“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” – Mignon McLaughlin
I had the privilege and joy of seeing my oldest grandchild get married this weekend. The wedding was lovely with much smiling and a few tears too as I watched my granddaughter step into the next part of her life. But her wedding was a family affair.
My granddaughter is fortunate to be part of a loving family. She was an only child for eight years and then her family exploded with four siblings added in the next six years. She had to learn to be a big sister and she learned it well.
But increasing the size of a family doesn’t mean love is divided. It simply means love expands to include more. I’ve heard it described as how a candle’s light isn’t diminished because other candles are lit from its flame. That’s how love is in a family. The Lord supplies us with more than enough love to cover every child He sends us. And so when Sarah met the right guy and he gave her a ring and popped the question, she wanted a wedding that would include all her family along with her friends. So her mother and dad gave Sarah her dream wedding.
The perfect dress was found. The venue picked. The plans made. Those plans included having her sisters as bridesmaids and her little brothers as groomsmen. The girls, of course, were excited about dressing up in pretty clothes and having their hair and makeup done, but the boys, at ten, lacked some of that eagerness. While dressing up isn’t their favorite thing, they were more than ready to put on suits and ties to be part of Sarah’s big day.
Grandmothers and grandfathers get to be part of the show too and Sarah and Matt were blessed to have all eight of their grandparents able to be there to witness their marriage. Aunts and uncles added to the well wishers and so did cousins along with all those friends who feel like family.
Here is the rest of my family sitting around the table waiting to enjoy the wedding buffet.
And then there was that sweet first dance of the newlyweds before the bride and her father and groom and his mother had their turn on the dance floor. After that the dancing fun began for everybody or at least those who weren’t happy simply observing.
But eventually I caught a picture of the newlyweds taking some more dancing moments and I thought of the song “Save the Last Dance for Me.” My hope for them is that they dance through life sharing the ups and downs with more ups than downs and with love in each step. 
Do you cry at weddings?
I have to admit I got a little misty eyed at this one when the bride and groom read the beautiful personal vows they’d written for one another. As always, thanks for reading.
Comments 12
Beautiful, wish I had been there. My grandson graduated the same day and time as Sarah & Matt’s wedding. Just looking at them dancing together, starring into each other’s eyes speaks volumes. Love these two.
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May is a busy month with graduations and more going on, Minerva. Wish you could have been there to be part of the celebration. They had a good time and everything went well.
May God bless this union from this day forward.
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Thank you, Sandi. Blessed marriages are the best.
This looks like a beautiful beautiful wedding! May God bless them for many years! Yes I cry especially when it’s family!
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Thank you, Fran. I can get teary eyed reading a novel about made up people. So it’s good to get teary eyed in a good touching way for my own family.
Congratulations to the newlyweds! You have a beautiful family. I usually get teary-eyed at weddings. It’s just so emotional to witness the joining of two people in love.
A couple of years ago my youngest son surprised his bride of 10 years with a vow-renewing party for their anniversary. He got his sister and brother’s wives, along with our family and close friends, involved in the surprise. She thought they were having a “family photo shoot”. But when she arrived at the farm an outdoor country wedding was waiting. Of course she cried, and there wasn’t a dry eye on that ridge that day. I cried, witnessing the love my son has for his family.
Weddings are such happy times…you just have to shed tears of joy!
Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos of your family, Ann. Your granddaughter is lovely!
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I got teary-eyed just reading that, Lavon. What a special gift for your son to give his wife. My husband is not a fan of vow renewal ceremonies. I’ve never wanted one but sometimes when others have them (and I think that’s wonderful) somebody will ask my husband if he would do that. He always says he married me once. He’s not doing it again! Of course, he’s not being mean about it. He just says he meant it the first time and doesn’t need to redo it. 🙂
But I think it’s super nice when couples do that renewal in front of friends and family and sounds as though the one your son surprised his bride with was a beautiful time for all of you.
What a beautiful time for you all! We are blessed to have grands!
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Indeed. God’s gift to us to make us not mind adding on a few years, Melanie.
Thank you for sharing those beautiful moments with us. A beautiful bride and a handsome groom profess their love. I pray that through those ups and downs their love will grow even more. We will celebrate our 59th in August. I pray that they will have as many years if not more. I used to get teary eyed at weddings, but so many marriages end in divorce these days I have become a bit cynical. The commitment is just not there. Couples seem to fall in and out of “love” too quickly and when an obstacle is met they’re more than likely to turn and run rather than work through it. You have a beautiful family! God bless all of them and this marriage. 🙏🏻
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You’re a little ahead of my husband and me, Karen. We are past the fifty years though. My hope for my granddaughter and her new husband is that they will have many happy years together.
While you are right that divorces do seem to happen too easily these days, my granddaughter and her new husband have a unique family background. No divorces at all among her or his parents and grandparents. All long term marriages. I wish a long term marriage for the newlyweds too.