Congrats to Nora & Alberto on your marriage!
Here is a passage I wrote about marriage, for my wedding with Josh, that I think is worth sharing:

Marriage
Is the confluence of two rivers-
Two lives.

Complete on their own,
Yet coursing ever-forward with the flow of time.
Towards unknown and uncharted territories.

I’ve heard it said,
“There’s nothing new under the sun”
and many of you have already embarked on the voyage of love & marriage.
Some of you- our youth- have yet to feel its warmth.

The beauty of life and love is that
with each day, year, and generation
we are given the gift of novelty.

Each year the flowers bloom, and wither to seed.
and all around the World
There are couples kindling their affections in marriage.
Young people falling in love for the first time,
and those who’ve loved & lost,
that dare to love again-
Realizing there is no age-limit on love.
And sometimes…
Even greater joy comes with experience.

I look forward to finding new ways to love you every day.

So we all live our lives.
Being who we are:
The most important person to know is our self.
Beautifully unique in our own eccentricities.

We are just doing what we do on an average day:
Going to the farmers market,
to our favorite group,
or a dance class.

and it happens:
The confluence of lives.
You meet someone who changes the course of your life,
and you change theirs.

You love them,
and they love you
for all that you are-
You don’t fit each other into a mold of expectations.
For there is no mold
either of you fit.

Your draw towards each other is so powerful-
That you want to live your life in each others orbit.
Side by side,
strengthening each other
and drawing out latent aspects in each other
that can only be activated through mutual love.

Where your well doesn’t run dry,
but you replenish each other.
Balancing each other out.

In this love, I can confidently say

You don’t complete me,
nor do I complete you.

You are complete, and perfect.
You compliment me, and I compliment you.

We are two distinct wholes-
Finding the holes left in our lives from previous loves
and mending them.

And while a marriage is between individuals-
It’s more than that.
It’s when “my family” and “your family”
become “our family”.
Where we are all connected-
A sum greater than the whole of its parts.

Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, Aunts, Uncles, Daughters & Sons.

Each and every one of you has helped to shape us into the people we are today. For that, I thank you all from the depths of my heart.
Thank you all for your support & acceptance through the many stages of our lives.

And here’s a bonus little on-location doodle of the background, from along the Monarch Spur Trail. This is one of my favorite little places to go sit & think in town (on the stretch between 7th street & the dog park).