The Vows

We did a thing this week. After our wedding a month ago and our reception last Friday, Annie and I entered a courtroom in the Public Saftey Building in downtown Spokane to make our marraige legally recognized by the state.

We intentionally kept our ceremony small with only a handful of the most important people in our lives sharing a place on the beach with us as we dedicated our lives to each other. There is a video of the ceremony but the crashing of ocean waves drowned out most of the audio. Thankfully, we wrote down our vows. For those of you who did not attend in person, the vows we exchanged are transcribed below. As we forge our way into our future together, please know that Annie and I appreciate all who have been here to support and encourage us over the past few years. We value your friendships more than we could ever describe.

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From me to Annie:
Andria, I give myself to you today to be your husband - your partner, lover, companion, and friend. To have you by my side and hold you in times of comfort and distress so we may build our lives and pursue our dreams together.

I promise an unwavering love through the worst days, for it will make our better days sweeter. To cherish you regardless of status or wealth, when we have money and when we don’t. To love you when life brings us sickness and health because we know we will endure both. To be faithful in times of sorrow and joy, because we know we will experience both.

I will support you in any endeavor, celebrate your successes, and carry you when you’re too weak to walk. I will forever be your biggest fan. I owe you everything and you owe me nothing.

Together, we will demonstrate a love which cannot be burned by fire, nor washed away by flood. We will overcome any challenge as a team, equally devoted. We will fill our home with laughter and hope. We will set an example of a vibrant marriage for our kids and our friends to follow. I have no greater honor than to share this journey with you.

Our bond will be strong for as long as we are alive as death will be the only thing capable of tearing us apart. This is my lifelong promise. You are mine and I will always be yours.

From Annie to me:
Nicholas Casey, I love you endlessly. You have made my life better by just being you. You are my rock and my heart. You support my dreams even when I struggle to believe in myself.

I vow to be giving and forgiving; to make you laugh and to laugh at myself. I vow to love you as you love me through our hardships, darkness, and pain. I vow to reach for our joys, our hopes, always with honesty and faith. I vow to keep dreaming with you.

Our marriage will be perfect because it’s ours. I promise these things until I am no more. I’m ready to show you how much I love you everyday for the rest of our lives.

(side note: as a surprise to both Annie and Joylyn, I also wrote some vows as a step-dad becoming dad to his new daughter)

From me to Joylyn:
Today, your mom and I are exchanging wedding vows. A vow is a promise, one to be taken seriously and never be broken.

As I make a vow to love and cherish your mom forever and always, I am also making the same promise to you. As your dad, I promise to love you just as I have always loved Christian, Chloe, and Josiah.

It will be my job to teach you, protect you, and support you every day for as long as I am alive.

Now and forever after, you are my daughter.

                            with love,

sincerely

Mr & Mrs Casey