Five years later, I love you even more

Five years ago today, Jeff and I got hitched. FIVE!!! It feels like yesterday I was walking down the aisle, but here I am five years later, more mature, better at cooking, and more in love with my husband than ever.

Our wedding was beautiful. It was a warm August afternoon, with friends and family lining the quaint little park in Genoa. My dad cried, I cried, and Jeff’s mother bawled. We kissed, everyone cheered, and Jeff & I walked down the aisle as husband and wife amidst a delicate stream of bubbles blown by our guests.

The reception is somewhat of a blur. We greeted our guests, ate some food, cut the cake and listened to toasts. Our first dance was an absolute disaster. I put the wrong song on our playlist, having only listened to the first ten seconds of the song. Had I listened a few seconds longer, I would have heard the song change into a fast-paced duel between two guitars. Unfortunately this was learned as Jeff and I moved from a slow dance into a quick jumpy waltz, all the while trying to signal our wedding party to fade out the song. But they were busy laughing hysterically.

When the reception ended, we snuck out to our car and took off. It was still light out when we arrived at our apartment, and I didn’t want the entire complex watch us climb out of our Ford Escort and head into our aparment decked in a wedding dress and white tux, so we parked across the street and waited until our neighbors had all gone inside. Then we dashed up into our apartment and flopped down on the couch. And for many minutes we just sat there quietly, enjoying being newlyweds, relaxing in the stillness of the moment, glad to be done with the excitement of the day’s events.

The next morning we were off to Cancun for our honeymoon. We were adjusting to the hot mugginess when a short Mexican man grabbed our luggage and ran off. We trailed behind him, and finally realized he was trying to help us get to our taxi, not stealing our luggage. At the hotel, they greeted us as Mr. and Mrs. B. I had booked our flights and hotels using my maiden name. It was an awkward situation, choosing to explain the misunderstanding to each and every employee that greeted us, or grin and bear it.

The trip was fantastic. Our room was exotic and beautiful, overlooking the ocean. The water and sand were warm and the sun was always shining. The resort was all-inclusive so we ate wherever and whenever we wanted. My favorites were tortilla soup (room service), tres leches cake (also room service), and fried banana with coconut ice-cream served by our favorite waiter, Reynaldo (whose name we later copied for our first pet goldfish). We spent days on the beach, in the pool, or exploring the flea markets. In the evenings we had romantic dinners, watched different performances at the hotel, and walked on the beach.

It’s hard to believe that five years have passed. We’ve moved, I’ve graduated, Jeff switched jobs, and we got a dog! We’ve traveled, stayed home, and enjoyed our lives together. We’ve argued, we’ve apologized, and we’ve grown. I am so blessed to call myself Jeff’s wife. And I am so thankful that he is such an amazing husband to me. He provides and cares for me. He respects me and loves me deeply. All I can hope is that our next five years, and the five after that and so on, continue to be as wonderful as these past five have been.

Happy anniversary my love. I am honored to call you my husband and best friend.

And because every blog is better with pictures, here are some images from our wedding (courtesy Lighted Path Photography) and honeymoon.

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