EMMA & ANDREW’S BACKYARD RECEPTION
“Andrew Daniel. This moment just feels surreal. You look perfect. I just wanted to say that I called it when I labeled you “the love of my life” as a 14-year-old. And I can honestly say that from the moment we met again, I knew I was going to marry you. And I may have had to convince you of this at first, but I knew there was no way I was going to ever live my life without you.
It’s hard to find words that accurately describe you because they all seem to fall short. But Andrew, you are sunshine. You light up my whole world. You are warm, you are kind, you are good. You uncover the best parts of me. You are the most exquisite, beautiful person I have ever met. Learning to love you has been the greatest privilege that I’ve ever had. You have shown me what it means to love someone completely. Your love is selfless, and it is pure. And I am the luckiest girl in the world to be the recipient of that love.
I promise you that I will never take that love for granted. And I can promise you that as long as I exist, you will always be loved. I hope that the most beautiful things happen to you, and when they do, I hope you can believe that you are worthy of every single one of them.
I promise to be faithful during the best of times, the worst of times, and everything in between. I will always be on your side, and I will always be your biggest cheerleader. I promise to always take care of you and respect you and keep your heart safe and close to mine. I promise to always fight for you. I promise to choose you every single day. And I even promise to always give you back scratches when you ask for them.
Andrew, I am so excited to see what the future has in store for us, and I thank God every single day for giving me you. I can’t wait to continue to grow with you. Above all, I am just so grateful that you are my best friend. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. It is a privilege to love you, and an honor to be loved by you. You truly are sunshine. I love you, baby.”
“Oh Emma Jayne how I love you…. In my envisioning this moment, the day I would get to marry my very best friend, I could never in my wildest dreams have conjured up a more perfect woman for me. A woman who is kind above all, beautiful beyond measure, talented to no end, and who loves completely without restraint. Each day that I've been lucky enough to witness you living your life, i've fallen deeper in love with you. And not just in the love with the best version of you, or the version of you that is all dressed up and beautified for me. Just you. I love you, all of you. Your flaws, your imperfection, your quirks. The entirety of you. The you that loves me more than anyone ever has. The you whose greatest desire is to make me feel special. I tell you every day that I have never ever had a doubt that you love me, but I want you to know how much it means to me that I never have a doubt that your heart belongs to me. Because of that knowledge I get to be me. Free to explore, adventure, and pursue happiness. Your love gives me hope You enable me to be the happiest version of me. You are my glimpse of heaven and light in the darkness. You make me the best version of myself and because of that…
I promise to grow as we go.
I promise to live everyday with intention. Treating everyday as a blessing from God.
I promise to be there to catch you if you should stumble, and fall in love with you more every day.
Today, I choose to be yours for the rest of our lives. And with all of the days we have left on this earth I promise to fill your life with happiness, peace, and a constant hand to hold and a shoulder to cry on.
With the words I have shared I have only been able to express a glimpse of the endless river of love that I feel for you. For the rest of my life i promise to show you how deep and neverending that love is for you.
I love you more than I can share Emma Jayne. I couldn't be more happy to marry you. I love you.”