Have you ever stopped to really think about just how many things are going on for the bride and groom in one wedding day? Let’s count. They’re starting their marriage. They’re hosting the biggest party of their lives. They’re spending the day with all of their nearest and dearest — quite likely the only time in their lives that they will have all of the people they care about most together in one place. They’re concerned — especially the bride — about looking their very best ever. They’re creating some incredible memories.

It’s a lot to handle in one day!

When the wedding day rolls around, it’s so easy to get swept up in the torrent of emotions, to get sidetracked by some decorations that didn’t turn out exactly as planned, to become frustrated with relatives who don’t show up on time for family portraits. But the reality is, in ten years, all the little annoyances or even major surprises of the wedding day won’t have any lasting impact on your life. What will? The quality of your marriage will be the defining impact on your life.

Start strong.

On your wedding day, begin the day spending a bit of time thinking about your marriage, not the chaotic party that’s about to ensue. If you pray, pray for your soon-to-be husband or wife. Reflect on your relationship and how much it has grown and deepened already, and envision how much stronger that relationship will become as the years of your marriage unfold. Think about some of your favorite qualities not only of the person you’re marrying, but think about some of the reasons you’re so happy that you’re joining your two families. Write a love letter that morning telling your beloved why you can’t wait for this marriage.When it comes down to it, your wedding is all about your marriage; your marriage is not just a byproduct of the wedding. The happiest weddings are always the ones at which the couple are clearly overjoyed at beginning a new life together, and the most meaningful weddings are the ones where the sanctity and significance of the marriage are front and center throughout the day.

Savor the party, savor the friends and family — but most of all, savor the first hours of your marriage. Your flowers might not come in quite the right shade of pink or the DJ might play every song on your do-not-play list, but no one can mess up what matters the very most.

~ Laura