Love Story Part 4 – The Small Things Blog

This is the final installment of our love story! Read part ONE, part TWO and part THREE before this to get caught up! 

“I love you”, he said with my face cradled in his hands.

My heart was pounding and I had a million thoughts running through my head.

“This is a big deal! We haven’t known each other very long! I think I love him too, should I say it back?? What do I do!?!” were just a few of the millions of thoughts flooding my head as fast as my heart beat.

He quickly said, “I don’t want you to feel any pressure to reply, I just wanted to tell you how I feel.” I let the “love declaration” hang in the air and decided that I would wait until I was ready to say it back. Recalling this story may make it sound like it was awkward between us, but it truly felt more like he had just given me a gift and didn’t have any expectations in return. It was very sweet.

We continued dating, walking to class together, and spending as much time as possible together. It was as pure as young love and infatuation could possibly be. The excitement about spending time together was at level 10 and we enjoyed each other so much.

One day, while getting out of his car when we got back to my apartment, he said, “I love you!” and I replied, “I love you too!” as normal as it could ever possibly be. Then I gasped! I had been saving that phrase for a special moment but I just blurted it out like it was no big deal when I was getting out of his car.

I don’t think I was even looking at him when I said it.

I peeked my head back in the window, smiling and feeling a little sheepish, and said, “Well, there’s that. I love you too!”

He laughed and said, “I wouldn’t have wanted to hear that any other way, it sounded so natural.”

It was true, it was a very natural reaction based on how I felt and what I would have said anyway.

At this time it was about November, if my memory serves me, and we were just full on enjoying dating life. We loved each other, had so much fun together, and were beginning the process of introducing the other to our extended families.

We dated for over 2 years. He proposed in April of 2008, then we got married 13 months later in May of 2009. As anxious as we were about starting a life together when we were in the infatuation stage of dating, I think it was really valuable for us to have enough time to really get to know each other, see each other through a few different seasons of life, and have time to prepare for blending our lives in marriage.

I loved having a year to be engaged too! When else do you get to think about, talk about, and dream about your wedding day?! It was fun to relish in that excitement for a full year.

We opted to do a destination wedding at Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina. We said our vows to each other in a quaint white chapel right on the river, with about 40 family members in the pews. It was simple, calm, and very much what we both wanted.

Our wedding was 10 years ago to this very day. In some ways it feels like I’ve been married to him for 1,000 years, and in other ways it feels like a minute. I’m so thankful to have him as my partner in life, parenting, business, and so much more.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading our love story! It was, possibly, the longest drawn-out story in history but I’m happy to say you are now completely caught up to speed 🙂