A trip down Memory Lane, anyone?
By anyone, I really mean Mom I guess.
I can always count on her to go with me.
The rest of you may want to try back tomorrow.... unless 5,000 wedding photos is your thing.
It was wedding week here in the Davis household.
Yes, there is such a thing.
A wedding week.
A day so magical.... that we still talk about it six years later.....deserves such a thing!
Our wedding was definitely the Dunaway/Davis event of the summer that year!
We've spent this week reminiscing with old photos and lots of memories.
Six years ago this very afternoon, I was preparing to walk down the aisle....
All while making memories that would last a lifetime....
Mom had been saving the baby bonnet that I wore home from the hospital for this very day. It would soon go down the aisle with me....
This time six years ago, my groom was also preparing for our big day...
I could make a list of memories a mile long from this day. But I think one of my favorites took place right before the ceremony. My Mom and bridesmaids had been with me all day...... all of life really... by my side through every step of this journey. Mom told me one last time that I looked beautiful, and then away she went, down the aisle toward my new future.
My bridesmaids followed, the last girl straightening my veil one last time before leaving. For a few seconds, I was completely alone. And that's when all of my emotions surfaced. Watching them step up one at at time to take their walk, was overwhelming. They each hold a special place in my heart.
As emotional as that was, nothing could have prepared me for what was ahead. The closer I got to Troy, the harder he sobbed.
His tears were the most precious sight of the day.
Growing up, it's easy to dream about your wedding day details. The church, the dress, the flowers, the music. And when you have parents like mine..... who work hard to make their child's dreams a reality..... it's easy to get the storybook wedding.
But what I could have never imagined in my most magical of dreams, are the vows that Troy would speak to me that day.
Words that make you forget that you're standing in a beautiful cathedral, in front of a crowd of people. Words that you never expect or imagine to ever hear. Vows too precious for even a dream.
In the weeks leading up to our wedding day, Troy and I were worried that we would get too caught up in all of the commotion and forget to live in the moment. We never wanted to lose sight of what it was truly all about. I now know that this wasn't possible. We were full of raw emotion. Also, any detail that wasn't going as planned that day, Mom & Dad kept from me, and fixed before I even knew it existed. So living in the moment was really all we had left to do.
But in planning our big day, Troy and I had arranged to have a few moments of alone time immediately following the ceremony. We wanted to take in what had just happened, and never forget the feelings it brought.
As soon as we came down the aisle and exited the sanctuary, the wedding coordinator tucked us into a small library and shut the door. At the time, we didn't realize that the photographer and snuck in with us.
We have dozens of gorgeous shots from our wedding day. Cathedral shots, outdoor shots with fountains and flower gardens. You name, we have it.
And yet these few photos.... of us crammed into a small church library.... remain my very favorite.
Moments like that can not be planned or posed.
*sigh*
What a perfect day.
: )
A few weeks ago, Troy and I were in a shopping mall and a random stranger stopped and asked Troy, "hey, when are you going to propose to this girl?" Confused, Troy grabbed my ring finger, held it up and said, "I did.... six years ago!" The old man smiled and said, "oh..... well congrats on being just as in love today as you were then. You don't see that very often."
Troy's love is overflowing all around me every day. So much so, that it's normal.... it's second nature.
It's all I know.
But when I hear a friendly old man share such a comment, I remember that this love isn't normal.... it isn't second nature, and it's not what everyone knows.
Troy's love his a rare gift.
Something special.
When thinking of the future, children and a family, I often tell Troy what I've told him for years....
I want our children to be happy, healthy, good people. I want them to have a great education, good friends, a successful career and all of the typical things that most people want their children to have.
But if I could give them one gift...... and only one gift..... I would wrap up one thing....
I would wrap up a love that is priceless to them. A love that can't be described or explained. A love that would love them forever. A love that they cherish more than any other gift they've ever received.
A love that is their life.
A love like ours.
