I was going to write this deep, meaningful post on what marriage is like after two years. I even put off writing this post until I had the time to devote to it (our 2 year anniversary was actually last week). But now that I finally am able to sit down and reflect on the past two years, only one thing sums it all up:
Being married to my best friend is totally amazing!
So deep, I know! But really, that does sum things up, at least in my mind.
I know most of you reading this weren't around when I was
blogging about our wedding, which took place in June 2010. But I'm here to tell you, amidst the wedding planning drama you may be experiencing, that things only get better.
Last year when I popped in and gave an update on our first year of marriage, I said that the best part about marriage was togetherness. And it still is, but the more time passes, the more it becomes about the future.
Last year, on our one year anniversary, I relished looking back on our wedding photos. And I did it again this year, but it was a quicker look, only a small reminder of what happened on our beautiful wedding day. And I found myself gravitating toward the photos of us, instead of
all the little
details we slaved over.
These days, the further we get from that all-encompassing wedding stage in our lives, the more and more we find ourselves looking toward our future. We can now see past just one day in our lives, past our wedding day. Which was a day I wouldn't trade for anything. But now it's so much easier to let our imaginations run wild with all the things we can do with our lives. It's whatever we choose to make of it, and we've got at least another 50 years together to look forward to, instead of just the one day we chose to start our forever.
What I'm trying to say to those of you still looking forward to your wedding day is, try to look past the wedding too. I know how much
over thinking and stressing happens when planning a wedding. And I know this is probably the last thing I'd want to hear at the time, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Enjoy the ride. The wedding is just the starting point, not some end-all, be-all day in your life that everything in the world hinges upon. If you can, let go a little. If you can't, at least take a few minutes to relax with a glass of wine with your partner, and instead of going over guest lists, chat about something fun to look forward to after the wedding. Because there really is
life after the wedding. And it's only going to get better and better with time!
Ok, so now that those reflections on marriage are out of the way, let me give you all a little update on what's been going on in the Cola household since
my update a year ago, when I shared that we'd uprooted our lives and moved from California to North Carolina.
Well lets just say that moving our lives was totally worth it. In March we became first time homeowners, which with our desire to put 20% down, wouldn't have happened in San Francisco for at least another decade.
Personal photos
It's a fixer upper house, but it's all ours!
And now that's pretty much what we're obsessed with, making this house a home. We've only lived here a couple of months, but we've been knee deep in taking out kitchen cabinets and room-dividing railings, removing dirty pink carpet in the pantry (say it with me, ewww!), doing lots of painting, removing popcorn ceilings and we just recently finished building our anniversary present to ourselves, a fire pit terrace. Fire is the new 2 year anniversary gift, or didn't you hear? ;)
Personal photos
I could update you on our travels or other adventures since I last posted a year ago, but really, all that matters now is that we're HOMEOWNERS! :) Yes, we are 100% in love with our new house. And yes, in true Cola fashion, we're DIY'ing every little home project we can (which you can read more about at
The Handcrafted Life if you're interested in keeping up with what we're up to).
Last year I ended my anniversary post with an excerpt from the vows I wrote for our wedding day. This year, I think it's fitting to leave you with this bit from
our ceremony, which we pieced together bit by bit from inspiration all over the web.
"Love is a friendship that has caught fire.
It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving.
It is loyalty through good and bad.
It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weakness.
Love is content with the present.
It hopes for the future and it doesn’t brood over the past.
It is the day-in and day-out chronicle of irritations, problems,
compromises, small disappointments, big victories and working toward
common goals.
If you have love in your life it can make up for a great many things you lack.
If you do not have love in your life, no matter what else there is, it is not enough.
So search for love.
Share it. But most of all… ENJOY IT."
Cheers to many more years of happiness! And congratulations to everyone on their upcoming weddings!
To see all of the "Alfresco Romance Under the Redwoods" Cola wedding recaps, see below:
- My bridesmaids and I got our hair and makeup done in the hotel suite.
- I put on my wedding dress and became a bride.
- The guys watched the World Cup, then got ready in 10 minutes.
- Traffic delayed our decorations getting to the venue, and I almost ruined our first look.
- We got to see each other for the first time on our wedding day at our first look.
- We took some time for bride and groom pictures in the park.
- I gave you a behind-the-scenes look at our family, friends, and DOC setting up our venue.
- Arriving at our venue and getting ready for the ceremony to start
- Everyone walked down the aisle.
- Excerpts from our ceremony, and reading the vows we wrote for each other
- I interrupted our officiant, we exchanged rings, and with a kiss we were officially married!
- Wedding party and family portraits, and my thoughts on missing pictures
- Our guests enjoyed cocktail hour while we took a few more photos.
- Everyone ate a delicious dinner, and our siblings gave beautiful toasts.
- We didn’t practice, but we had a very special and wonderful first dance as husband and wife.
- I showed you some disposable camera pictures, which were totally worth it to include on our tables!
- I found a target and tossed my bouquet at her.
- Mr. Cola finally managed to find my garter under my dress and tossed it.
- We fed each other cupcakes, and our guests swarmed our six-foot-tall cupcake tower.
- We stole some private moments together that our photographers documented.
- All our guests had some fun taking pictures in our DIY fauxtobooth.
- We enjoyed the rest of the evening with our guests.
- I showcased all the pretty details from our wedding, part 1 and part 2.
- We snuck out of our reception and away into the night.
- We partied into the early morning at our awesome after party.
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