Holy Matrimony! We're hitched!

There are no words to describe the joy and love that comes from the weekend you get married. What a blessing it was for Hope and I to be surrounded by our closest friends and family during the most important and meaningful days/weekends of our lives. From our pizza party with the wedding party on Thursday night, to an evening of memorable speeches and toasts Friday, capped off with a picture perfect wedding and reception, the weekend was a roller coaster of emotions. There were tears of joy as I watched my gorgeous bride walk down the aisle to me with such hopeful joy and excitement. My heart was racing and doing backflips as Come Thou Fount began to play and I saw the first glimpse of Hopie in her beautiful dress. For those who missed the ceremony, my Hopie was the most stunning bride I have ever seen, more beautiful that I could have ever imagined.

I knew Hope would be crying. I knew she would be smiling so big you could hardly see her eyes. I know there would be tears and make-up and sweat : ) But I had no idea that she would so vastly exceed my expectations of how beautiful, how joyful, how vulnerable and precious she was as she walked down the aisle with her mom to take the oath of marriage.

My friend Ethan(hi buddy) noted Hope's reaction in his blog:

While trying not to sound like a cheesy biblist, I will say that Hope’s reaction to her groom was the closest resemblence I can imagine to the way I hope we react when we meet Christ in the flesh.
What if we really trust him that much?
What if he really is so good that we burst out laughing with tears?
What if we are that familiar with him?
I have never imagined my reaction being like Hope’s was to seeing Dave; so familiar to him and in awe at the same time, but I hope it is.

Now, I'm not saying that I was like Christ, standing up there...merely that Hope loves and lives with a passion that is unlike any other person I've ever met. She so perfectly illustrated that passion and the reason I fell so deeply in love with her as she walked down the aisle. I am so excited about a lifetime of those moments.