Posts Tagged ‘wedding’

Day 365… What a Year! Is This The End Or Just Another Beginning?

Posted: September 10, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Friday, August 5, 2011

So, all good things must come to an end and our second honeymoon is no exception.  Wait!  Did I call it good?  Sorry.  Make that great!

It was so amazing to share this time with someone who I’ve known and loved for years, and yet in the context of a “new” relationship.  It was truly some of the most blessed days imaginable.

Our room was terrific, as always.  All the rooms have kitchens and we always bring a lot of groceries and do a lot of cooking and relaxing while we’re there.  They also have several great restaurants on site, so we took advantage of that as well.

It was extremely hot all week, so when we weren’t indoors, we were usually either in the lazy river or in one of the several swimming pools.  We also went canoeing in the early morning on the lake and took walks in the evening around the resort.

Tonight we drive home and tomorrow morning, we get up early for our 62 mile Tour De Cox.  Today is 365 days – exactly one year from the day we woke up after our separation and started over on the day we had planned to ride our first Tour in 2010.

Tomorrow, after the Tour, we will welcome family and friends from near and far who will come to share our vow renewal ceremony.  After that?  Well, it will officially be the end of the Restoration Tour, but it will only be the beginning of the rest of our lives.

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Day 336 and Counting… Invitations Done, Getting Close

Posted: August 6, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Things are definitely coming together.  Today, we got the invitations all done.  We’re doing a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party theme loosely based on the recent version of Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp.

Ceecee created them herself on the computer and they turned out really neat.  There are several outdoor patios and pavilions at the park and we just decided that we will have our ceremony outdoors and the weather will just have to cooperate.

I’ve picked up most of the stuff for my costume at thrift stores and we ordered a Mad Hatter’s hat on Amazon.  Ceecee found a dress at a store downtown.  It’s going to be really silly and that’s the way we want it.

We’re planning two training rides this week and we leave for California in a week and a half.  When we get back, it will only be a few days until we leave for our second honeymoon! Hard to believe everything is this close.

Day 334 and Counting… More Ceremony Plans

Posted: August 2, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Friday, July 8, 2011

Planning continues for our ceremony.  We’ve picked out some songs we want played and worked on a few of the other details.  I asked my friend Joe if he would play and sing “Marry Me,’ by Train, but he said the guy’s range was way too high and he could never pull it off.

We decided we can just play recordings and picked up a few cd’s.  One of them is by Brandi Carlile, who we had only heard of because of church.

Around Easter, they did the song “The Story,” which was played at the end of the movie, “The Lucky One.”  When they sang it in church, we were amazed by the lyrics and my wife immediately leaned over to me and said, “I want this song for our ceremony.”

We found out that a bridezilla has booked the entire building at Nathaniel Greene Park on the day of our ceremony for her own wedding, so we’re looking for plan B.  I’ve always only envisioned having it there, but we’ll figure something out.

My friends Joe and Kevin are both going to speak, as is our daughter, Angie. We’re not going to have a preacher because we’re already legally married and we don’t know anyone in that capacity who knows us well enough to really be part of this.  We’re also going to write our own vows and say them to each other.  I still haven’t figured out what I’m going to say, but I’m not worried about it.  It’s not a matter of not being able to think of anything.  It’s a matter of wanting to say way too much and needing to get it down to what’s really important.

Day 33 and Counting…More Ring Restoration

Posted: October 9, 2012 in Love and Marriage
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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Got my wedding ring back from the jeweler today. He did a great job. My Mother gave me some of her really old gold jewelry that she doesn’t wear anymore, and I gave it to the jeweler, so it hardly cost any money to get my ring done. I also got to introduce my wife to him, which was extremely cool, since he repaired both of our rings, one before we split up, and one after we got back together.

Day T-77 and counting…

Posted: June 28, 2012 in Love and Marriage
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Friday, May 21, 2010

Pretty ironic ending to the day, the week, and the school year today. Two friends of ours got married tonight and we went to their wedding. We’ve known them for a long time and have seen them go through a lot of stuff with each other and with their ex’s. I couldn’t help thinking how nobody there had a clue what was going on with us and how shocked they would be if they knew. It kind of broke my heart to see them celebrating finally tying the knot, while ours was unravelling.

