It is inevitable. Any wedding brings back the memories of my own, of that long ago day when I was as happy as you are now, as much in love and trusting in the future. Believing that love would last forever.
Three decades and many disappointments later I am still a romantic at heart and as such I believe you and your bridegroom will be happy.
A happy DNA
After all you come from a family of happy marriages – the unique marriage of your grandparents, the strong, serene, loving one of your parents, the long lasting unions of your uncles and aunts… You have it in your DNA to have a long, fulfilling marriage.
It won’t always be easy, you know. Now you are both young and so much in love. It has been relatively easy so far, the stars have been aligned to make your dreams come true. Such as your dream wedding, no doubt a magical occasion. Followed by a no doubt special and ecstatic honeymoon of which I urge you to make the most of – for there is only one honeymoon in our life, as much as you two will certainly enjoy wonderful holidays together. This is the beginning of your married life and as such it symbolizes the beginning of the journey you are embarking on together, as life companions, for better or for worse.
Good advice
For there will be less good moments too, no doubt about it. May your love never waver; on the contrary, may you keep it strong in times of trouble, for if you do, they will bring you closer together instead of driving you apart. And then the children will come, that greatest love of all but also a game changer, in such a way that for some couples it will never be the same again. May you know how to welcome and love them without forgetting that before being parents you are a couple. Don’t ever forget about yourselves; find the time, however brief, to nurture your love, for you if remain a happy couple you will be a happy family.
If you need advice, ask your grandmother, ask your parents about it. They have discovered the secret of long lasting love, of long lasting happy marriages. That secret that all of us chase after but so few of us reach.
Yes, listen to good advice but above all follow your heart. Love and be loved. Enjoy each new day you are together, every little thing that gives you pleasure. The simple things in life, the special moments, for life is a sum of the moments we have lived through. And, as old happy couples say, never go to bed angry with each other.
Wisdom and a touch of fairy tales
You’ll make mistakes – just try not to make too many. Especially those from which there is no turning back. Sometimes when I look back to those I have made, I wonder. Might things have turned out differently had I done this or that any other way? Certainly. Did I have the wisdom not to make them? Unfortunately no, it was those mistakes that taught me the hard lessons, but then it was too late to mend things. But never too late to start over.
So after all maybe my greatest wish to you is that you may both be wise. Certainly, love each other, compromise, but above all have the wisdom to know what you really want from life – and keep that in mind, always.
And as I believe the thing you want most is to spend a lifetime together, may the gods above grant you that wisdom so that you may live a full, wonderful life with each other. As in the stories of our childhood – live happily ever after. After all, what would become of us if we didn’t believe in fairy tales?
