Year two

This month marks Adam and my second wedding anniversary. Given the current set of circumstances we now find ourselves in, it seems so very surreal that this time two years ago we were in England, making our final preparations for the day and getting ready to welcome guests from all over the world to gather, celebrate, embrace and party all together.

Last year we didn’t worry about presents – we had a newborn, and being able to sneak off for a few hours to have dinner by ourselves while one set of grandparents babysat felt like a gift in itself. This year I suspect we’ll do something similar. Adam’s had an incredibly busy couple of weeks, including a stint working out of town, so quality time together and a nice meal out will be ample celebration.

In saying that, I read online that the traditional second anniversary gift of cotton is meant to signify comfort and strength, threads woven together much like the interconnectedness of marriage. I thought that was really lovely, and for Adam and I it felt very apt for this year of marriage…

In many ways I feel like our second year of marriage has been harder than our first. While our first year of marriage involved my pregnancy and the ups, downs and nervous anticipation and worry that the arrival of a first child brings; our second year of marriage has involved the realities of parenthood, of being isolated from family and friends due coronavirus, and the stress and emotional turmoil of supporting a partner with their own business in a pandemic – especially in an industry that’s been particularly hard hit.

There have been more squabbles, more offhand snide comments, more days of feeling misunderstood in this year of marriage. But on the flipside, there has been more devotion, more appreciation and more dependence on one another than ever before. Adam and I wanted to get married to formally recognise our commitment to one another and it feels like the vows we undertook on that grey, chilly November day in Herefordshire have rung ever so true in the last 12 months.

We still talk about our wedding day regularly. We may never be able to repeat a similar sort of gathering ever again, with so many people that we care about, from two different hemispheres in the one place at the one time, so to know that we did and had the most wonderful day ever is so very special. I have very lucid memories of some rather ordinary parts of the actual day – my shower after waking up, stopping by a Co-Op supermarket for some rather ordinary pastries to nibble on the drive to the venue, sitting around a bonfire drinking port and eating cheese at the very end of the night, and removing my make-up before going to sleep that night. Other parts, like walking down the aisle and the actual ceremony itself though feel like a blur. (You can read more about the actual day itself here and here.)

I’m so very thankful Adam and my paths crossed and we get to spend our lives together. He’s my soulmate, lover and best friend and I can’t wait to see what year three brings.

Have a wonderful week.

M. x

Images by the very talented Joseph Allen-Keys.