Danny and I say it to each other often: We love each other more now than when we got married four years ago. And we loved each other then far, far more than when we’d begun dating, four years before that.

In the time we’ve been married, we’ve not only gotten really accustomed to each other’s quirks and idiosyncrasies, but we’ve come to embrace them and even feel a little bit sentimental about them. We’ve watched each other grow into more mature, well-rounded people who pursue God more sincerely and put each other ahead of ourselves more effectively.

This morning, I met up with Jordan and Wes for a sunrise anniversary portrait session at the river, and I asked them if they would say they love each other more now than they did on the day they got married last December. I loved Jordan’s answer, which was more than a simple yes: She said she thinks their definition of love is deeper now than it was then.

I think that’s also a good definition of marriage: An ever-deepening, expanding definition of love.

Danny and I agree that 2013 has been a good year for our marriage. There was the CONNECT Retreat last spring (which we can’t wait to head back to this spring). There were new projects together, there was traveling for work and for fun, together. And there was capturing the start of 17 other couples’ marriages — marriages that we hope will grow just as surely and happily as ours has.

Weddings are fun. Marriage is even better.

~ Laura