Before we stood at the altar, my bride had instructed me to say no. She asked me to trust her, and I did. What happened next was something no one saw coming.
Not even me. They say you should expect surprises on your wedding day. Mine came in five words that nearly stopped my heart.
Say no at the altar. Before I tell you what happened next, let me start from the beginning. “Don’t you feel like the luckiest guy in the world?” Emily asked as we sat surrounded by wedding brochures, color swatches, and venue pamphlets on our living room floor.
“Oh, yeah. I do!” I chuckled, picking up a photo of an elegant outdoor venue with string lights hanging from oak trees. Emily nudged my shoulder playfully.
“Save those exact words for the ceremony, Adam.”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “This one looks perfect,” I said, tapping the outdoor venue photo. “I can picture you walking down that aisle already.”
Emily leaned her head against my chest.
“Me too,” she said. “Though I’d marry you anywhere. Even the courthouse.”
“I know you would,” I said.
“But you deserve the wedding you’ve been dreaming about.”
And she had been dreaming about it practically her whole life. I met Emily three years ago at work. She was the new account manager, and I was immediately drawn to her warmth.
While other executives charged into meetings focused solely on metrics and deadlines, Emily always arrived early to ask how people were doing, remembering details about their lives that most would forget. When Ben from accounting was going through a divorce, Emily quietly organized meal deliveries to his house for two weeks. When Maria’s son was in the hospital, Emily covered three of her presentations without being asked.
She didn’t do these things for recognition. Most of the time, people didn’t even know about it. That kindness is what made me fall in love with her.
In a world where people are quick to look out for themselves, Emily looked out for everyone else. We got engaged after dating for a few months, and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. Emily was super excited to plan our wedding.
Every time we went over details, she’d pull out an old, worn photo album from her childhood, flipping through pages of magazine cutouts, princess gowns, and carefully scribbled “future wedding ideas” in a child’s handwriting. “I’ve dreamed about this day since I was little,” she’d say. “And I’m so happy it’s with you.”
Planning our wedding together made me more certain than ever that deciding to marry Emily was the best decision of my life.
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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