By Christina Apostal
On a Friday night a few weeks ago, I sat and watched my fiancé prepare dinner while I addressed the “Save the Date” cards for our October 2017 wedding in Newport. Watching him work, a question came to mind.
“Why do you want to marry me?”
Darrell, who asked me to marry him this past May, spun around with a smile on his handsome face.
“You know why!” he said, laughing.
I pressed on, wanting to know the specific reasons why this man decided I was worth spending a lifetime with.
“Because I love you!” he said, still somewhat laughing.
I shook my head, not satisfied with this answer. Because he “loves me” was a given; the man got down on one knee during a Key West vacation and told me I was the “one,” so I believe he loves me. I wanted to know the reasons why. Seeing that I would not relent, he suggested we write down the reasons we found the other to be spouse-worthy…so we did just that for the following ten minutes.
When it came time to reveal our lists to each other, I felt first-date butterflies mixed with a bit of happy nervous energy. I told him my reasons – everything from his kindness, to my pride for how strong he is, to watching him be an incredible father to his seven year old son. When I told him that I want to marry him because I want him to experience everything I do, he smiled and told me he felt the same way.
In turn, he told me how he felt an attraction the minute he laid eyes on me, loves how I care for his son and have since I met him, and appreciates my sense of partnership. He listed a few other things that I can’t reveal here, but let’s just say they made me blush.
Listening to the love of my life list the reasons he wants to be with me was an eye-opener. Sure, we say we love each other often, sometimes a few times a day – and kiss goodbye and goodnight every day – but how often do we remind each other why we’re together? It’s easy to lose sight of the reasons WHY when you have a party of 85 to plan.
Planning a wedding is so involved. Every last detail is all-consuming, even if you’re having a wedding on the smaller side such as ours. But if you put aside the color scheme, the caterers, and the cupcake flavors, you have to remember why you’re with the person you’re with. Saying “I do” will be amazing…but I can’t wait for the days after when we really start our life together, as Mr. and Mrs. Caron.
