This time has come. The moment you’ve been waiting for. Deep breath. You can do this. Just smile, one foot in front of the other.

I continue these thoughts in my head when suddenly, the music starts, and it is time for me to go out. I walk out, slowly. Everyone’s eyes are on me. Why is this so nerve racking? I turn and smile at all of my current and soon-to-be relatives as well as friends. Everyone smiles at me with tear-filled eyes. They are all dressed in nice, elegant dresses and suits. My heart beats faster and faster.

Then, I turn the corner, and I see him: the love of my life, my other half, my future husband.  He looks amazing and proper standing there next to his men. He sees me and his eyes light up and my heart jumps at his beautiful smile. He is stunning. As I grow closer and closer to him, the butterflies come and I have to fight the urge to run up and embrace him. Pictures of our previous time together flash through my head. 

I finally join him at the front of the room with everyone’s eyes on us. I stare into his beautiful, hazel eyes in awe, and I can tell it is the same for him. The preacher starts and the rest of the room disappears, leaving us three standing there in our own little world. The entire time, I am lost in my love’s adoring eyes. We never look away from each other. We recite our hand-written vows to each other, and each place our rings on each other’s finger. They both shine bright and sparkle in the bright lights. We say the final words and seal it with a kiss.
Our world is interrupted by the sudden uproar and applause of the forgotten audience. We look out, smile, and wave to the others in complete happiness and bliss. Arm-in-arm, we walk slowly down the aisle. The same shocking current goes through our bodies, as it did when we first touched. We both look at each other and into one another’s eyes and once again, seal the moment with a kiss. Again, the electric current shoots through our bodies, bringing in warmth, comfort, and love.
We leave the room, hug, and embrace each other.
“I love you,” he whispers into my ears. The words run through my body filling me with a feeling that I can’t even begin to explain.
“I love you, too,” the words slip out of my mouth as if it was a slow- flowing creek.
We head to our reception room where all of our guests have gathered. They greet us with warm smiles and hugs. They congratulate us on our new lives. We thank them and we continue on the traditional dances and feast with our big family. Then, the toasts begin and the tears start really coming. Suddenly, when everyone has said all they had to say, it was our turn. My new husband stands and holds my hand and has me stand with him.
“Thank you all for coming to celebrate this magical moment with us. Thank you to all of our family and friends who worked so hard to make this day even more special than we imagined it to be. Most of all, I want to thank this beautiful, stunning, most precious lady next to me for saying ‘I do.’
My heart jumps and the butterflies burst out of their cage and tickle my insides. My eyes water and a big smile spreads across my face.  He looks at me and continues.
“The day I met you, I knew you were going to be the one. The first time we ever talked, I felt like the luckiest guy alive. Then, you heard about my reputation, and like the smart woman that you are, you turned me down. I tried again over, and over, and over again, and got the same result.” The crowd laughs a soft laugh and he continues once more.

“I knew that you were not the type to fall for someone like me, but I also knew that you were the type of girl that I didn’t want to mess things up with. I know that the beginning of our relationship was very rocky and we had some huge problems and, to be honest, I thought we couldn’t get through it. I cringed at the thought of losing you, and it was then that I knew I had fallen head-over-heels, in love with you.  I promise you that I will never let anything,or anyone come between us. I promise that you are the only girl that I have eyes for. You will forever be my one and only. You have stuck by my side through the toughest times. Even if one day you decide I am no longer the one for you, I will fight until I cannot anymore. You are the most beautiful woman in the universe and I am more than proud to have you. The day you said yes was one of the best moments of my life. You are my world and I look forward to the rest of our lives. I love you.” He leans down and gives me a sweet, tender kiss and then looks up and wipes my tears away.

“Forgive me, everyone,” the crowd is staring in awe and tear-filled eyes, “I guess I got lost in the moment. Once again thank you all who joined us. I hope everyone has an amazing night and makes it one we will all never forget. I know I won’t.” He holds up his champagne glass.

My turn came and I was at a loss for words.

“Well, I’m not sure I could ever top that,” I stand, dabbing away my tears with a cloth napkin, “but I guess I can try. Where do I begin?,” I look down at the love of my life, my husband. He is smiling at me, and his eyes start to look like they are watering. “You are amazing. I don’t even know where to begin, or how to even explain this feeling because no words could even begin to describe how much I love you. You are the greatest man in the world. You’ve helped me through all of the tough times, encouraged me to do good, and you’ve pushed me to keep moving forward. No, none of this was completely smooth sailing. It was very tough the first few months. We fought, argued, cried together, and went through hell and back, but somehow we always came out on top, even stronger. You already know I have always wanted to be with you ever since I first saw you. We’ve seen each other miserable, happy, broken, basically in every way possible. Despite everything, you still chose to fight through it all with me and stay by my side. I am beyond thankful for you, and blessed to be able to call you my husband for the rest of my life. I can’t promise you that everything will be perfect, but I can promise to be the best wife to you and always support you. I love you more than anything, and I always will.” I take a look out at the crowd who is staring at us. My love stands up and hands me a glass. He takes my hand and we both raise our glasses.

“To love, laughter, and a beautiful lifetime ahead!” and we seal it, once more, with a kiss.