander Murray is my husband. Get it? He's gone by Alex with friends and family for years, but we stuck with Marquis for the wedding since it's his given name. Very confusing, I know. Back to the story.
After we finished laughing, we got on with the ceremony. I kissed my parents and walked up to stand next to my VERY soon-to-be husband. I couldn't tell you who was there, or what the flowers looked like, or whether it was hot or cold or loud or quiet in there. As soon as I stepped up there it was like we were in our own little bubble and it made no difference where I was, just who I was with. I managed to get through my vows without breaking down, and as I listened to Alex say his vows to me, I felt like my heart was going to explode! He did GOOD, let me tell you!!!
Ceremony over, we were pronounced husband and wife and walked out of the chapel in a breath-taking, belly hurting laughter that came from a pure and unspoken kind of joy. All we could do was look at one another and laugh. It was amazing. The wedding coordinator looked at us, completely baffled, and said he had never seen that before in all his years!
That's what we're celebrating today - that joy that comes from loving and being loved SO MUCH.
"525,600 minutes. How do you measure a year?"
Just TRY not to get that song stuck in your head now!!!That's a lot of minutes, but you know what? It's a lot of opportunities to learn and to love and this year I have learned a lot and I have loved a lot! I could tell you every little thing about how awesome and crazy this year has been, but I think I can summarize my learning into a few words.
I know, I'm so deep. (kidding)Happy First Anniversary, babe!We celebrated by taking an extended weekend to get massages, eat fancy meals and relax (sans crazy puppy) in beautiful Mont Tremblant, Quebec! If you follow on Instagram, you've been seeing lots of images and videos to document the weekend. Hope you have enjoyed them!So that sums it up for me. At least for this first year. Now, I'm always open to hearing from more experienced wives/husbands, and as long as your advice isn't "never go to bed angry," (I happen to think it's a bit cheesy/overused/untrue) I'd love to hear from you!
Oh wanna know the best part? We also celebrated this anniversary by booking a trip for the Spring. It's official - we are London and Paris bound in April and could not be more excited about it! So if you have wise words for traveling to either/both locations, do share!!!
xoxo
