Flashback: Wedding

One year ago today, we stood at the tip of this rock surrounded by our closest family and promised to stand by each other no matter what.
There was no fancy engagement and no long, drawn out planning process. I didn't even tell my parents we were getting married until two months before, because I didn't want my mom to turn it into a big to-do.
There was no fanfare: no church, no expensive dress, no over-the-top details.
I wore a green dress, because green is my favorite color. Neither of us wore shoes.
Our guest list consisted of my parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, uncle and best friend, and his mother, son, and best friend. Originally, The Kid did not want to come because he did not want to hurt his mom's feelings. At the last minute (less than a week before) he changed his mind and decided he wanted to be there with us.
Perhaps the most significant of these guests was my husband's best friend. He refused to go to the first wedding because he thought it was a huge mistake. He did, however, wait outside the church in a getaway car in case The Husband came to his senses before he said, "I do." The fact that he took the day off to come to our wedding and pledge his support to us meant more to me than I can ever express.
My brother performed the ceremony. He knew how nervous I was and flashed a nip of Jagermeister hiding in his pocket for encouragement. That simple act, a little joke, put me right at ease. (Don't worry, I didn't drink it until much later in the evening!)
The Kid held my wedding ring in his pocket. I kept teasing him that I was going to hire a diver just in case he dropped the ring off the cliff. About 5 minutes before the ceremony, he was getting into the water next to us:

I had nothing to do with it, I swear! But the laughs that we shared were priceless.
It rained approximately 28 of the 30 days of last June. Our wedding day was one of the beautiful days, sunny and nearly 80 degrees. I like to think that was karma.
I, the uber-Type A in the relationship, forgot my vows at home. Though I had them memorized, I was nervous and on the spot. I said what I could remember then told him I'd read him the rest later. He, the uber-slacker in the relationship, whipped out his vows from his back pocket, not without reminding everyone of the irony of the situation. The pictures of the laughter at that moment are some of my favorites of the day.
It was a windy day, and The Husband was having a tough time holding his paper straight. The Kid jumped up next to his dad and grabbed the paper. "Let me help you, Dad," he said. He stood there, next to his father and held his vows steady. It. Was. Adorable.
After the (15-minute) ceremony, the lot of us went to lunch at a very nice local restaurant. We ended up having our own private room and a jazz band was playing right outside on the terrace. We stuffed our faces with gourmet food, drank, toasted and had cake.
The day wasn't fancy. It wasn't expensive. It wasn't traditional. But it was full of love. No, we didn't get thousands of dollars in gifts and money. But we did get the promised support of those closest to us in the ups and downs of our marriage. And that I'd much rather have.

To celebrate one year of marriage, I had our carefully written vows printed up all fancy and framed. There were many things we promised to each other that I think we have forgotten, namely my promise to let go of the past. We'll hang the frames next to our bed, my vows on his side and his on mine, a reminder of what our marriage is truly all about.

To my husband, thank you for the gift of your love. Happy Anniversary!