Make Each Other Laugh

On Saturday, April 20, 2024, I officiated Julia and Grant’s wedding ceremony at the Woodbine Mansion in Round Rock, Texas. Here are the remarks I shared with them and their guests:

Grant tells the story of how they met: “I met Julia very early on into our freshman year… Some of the friends I had all lived in the same dormitory. I spent a lot of time there studying, hanging out, and meeting up for nights out. It wasn’t too long into the start of the year that Julia and her roommates began to tag along with us. 

Almost immediately, Julia and I developed a very strong bond between just the two of us. We spent a lot of time discussing and going to the movies, getting lunch in the food halls, bar hopping, and attending house parties, and about two months into the first semester, we began dating.” Sounds credible, I suppose.

Julia’s story is a little more, I say this advisedly, colorful: “When I first met Grant… he was by far the loudest in the room and was making everyone laugh until they cried. He seemed like a complete goofball. Over time my friends started to hang out with his friends and our little groups happened to combine and spend a lot of time together. 

The first thing we talked about were horror movies. He told me his favorites, and I didn’t mention the fact that horror movies give me night terrors, rather I agreed and told him how much I love horror movies too. We started to go see movies together, sometimes one a week, sometimes three times a week. We would talk for hours after about the different elements of each movie. After a while we did everything together.”

OK, let’s get serious now. Julia says: “Grant has seen me through the absolute worst moments of my life and has been there every step of the way… He has always kept me afloat. He is my rock… I couldn’t imagine living my life with anyone else but Grant. I couldn’t have prayed for a better man, best friend, or partner to live out the rest of my life with.”

Grant says: “Julia is by far my greatest friend… She is my favorite person in the entire world. I’ve known this from the moment I first met her, and this feeling only grows stronger with each passing year that we have been together. She never ceases to make me laugh when I need it. She’s always there for me when I need help or someone to lean on. She’s tough on me when she knows I need a push to achieve my full potential.”

Did you notice one very important common element they each cite? They each emphasize the ability of the other to make them laugh. That is so important. 

The Talmud, the central book of our faith, tells a story of a rabbi to whom the Prophet Elijah would appear from time to time. He is walking through the market, and he asks Elijah if any of those present in the market are guaranteed a spot in the Next World. Elijah points to two brothers and says that they are. The rabbi then asks them what they do. They say that they make people laugh. If anyone is feeling down, they cheer them up with their humor. 

Julia and Grant, that is a great lesson for marriage. If you can make each other laugh, you can usually get through anything, so keep it up, now and for many years to come.