Today is Mark and my 7th wedding anniversary. It celebrates the day we made two of the best decisions of our lives.
The first was choosing each other as a partner in this life together. The second was having a wedding with only the small group of people above.
I still remember trying to explain to the “wedding coordinators” at the church that there where only going to be 22 people total at our wedding. They were sure I meant attendants. I did not.
We were running late to the mandatory 5pm “rehearsal” that I had tried to tell them we didn’t need.
She called me right at 5pm enquiring as to our whereabouts. I told her we were a few blocks away and would be there shortly.
She was frantic. “I know you’re not here but Nobody is here!”
“Right” I said. “It’s just myself, my fiancé and our priest coming to the rehearsal.”
It took about 3/4 of our alloted reversal time to explain our wedding decision to the coordinators.
I wanted to get married in the Catholic Church. That was important to me. We decided we just wanted parents and siblings alone to attend our wedding and reception. I guess the Catholic Church hadn’t seen many weddings like ours before. To us, it didn’t seem that strange.
My parents had always half joked with me. “When you get married you can either have a wedding or a house down payment.” I don’t think they were too shocked when Mark and I picked the house down payment.
That was our second best decision that day. We skipped the big, fancy wedding and bought our first home. Propelling us into not only a strong financial position for our life but uniting us in how we would make wise financial decisions during our marriage.
Part of me was sad we didn’t have a big wedding. I’m not going to lie. The thought of partying with my friends is always fun. But much like this trip, the right decioson isn’t always the one that feels best in the moment.
Looking back, I’m so glad we did what we did. It was a beautiful day with our immediate family. But more importantly it laid both a financial and spiritual foundation for how we would grow in our marital partnership.
Happy Anniversary, Mark. Not a day goes by that I don’t thank God for you and the family we’ve created. Our adventures are icing on the cake. I know life is never easy. But I do know that as we face hardships together, we’ll come out stronger on the other side.
Beautiful! Weddings can be such a money trap. More young people should take your advice. I am enjoying following your travels. It has always been my dream, but I worked, spent 7 years taking care of my invalid Mother and now have a sick husband. Your are SMART to enjoy life now. Good luck in your travels.
Thank you, Lou. Best of luck to you and your husband. I hope things turn out well and that you have your chance to travel. Mark