Vows

Since getting married, several people have asked us to post our vows. Here they are!

Sly to Veronika

My dearest Veronika,
Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted two things in life: a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, and a girl who would have no problem jumping in a ring with me to spar. Even better, a log cabin with  a ring inside of it for the girl and I to spar in. Amazingly enough, the first thing we really connected on was the log cabin. Soon after that, I found out that you were the type of person who would not only spar with me, but actually beat me up and win every fight, both literally and figuratively, then take the log cabin for yourself. What are the odds of finding someone like you? Chalk it up to luck or fate — either way, I am the luckiest guy in the world to have you, and the happiest. A dream that I’ve had my entire life I’ve found in you. You ask me why I’m smiling or chuckling at odd times when we’re together, and it’s because I am so happy just thinking about us. We’re both a little weird, quirky, different, whatever you want to call it, but we just fit, and perfectly at that. You are special. We are special.

But I’ve found so much more in you than just the log cabin and the sparring. We have so many of the same values and beliefs from the way our parents raised us and through growing up around our brothers, sisters, and friends. The outward manifestation of these values and beliefs are our transcendentalistic love of being out in nature, our ravenous love of cooking and eating, and the deep love that we hold for animals, especially Sabine and Pandora. And we hold true to ourselves, stubbornly so, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Like we always tell each other, we have the power to shape our lives together the way we want them to be, and I think that that’s what we’ve done so far and what we will always do.

I also see a lot of the things that I admire in my Mom and Dad in you that I think few people experience. It’s the stuff of fairy tales, really, like the type of tender love that cannot be seen or said, only felt, and the type of selfless caring and sweetness that makes even the hardest heart tremble with emotion. You have so much love in you, so much so, that it comes out any way that it can, which is why it can be misunderstood or disguised as other things like anger or frustration.

I am happy with you now on our so-called “Big Day,” and I can’t wait to experience so much with you in our future together. We have only been together a few years, but they have been fat years of walking together throughout this world with full stomachs and hearty laughter, and many conversations on love, friendship, family, you name it. Every day with you has been a “Big Day” for me. Today is just a “Big Day” with some pomp and circumstance and a bigger crowd to hang out with.

I just want you to know that you can always trust me and depend on me and that I’m not going anywhere, regardless of what kind of Big Day we have, because I have and will love all of it. You’re and honest, real person, and you’re not afraid to speak up and stand up for yourself, and I respect you for that even though I may not agree with you every single time we have our differences. I just hope that I always meet your expectations and never fail to be the man I’ve promised to be for you since the very beginning.

As long as my legs serve me well, I will hop around and dance like a troll with you. As long as my lungs have air in them, I will make up goofy songs about you. As long as there is life in my veins, I will make you happy and laugh.

I love you, and I am blessed and humbled that you have chosen to be with me. You have made my dream of a lonely cabin in the woods a warm and cozy shelter with you in the storm.

Veronika to Sly

Sly,
Some day, hopefully in a very distant future, our kids will ask about this moment and this day, and they will want to know how I knew that you were the person I wanted to marry. They will want to know how I knew that you were the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. They will ask us why, and how, and this is what I will tell them:

I know because you are the kindest, warmest, most generous, and most giving person I know. You always choose me first, and above all, in every decision that you make.

I know because when I’m with you, the clichés about love and life all of a sudden, and much to my surprise (and dismay), became true. Food tastes better, I laugh harder and smile deeper. I am a better version of myself when I’m with you.

I know because I allowed you to see me for who I truly am—completely and totally exposed. Good, bad, silly, and everything in-between, you love and accept the real me.

I know because I feel safe without feeling confined. And because I am comfortable letting you comfort me.
How did I know? I didn’t. At least not the first time we met, or even the first time we reconnected after six years of not seeing or interacting with one another The truth is I knew over time, as we became friends and spent night after night, talking on the phone with you into the wee hours of the morning, as we watched the sun rise on opposite coasts. As our friendship grew into more, I knew that what we had was special, and that I had found something deeper than I had every known or experienced.

I know that we are at the beginning of a new chapter in our lives, and that there will be times that won’t be easy, and moments when, I am less than perfect, but I want you to know, that my love for you will always be honest, and that will allow us to weather any storm.

When we are old and gray, I want you to look back on this day and know that my promise to you as your wife is to always strive to live a simple life, with simple joys.

I knew that I loved you long before I ever admitted to myself that this could actually be real. And yet, I somehow knew, we’d end up exactly where we are right now. Sly, I want you to know that I love you today, and always, and I promise I will do my best to make sure that you know this every day and every moment that we have together.