14 years ago on May 21, 2005, we became forever partners. Marriage is one of the most important aspects of our lives. Our relationship with Jesus is first, next is the marriage commitment to each other & then followed up by the love we have for our 3 babies! In that order. We vowed to be each other’s best friend, & it has been quite an adventure for the past 17 years since we started dating! Brock is my absolute favorite thing on earth. He is my dream come true & I LOVE the life we have created together! Some days have been messy but when you are in it for the long haul, you forgive & soak up every ounce of the sweet spots! You only have ONE lifetime, spend it with someone you cherish!
Brock & I met the summer before our senior year of high school, in 2002. We were 17 years young when mutual friends introduced us on an August night. It really was LOVE at 1st sight…cliche, but a true story! We had an indescribable bond from the start. We spent as many days together as possible during our last year of high school…even if that meant that Brock sat out in my school parking lot after I was dismissed, so we could chat for 20 mins before heading to after school jobs or activities. That was also before texting/social media was a thing, so we would write one another love-notes during classes. I still have a shoebox FULL of those special love letters, cards & ticket stubs from our dating years.
After we graduated from HS, we knew we wanted to spend the rest of forever together. Neither of us had planed to go away for school, we simply wanted to begin our journey. We got engaged later that Fall in 2003! Looking back, we were just babies { None of our wedding clients are ever that young } however we wouldn’t have changed a thing. I began taking photography courses & Brock studied business at our local IUPUI. We both got our first real adult jobs & started saving for our wedding & a house for 1.5 years! Brock was still 19yrs old & I had just turned 20, before our 5.21.05 wedding day. We closed on our 1st little home that we built, 1 day before the wedding. We took on a mortgage at only 19 years old…Talk about knocking out some major life milestones at once!
Brock & I have always complimented each other perfectly. Wherever one of us is lacking, the other fills the void. Because we have been together for a full 17 years now, we often refer to each other as one another’s “Security Blanket”. We truly don’t know how to “Adult” without each other. We’re one another’s best friend, voice of reason, safety net, happy place, future, dream come true no matter where we are, shoulder to cry on, constant source of laughter, business partner, co-parenter, adventure teammate, counselor, advice giver, keeper of secrets, forever advocate & home renovation partner. The list goes on & on. We have also worked together through our photography business for the past 14 years. I have always believed, that if you can run a business together for more than 10 years, you can accomplish anything with your spouse!
Keys to a happy marriage: Be the person you WANT to be married to! No one is perfect, but it is the little things over time that add up to a happy & fulfilled life together. Always trying to be the best version of yourself, for the other person. If you fail, learn to say “I’m sorry” & move on. Never holding onto the wrongs of the past.
We have lived side by side for so long, we have become much of the same person. Your personalities will eventually blend together after almost 2 decades. Learning to fill in the gaps when needed. A true marriage partner ends up knowing that the partnership isn’t about themselves at all, the focus is about lifting up the other. Seeking their happiness above your own. Making the constant choice to wake up every day, with your spouse’s happiness being your main goal. That is HARD to learn & to fully practice! It took us a good 5 years to live out this mindset. Brock & I spent the 1st several years wondering why we struggled to find true joy in the day to day of marriage. Due to our completely different upbringings, we didn’t know how to fully communicate. The way we watched our parents interact was opposite, so we didn’t have a good understanding of how to compromise & express our feelings.
Around year 5 of marriage, things had started to fall into place. I had endured 2 miscarriages by that time, that brought us together on a new level. The losses forced us to truly care about each other’s feelings in a new way. It was all about expressing genuine compassionate love, with no strings attached. We were so used to easily being together, having fun & making future plans, that we hadn’t experienced a major set back in life. Loosing a baby is one of the most painful moments someone could go through. I would say that was a pivotal point in our marriage. God used heartbreak to mold us into new people & a deeper connection. Closer with Him & each other.
Over the past 17 years, we have hit incredible highs & heartbreaking lows. Thankful every single day that we have been blessed with this uniquely special relationship. We both know how rare it truly is, to have such a close relationship with your spouse. It isn’t something we take for granted! Hoping that we live out the best example of how a husband & wife should love one another, so that our 3 kids will know what to look for in their future spouses! Cheers to many more decades to come….
