On my wedding day, I was nearly six years deep into my relationship.
When I said my vows and dotted the lines of my marriage license, I knew exactly who I was signing up for. Chad, the once-boy in my life, now an educated, goofy, and handsome man, was and is my best friend. I knew him then as I do now—like an extension of myself.
And, I might add, Chad is even more sweet and cute and funny and wonderful and loving now, even if I didn’t think it possible at the time.
What I was signing up for, though, has evolved over the course of the three years since saying “I do.”
I’m in love, I have my person, and we continue to grow and care for each other and our needs. In my case, marriage on its own is not very difficult. Loving Chad, committing to him, imagining and planning for and moving toward forever—easy. It’s a piece of cake, it’s a toothy grin, it’s a dance through the sprinklers on a sunny day.
Life, however, isn’t always as effortless.
Guess what? Life and marriage connect on an intrinsic level. Like the moon and its entranced tide, one moves and the other follows. When life is hard, marriage—regardless of strength and standing—is affected. It just is; how you treat each other, support each other, and grow together is magnified and tested during trying times.
I did not know what I was signing up for, because there’s no way to totally predict the movements of life. Though you can expect normal stressful moments in marriage relating to money, jobs, chores, and communication, it’s pretty hard to expect a global pandemic to come along and tug the rug out from under you. Life has unfathomable moments, and our three years (let alone the last six months) has been a testament to that.
Now, on our third wedding anniversary, I have fresh perspective, in addition to an endless reel of beautiful memories.
Here’s what I have come to know: the who of marriage determines the outcome of the what. And in my case:
My partner makes my lows bearable.
My person makes shared experiences adventurous.
My husband makes the mundane exciting.
And above all, Chad makes my life warm and full of sunshine.
Happy anniversary, Chad. I love you endlessly, and the life we are building together. Cheers to you, me, and three.
Happy anniversary!
Thank you!!
Aw this is so sweet. Happy Anniversary to you two! I love the idea of knowing who you are marrying but not knowing the what of marriage until you’re in it. My partner and I are getting close to marriage and posts like this make me so excited!
Thank you so much for reading and for your kind words! I can honestly say that marriage has been such a grand adventure, and those feelings of excitement are spot-on. I wish you and your partner the best!
This is such a lovely post, it really made me smile! And I love the idea of a fresh perspective in marriage, that’s so positive. Happy anniversary!
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
Thank you so much! 🙂
Happy third anniversary Savannah! Great point about when life is hard it can effect the relationship too. These are tough times for everyone! I think people are finding out who can band together and cope, and who ends up dumping their problems on their partner instead of working together. Thanks for the post!
Thank you! I think when hard times are as magnified as they’ve been lately, it can reveal a lot of insecurities and underlying issues. I feel very fortunate for my situation for sure. Thanks for reading and for your sweet comment!
Huge congratulations! This is so beautifully written ♥️ You make me want to fall in love x
Thank you so much, that’s so sweet to say! <3
I absolutely Love every bit of this post! You are a wordsmith for sure and your post about marriage and what you were signing up for feels like a great reflection on most relationships! I full heartedly agree that no matter how strong your marriage life throws some crazy unexpected things that can definitely shake you…it may not break you but it sure does have some effects! Great post!
Thank you so much! There’s definitely a trickle-down effect from what we go through that seep into both our relationships and ourselves. Thanks again for reading, and for your wonderful comment.
Awe what a sweet post! Happy anniversary! We are about to celebrate our fourth anniversary here in a couple of weeks too!
Thank you! And oh my goodness, happy early anniversary to you as well! <3
What a lush post to read, happy anniversary to you both!! Xx
Thank you so much! xx
I enjoyed reading this and loved the photos. I totally agree the who makes all the difference and one lesson I have truly learnt is for a marriage to work, the first foundation to have is friendship. Without friendship, its hard for any marriage to handle the challenges that come along.Wishing you Happy Anniversary and here’s to more years together!
Very true! I wholeheartedly believe that while you have to love someone, you truly have to also like them. Thank you so much for reading and for your wonderful comment!
Such a beautiful and inspiring post! Congratulations on your third wedding anniversary, many more to come. Love is so beautiful when you actually find the right person who will stick with you through thick and thin x
Thank you so much for reading and for your kind words! xx
This post made me feel all warm and fuzzy! So adorable, you guys. Happy Anniversary to the both of you, you guys made me believe in long lasting love and commitment xx
Thank you so much for reading and for your unbelievably kind words! Sending all the warm and fuzzies your way. xx
This is such a lovely post. Happy Anniversary to you both.
Thank you so much!
I love this post so much! It bought a tear to my eye. You two make the most beautiful couple. Happy Anniversary to you both ❤️
Thank you so much for reading, and for leaving such a sweet and kind comment! <3
What a sweet and meaningful post to celebrate your anniversary. My husband and I are about to hit the 2 year mark in November, and I can’t believe how much time has passed already. We’ve gone through a lot in our marriage – and this year was certainly testing. But we’ve come out stronger every time. I’m so grateful to have him as my partner for life!
There’s nothing like a tough year to put things into perspective! It’s crazy how fast the time goes. Thank you so much for reading and commenting, and I wish you and your husband a happy early anniversary!
This is so beautiful! Happy anniversary!
Thank you so much, Rosie!
Happy Anniversary! This is so nice. Being for 6 years before marriage give high chance of a stable future together 🙂
Thank you so much! It was definitely a must in our situation, since we got together when we were only 16. A lot of growing up and figuring life out in those 6 years! Thank you for reading. 🙂
Such a beautiful post!
Thank you!
You’re welcome 😇