“This can’t be happening on our wedding day!” I closed my eyes until I saw flashes of light. Maybe; if I close my eyes tight enough and open them again—I thought—I’ll see different words on the screen of my iPhone from my husband-to-be.
To all the lovers who’ve held onto fantasies of perfection for the day you say “I do,” you understand. If you saw words of dismay scrolling across your phone on the day you were to wed the love of your life, I know you’d find yourself in a flurry of emotions from love to letdown. I certainly did. I thought for sure a loveless text message would scar memories of the most important day in my life forever.
I’d been dreaming of my wedding day since I was able to scribble my name on paper. I’d always imagined my Prince Charming gushing with love for me on this special day. Now, it was here—October 28, 2016—and I found myself fighting back tears and frustration because I made the utterly stupid decision to break my rule of no cell phones. I couldn’t help myself. I had to see if my prince, Lukas, was thinking of me and sent me words of love just hours before we were to become husband and wife. What I found was beyond disappointing.
There were no words of love; no outpouring of joy and gratefulness. Nope. Instead, what I found were short-bursts of panic messages because a story broke that would surely impact Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the Presidential election. It was our wedding day, and my dear Lukas wasn’t thinking of me. He was thinking of the other love in his life...politics! This wasn’t the way I saw us starting our life together.
Sitting in my Grecian-inspired wedding dress and freshly airbrushed makeup, I blinked back a stream of tears. “Sweetie, don’t worry about it,” said my sister and Matron of Honor, Sonia. “Men are just stupid. Of course, he’s thinking of you today. Men just don’t show their feelings very well.” She sweetly brushed my hand and reassured me that this day would indeed be special and reminded me not to let petty things take over the joy in life.
Memories of that day flicker in my mind—like rays of sunlight dancing through the trees. I don’t remember every vivid detail of that day, but I do remember how full of love it truly was. I remember the gift of music my Mother-in-Law gave me. The song she composed for Lukas and I was an absolute treasure. I remember the outpouring of love my family had for the both of us and how hard my Uncle Richard and my mom worked to provide a hearty buffet of food worthy of kings and queens. Most of all, I remember how smitten Lukas was when he read his vows to me. He was shaking with emotion and choking back tears. We cried together and embraced each other in our arms (with the approval of the officiant, of course). He was my best friend. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with any other man.
After our reception and our farewell to the family came to a close, Luke and I were alone at last. I delicately scolded him for starting our day off with such a thing as politics. I asked him what enticed him to text me such news on this day. He was quiet for a moment. Then he turned to me and—with love in his voice—he said, “You’re my best friend. You’re the only one I want to freak out with.”
With those words; my heart unfolded, releasing peace and love. My sister was right. This day was indeed full of love—a love that overshadows all the petty frustrations of life.
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