On my wedding day

Dear Everyone,

Ten years ago I was sitting in Carroll Hall wrapping up a semester of my first journalism class: JOMC 53 with Professor Roush. I learned a lot in his class, but one thing in particular stuck with me because I had absolutely never thought about it before in my life.

Apparently, at major newspapers across the country, there are already obituaries for people such as former presidents, etc, who aren't even dead yet. Creepier still, these people KNOW the obituaries are already written, and in many cases they contributed to them. So when I was in Rome in June of 2004, when President Reagan died, all the New York Times and Washington Post had to do was pull out and publish the obit - complete with quotes from Reagan himself. Bizarre.

But in a similar vein, I wrote this post long before today. What with my penchant for editing, and re-editing, and re-writing, and changing every little last word, there was absolutely no way in hell I'd be able to sit down and write this post today. If you're reading this, you're lucky I had the chance to hit "Publish."

Today is my wedding day. I'm marrying my best friend and the love of my life, the father of my future children and the grumpy old man I want by my side when I'm 90. You know how anything you eat is basically better with salt on it? That's how life is with B. Anything I do is better if it involves him. I love my friends. I love my family. But B is the person I've chosen to spend the rest of my life with, and that makes him different than every other single person on the planet.

I could wax poetic about B, and us, but you won't understand. No one but I could. So I'll leave you with this instead.

Much like the weird obituary thing, this has stuck with me since I heard it four years ago at my best friend's wedding. After we got lined up all neatly at the rehearsal, the priest told my friend and her husband something. It went something like this: "The wedding, it isn't just for you. It's for everyone watching you. For those who have been married a while, it reminds them of their wedding day and why they got married. For those who are not yet married, it gives them hope. Your wedding will influence everyone in some way."

At the time, I was one of the single people without a shred of hope. I was pretty much resigned to dying alone as an old lady, living in my brother's attic with a bunch of cats (which is especially unfortunate, as I HATE cats). But as I watched my best friend say "I do," I felt, just for a moment that it might eventually happen for me. And today, it will.

So when we stand up in front of family and friends today, it's not just about us. It's about every single person in Christ Church today who has loved us and supported us and helped us grow until we were ready to find each other. I hope each of you will be able to take something away from our wedding today, whether it be remembrance or hope. Thank you all for touching our lives. Special thanks to Mom and Dad for letting me share their anniversary.

And thank you, B, for choosing me. I can't wait to be your wife.

Love,
Emily