Believing In Six Impossible Things

Posted: February 6, 2012 in Love and Marriage
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Six months ago today, Ceecee and I threw a Mad Hatter’s tea party to renew our vows.  It was a beautiful day of laughter and love.  There were silly costumes, in-town and out-of-town guests, pictures, and memories that we will treasure for the rest of our lives.

If you know the relatively new Alice In Wonderland (where Johnny Depp plays the Mad Hatter), you are familiar with the idea of believing in six impossible things before breakfast.  I wanted to incorporate that into our ceremony, so here was my list:

1.  I believe that two can become one

2.  I believe that we must die in order to truly live

3.  I believe that in loss we can find great gain

4.  I believe that we can forgive and forget

5.  I believe that love is stronger than death

6.  I believe that somehow, out of all the men on this planet, Ceecee chose to love me

We wrote our own vows, and I didn’t know what to write, so I borrowed extensively from the apostle Paul, who penned 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, commonly referred to as “The love chapter.”  In it, love is defined, not by man’s terms, but by the One who created love, and whose idea marriage was and is.

I have been asked to share my vows on this blog, and I previously thought they were too personal and meant only for my wife, but over time, I realize that far too few people are experiencing love the way it was meant to be.  It is my hope and prayer that all who read these words will find inspiration.  Here is my best rendition of what I said that day:

Love is patient – I will not pressure or rush you.  I will give you the time you need to be the person you want to be.

Love is kind – I will spend a lifetime showing you my love through acts of kindness.  I will never intentionally hurt you.

Love does not envy – I will gladly stand in the shadows while you stand in the spotlight.  I will build you up in everything.

Love is not prideful – I will admit when I am wrong and never treat you as though you are inferior.  I will not be stubborn with you, but I will truly listen to you with my ears and my heart.

Love is not rude – I will not stoop to talking harshly or being critical of you.  I will never disregard you or dismiss you and I will honor you in front of others.

Love is not self seeking – I will not put myself or my needs above yours.  I will give you the first and the best of all that I am.

Love keeps no record of wrongs – no matter what either of us has done or has happened in the past, we have started anew and our love will not contain any leftover guilt, resentment, hurt, or any negative part of our past.

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.

I will always protect you, always trust in you, always keep my hopes high, and never give up on us.  This love cannot fail.  It is forever.

To Have and To Hold, From This Day Forward

Posted: August 1, 2011 in Love and Marriage
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To have and to hold, from this day forward implies, first of all, an end to loneliness.  When you commit to marriage, your days of wanting someone to be there for you and to share your life are fulfilled.  To have is the part that is just for you.  Your longing and hoping for that person who will be your forever love is over, because he or she has become your new reality.

To hold is for both of you.  When two people embrace, to hold is also to be held.  As you hold your lover, you are likewise held by the one you love.  I believe that we are born with an inner longing to have someone to hold, and that the comfort and fulfillment of the simple act of holding and being held may be the most underrated of life’s pleasures.

To hold is not only in a lover’s embrace, however.  To truly fulfill this vow, you must hold your true love during the difficult times as well.  When he/she has had a hard day at work, or doesn’t feel well, or has nothing to give in return.  When he/she cries, you have that person to hold.  Holding is comfort, support, and strength.  Holding says, “I am here for you now and I will always be here for you.”  Holding says, “You can come to me at any time, no matter the situation, and my arms will be there for you to find refuge and comfort.”

Finally, from this day forward tells us two things.  First, it implies that something is changing.  Something new is beginning from this day.  What has been your life before marriage is no longer your life after you make your vows.  It is no longer just you living your life and making your own decisions for yourself.  This day you have joined with that person you want to have and to hold.

Second, it tells us that we are not looking back.  From this day forward means the present and the future will define our life together in marriage, not the past.  It begins here, and it moves forward, never backward. No regrets, no excuses…