I wish I could tell you all I know now.

I wish I could tell you what you would feel after this special day fades into a memory.

I wish I could tell you there will be days when you feel like giving up on this, on him. That life with him isn’t always all you thought it would be.

I wish I could tell you there would be hurt and disappointment and anger. That there will need to be a lot of forgiveness and a lot of patience.

That after the excitement of your big day, the reality of life would set in.

Sickness would come and it would break you.

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Death of loved ones would come, and you both would feel pain and have to support one another through loss and grief.

Job loss and financial struggles would come and you would have to be patient and work through layers of insecurity and fear and depression.

I wish you have known how big a job it would be to love someone unconditionally and forgive so many times.  

But, oh, sweet girl, despite the struggles, you have no idea how much more you will grow to love this man.

That your lives will become so intertwined you can’t remember your life before him.

That one person can know you so well and love you despite all your crazy (and there’s a lot of crazy).

That even though those butterflies in your stomach may not flutter every time you see him, you have the assurance he will come home every night after working hard to provide for his family. And sometimes those butterflies do show up anyway.

I wish I could tell you that in time, you will be able to know what each other will say and do, and being able to do that gives you this reassuring comfort and security that only grows with each year you spend together.  

I wish I could tell you that you will fall more in love with him watching him become a daddy.

That your little family that grew from two people who promised themselves to each other will bring you so much joy and such uncontainable, ever-expanding love.  

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I wish I could tell you all of this so you would know the pain and frustration, the beauty and joy that comes with this commitment you just made.  

This is your love.

This is your marriage.

Originally published on the author’s Facebook page