Well, I finally got married. 5/31/2025 is a day I will never forget. Eight years came and went, and it was finally time to tie the knot, as they say. I wasn’t nervous, believe it or not, she had already said yes.
Actually, that first bit was a lie, I was a nervous wreck. Leading up to it, my best man told me I would be terrified…this was true.
I tend not to get worked up over things, and I usually keep my emotions to myself, for better or worse (ask my wife her thoughts on the matter) So leading up to the big day I was definitely excited, but in no way prepared or aware of what I was bound to experience.
As I prepared to escort my mother down the aisle, I started to silently freak out. We were at the point of no return and all I could do was walk forward. After each step, I found myself spiraling. My brain began to unleash its full might of adrenaline and dopamine. I was being pushed and pulled every which way. My body could not decide how it wanted to feel. It was an overwhelming sense of love and fear. Once I made it up front, I stared back into the crowd and could feel everything culminating in this massive crescendo of emotion.
My brain was firing at all cylinders, but in the most chaotic and intense way. I would almost liken it to the feeling of a tea kettle boiling on a burner. My senses were going haywire, and just when I thought it couldn’t get more overwhelming, I saw my soon to be father-in-law walking my soon to be wife down the aisle.
The emotions began to grow exponentially. I was unable to keep still. I kept looking into the crowd for reassurance, but I was on my own, up until she had graced my eyesight. These feelings rose into a never-ending fermata. An absolute point. An event horizon. Time stopped, my surroundings went black, and all I could see was her.
As she got closer, something shifted. The nerves were still there, but they weren’t running the show anymore. It was like all the noise got dialed down, and the only thing that mattered was her smile, her dress, the way she looked at me. In that moment, it didn’t feel like a performance or a big event anymore, it just felt like us.
All the planning, all the buildup, all the emotions swirling around for months had led to this one simple, beautiful moment. And standing there, waiting to take her hand, I was reminded why we were here in the first place. It wasn’t about the nerves or the crowd or even the ceremony — it was about starting the next chapter with the person I love.