When we were planning our own wedding, Danny and I had so much fun getting caught up in the details. Well, maybe I had a little more fun than he did with the flowers and fashion, but really, we both had fun. There was a dinner menu to plan and a tasting to attend. There was a honeymoon to book and excursions to peruse. There were gifts to register for — and if you’ve ever walked around Bed Bath & Beyond or Macy’s with one of those little zapper guns, you know what kind of magical experience I’m talking about!

But there was a lot more to work on than the wedding details, or the honeymoon details, or the pre-party details. We had a marriage to build. That was the most exciting part — that promise.A wedding is a celebration, but to have a celebration as big as a wedding, you need something truly celebration-worthy. The promise two people make to take care of each other, to love each other, to put each other’s needs first and foremost, and to never turn their backs on each other — that’s worth celebrating. That’s worth the very biggest of parties.

Because, long after that party, you’ll still have the care and the love and the commitment.

Because, long after that party, you’ll still get caught up together in the intricate, exciting, sometimes-infuriating but absolutely rewarding details of everyday life.

Because, long after that party, you’ll still know that your no-matter-what partner has got your back.

Because, long after that party, you’ll still wake up one morning and realize you’ve never in your life loved each other more than you do today.

If.

Yes, if. We know the statistics. We know a lot of marriages don’t make it “long after that party.” We know that in a lot of marriages, just as in so many things in this life, there can remain a great big “if” hovering over every day, every interaction, every nagging question and lurking doubt.

It’s our job to care about our couples’ wedding days and to do everything we can to help ensure it goes off smoothly and that our couples have beautiful memories to cherish long after that party. It’s our human nature to care about our couples’ marriages — to pray for them and encourage them and hope their marriages grow stronger by the day — just as we do our friends, and ourselves. We know not every marriage in the world can continue happily ever after. We wish they could.

The truth is, we would much rather see a couple’s wedding day turn into a comedy of errors than to watch a couple’s marriage fall apart. We believe in marriage whole-heartedly. We were brought up by parents who believe in marriage, and we can’t wait to one day show our children just why we think marriage is so powerful, so worth all the work, such a blessing. We can’t wait to watch our couples’ children learn just the same thing!

So celebrate! Celebrate the marriage you’re embarking on as you walk down the aisle and dance before your guests, and celebrate the promise that future holds. Then hold onto it just as lovingly as you hold each other on that dance floor.

~ Laura