Unique as a Snowflake

On Saturday (7/6), I officiated Nanette and Paul’s wedding ceremony at Ashton Gardens in Corinth, Texas. Here are the remarks I shared with them and their guests:

Nanette and Paul share such a beautiful love story. It is love that comes from a maturity not possessed by the young. It is a seasoned love. (Don’t call us old; we are not. We are seasoned!)

In speaking of the initial phase of their relationship, Nanette says, “I found him to be intelligent, articulate, and charming. We would laugh and talk very intimately about feelings and experiences…” 

And Paul says, “I… immediately felt a closeness that was hard for me to explain… We found that we shared so many core values in common… It seemed to me that I was speaking to someone I had known for a very long time… It was almost a de javu experience… With Nanette, I feel safe and comforted... She has an innocence, sophistication, and charm that delights me…”

Nanette observes, “I've learned some very important lessons with Paul. The most important is what love is and how to share it…“ Indeed, in such a seasoned love, we discover that “what love is” has a very different answer than it may in earlier years, when we might be more superficial about our love. 

Paul clarifies: “I observed to Nanette early in our relationship after we had spent the day running around doing errands that I just enjoyed doing the mundane with her… There is joy in the simple things that I love about our relationship…” That, indeed, is what seasoned love is all about.

Such a seasoned love helps us discover perspectives about ourselves we never saw. As Nanette says, “Paul has shown me a different definition for love. He has been patient and respectful. He is generous with his affection and kindness. He sees me in a way that I have never seen myself and loves me, even the broken parts.”   

It is this kind of love that deserves to be celebrated by cementing it through marriage. As Paul says, “I want to marry Nanette because I want us to continue to love, laugh, and enchant each other for the rest of our days… I want to publicly proclaim my love for her, to share our love story with our friends and family. I believe that all love is as unique as a snowflake, each beautiful in its way.”