11 Oct
The 1st Anniversary
Today marks the first of what I know will be many wedding anniversaries for us. How do I know? Because we are going to make it happen. We aren’t soul mates. We were never “meant to be”. We chose this, and we are going to continue to choose to make it work for the rest of our lives and beyond.
I’ve written a lot about our wedding, 29 posts to be exact. If you want a detailed summary of the entire experience visit my last post about the wedding experience and scroll down to see a list of links to all of my recap posts.
For this anniversary post I went through a few thousand photos (literally) and chose 5 that describe some of my favorite moments of the day.
I can remember the way I felt at our “first look” so clearly. The endowment ceremony and time together in the celestial room the day before had been so calming. Everything felt so right, and we couldn’t stop smiling at each other. I felt sure I wanted to be with him forever.
This was moments after we walked out of the temple as husband and wife. Right behind the camera stood a ring of our closest family and friends, clapping and cheering and waiting to come forward to hug us. We really did it! We were married!
I hadn’t placed a lot of importance on making sure we got a classic temple shot, but now I’m so glad we did. A year later and the scaffolding on the spire doesn’t bother me at all. Pretty golden Moroni can still be seen and it’s truly what is inside that matters. Our sealing in the temple means absolutely everything to us. It gives us an eternal perspective when marriage is hard. It’s what will keep us from ever giving up.
The first dance was just one of the many my new husband showed me how much he cared about me, and what he was willing to do to make me happy. He took some lessons with me, practiced with me, and on our wedding day he got up and performed in front of everyone. One year later and he still continues to make sacrifices for me and for our marriage.
I think this photo describes the way we approached our marriage in the beginning. We jumped in head first, giving it everything we had and learning a few tough lessons along the way. I love my husband ten times more today than I did that night, and I expect that love to grow exponentially each year. When we welcome the baby into our lives next April we’re going to have to work even harder to keep our marriage strong, but I think we’re up for the challenge.
I chose him. He chose me. We’ll continue to choose each other, eternally.
Also:
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
Beautiful post! I loved this whole week of posts - what a great one to end it with. I’m totally with you on “choosing” this - versus it being “meant to be”. Marriage is hard work and sacrifice, and it’s up to us to make our relationships what we want them to be. Congrats on one year, and wishing you many more!
1You know what I love when you talk about your relationship? That you look honestly into the fact that marriage is a hard work and that the reason why you will make it through is because you’ll make the effort to, and you also know that it will take exta efforts once you are three.
So I’m pretty sure as well that you will have many many happy years and anniversaries. Congratulations.
2Great post. I love that you mentioned you chose one another and will continue to choose each other through eternity. Everything was very well said!
3That’s beautiful! Happy anniversary
4Happy anniversary!
5Happy Anniversary! The love you have for one another is inspiring
6Happy first anniversary!!! I’ve loved hearing about how that wife came to be!! I hope you guys are blessed for many years!!
7Beautiful post! Every time you write about that husband, one can just see the love you to share. Happy Anniversary!
8Congratulations! I hope your anniversary is amazing. I’ve really enjoyed this look back at you and your husband’s journey to marriage - I started following you on WeddingBee just over a year ago. Who could have known what this year would hold for us? Incredible. I’m so happy for you.
9Happy One Year!
10Congratulations! I can’t believe it’s already been a year. Hooray for you two! You’re terrific. XOXO
11Happy Anniversary!
12Happy Anniversary!
13Happy Anniversary! It will be so fun to celebrate your second with That One in your arms, too!
14Happy Anniversary! Keep at it…:-)
15what a beautiful post! congratulations on your 1st of many anniversaries and congratulations on your new love-your baby! I LOVE what you said about how you’re not meant to be but you chose each other and you will choose to continually make it work-very well said! again, congrats and best wishes ^_^
16Loved this weeks posts. Thanks for sharing it with all of us. Happy Anniversary too!
17Happy anniversary, Jenna! This post was so beautifully written and I agree whole-heartedly about the importance of “choosing” each other.
As an LDS bride myself, I loved following you on WeddingBee and am so glad I found your personal blog. You do such a great job sharing our beliefs and giving an honest perspective into young married life. Keep up the good work
(Oh, and congratulations on the pregnancy, of course!)
18I’m late - happy anniversary!!
19Thanks for linking your 2nd anniversary to this- exactly what I needed to read! You CHOOSE each other. WE choose each other. No magic involved… we choose each other.
20