...all the days of my life.

This past weekend, Iain and I attended a wedding of one of his co-worker's in Alexandria.  We went by ourselves and spent the night, leaving Gianna at home with our good friends. What a treat.  The wedding liturgy was beautiful, and they actually used the readings for the Feast of the Assumption (so it "counted.")  One thing that struck us was that the bride and groom (along with their maid of honor and best man) kneeled throughout the entire hour-long ceremony.  Yowza!  The priest (who is a long-time friend of mine) asked me at the reception, "Can you BELIEVE they kneeled the whole Mass?"  Of course, I told him I was surprised and impressed.

But the more I think about it, I think every marriage should begin with the couple on their knees in prayer....for a LONG time.  Even though it's such a joyous day, it's the beginning of a lifelong commitment that is HARD.  Marriage deserves to begin in prayer and be shrouded in prayer throughout the lives of husbands and wives.

When we got back, I happened to come across some pictures I took of the beautiful roses Iain gave me for our anniversary in mid-July.  I took pictures of them and just had the chance to look at them.  They're just beautiful.  I added some quotes on marriage between them....as well as a reminder of my promises.

Love is a flower which turns into fruit at marriage. ~Finnish Proverb

Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate. ~Barnett R. Brickner

Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years. ~Simone Signoret

Newlyweds become oldyweds, and oldyweds are the reasons that families work. ~Author Unknown

In a time when nothing is more certain than change, the commitment of two people to one another has become difficult and rare. Yet, by its scarcity, the beauty and value of this exchange have only been enhanced. ~Robert Sexton

When we got married, we decided to memorize our vows so we wouldn't have to repeat after the priest.  Every time we go to a wedding where they repeat their vows, Iain's so proud that he knows them by heart. (Not sure that he was quite so excited when I occasionally drilled him during our engagement. :)  And speaking of which. today is the day we became engaged seven years ago.

I love you, Iain, all the days of my life.