✦“You found the light in me that I couldn’t find.”✦
— Lady Gaga
The Day Love Chose Us Back
There are loves that take years to bloom—
and others that arrive fully formed, as if they’d been waiting for you all along.
Ours came easily, like something written long before we ever met.
After ten months of engagement, we stood in a field of sunflowers outside Denver, Colorado—the very flower he gave me when we first met, with a note that said, “I hope this makes you smile.” I didn’t know then that he’d spend a lifetime making sure I always did.
He always called me his sunflower—strong, warm, always finding the light. And that day, surrounded by thousands of them, it felt as though the universe had remembered our story and painted it all around us.
The Walk
When the car door opened, I saw my dad’s eyes and immediately began to cry—the kind of tears that hold a lifetime in them. We stood there for a breath of forever, both of us trembling between laughter and love.
Then he took my hand—the same hand he once held crossing busy streets—and walked me toward the man who would hold it for the rest of my life.
The saxophone began to play “Always Remember Us This Way,” beautifully performed by Mason Yordy, and for a moment, time stopped.
My husband’s eyes met mine—an Arizona sky burning in his gaze—and I swear, I wanted to catch on fire. The world melted away until it was just us: two souls, standing still in a sea of gold. It didn’t feel like a wedding. It felt like home.
The Heart Behind It All
None of it would have come together the way it did without my best friend—my constant encourager, my safe place, the one who’s loved me through every version of myself.
She took our vision, our hopes, our scribbled notes, and turned them into something more beautiful than I could’ve dreamed. She didn’t just plan a day—she poured her heart into it. And because of her, every moment felt touched by grace.
The Details of Forever
Our mothers helped weave the story into every small thing: pearls passed down through generations, a silver coin tucked into my shoe, and my mom’s earrings that I’ve loved since childhood. They weren’t just traditions—they were blessings stitched into the day.
When it came time for the bouquet, I didn’t toss it. I placed it gently in my mother’s hands, whispering a quiet thank you for all the love that raised me. Her eyes shimmered, and I swear the sun lingered a little longer in that moment.
And though my brother couldn’t make it—his career pulling him far from where we stood—his absence was deeply felt. We missed him in every laugh, every toast, every golden flicker of sunset. But love has a way of traveling beyond distance. I knew he was proud, that he was celebrating with us from wherever duty had called him. His presence lived in our stories, our memories, and the unspoken truth that family is never too far when love remains the bridge.
Our Love in Motion
Our first dance was choreographed by his sister—a dancer who somehow turned our love into movement. Every step felt like sunlight, our story unfolding in rhythm, surrounded by laughter, family, and everything that carried us to that moment.
We weren’t just dancing—we were living in it. Every spin, every glance, every heartbeat felt like a celebration of everything we’d built together. It wasn’t just a dance floor—it was our beginning set to music.
And when it came time for our vows, my husband—the unexpected poet—outdid me completely. His words were tender, raw, and true. He’s seen me at my lowest, my happiest, and everything in between—and still, he chose me. Every day, he keeps choosing me.
Where the Light Stayed
It was small. It was simple. But it was everything.
A wedding not built on perfection, but on peace.
A day where every laugh, every tear, every breeze felt heaven-sent.
We were married among sunflowers and family, in the quiet grace of God’s timing.
And when the last light of the day fell across our hands, I knew—
Love hadn’t just found us.
It had chosen us back.
Next Category: Loss and Resilience
But love doesn’t end where the light fades.
Just two months before that day, we walked through one of life’s deepest heartbreaks—a miscarriage that forever changed how we see love, faith, and healing.
In the next category of The Raging Woman, I’ll open that part of our story:
the ache, the resilience, and the quiet strength that grew in the space between loss and hope.
Because even when joy breaks—love still finds a way to rise.
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