Each year my family vacations at a quaint fishing resort in North East Washington State for a week or so over Father’s Day weekend. This past year (2019) we arrived on the Friday preceding Father’s Day and planned to return home the following Friday. My sister and her family of four along with Mr. Jones, myself and our girls shared a cabin and our dad and amazing step-mom had a cabin just down from ours. During our stay, we were able to enjoy some great family time fishing, painting rocks, enjoying each others’ company and the serene surroundings.

On Wednesday around 1:00 in the afternoon, I received a call that I had to return to work and cut this vacation short. I hurried to pack and start the long car ride back to reality and leaving the girls with the rest of the family to enjoy every minute possible.

Rollercoaster of emotions – This is the only way to describe that day. Anger came first for having to return from vacation early. Sadness followed as I pulled away from the cabin to begin my long car ride. The sadness was quickly interrupted by fear when I was pulled over for speeding just minutes after leaving the resort. The rest of the drive was quite solemn. I listened to music, podcasts and the peaceful sound of road noise until I arrived at my place of employment. I was tired and dirty, but finished the tasks for the day and went home to rest knowing it was to be a busy week ahead.

I had no idea how busy it was truly going to be. That evening after settling in after the unexpected change of plans, I was shocked when my better half proposed marriage. This was a proposal that took my breath away. A we don’t want to wait any longer, we are perfect for each other, and this is about us and God conversation ensued. We decided to marry quickly. We knew we wanted a marriage. A marriage that was based on the two of us and God as the center. Nothing else mattered.

The timeline for this was:

• Wednesday night: Engaged
• Thursday: Apply for marriage license and secure a pastor to perform ceremony
• Friday: Three months of pre-marital counselling in a six hour evening
• Saturday: Find a location, witnesses and establish a time, shop for wedding dress and suit
• Sunday: Transform from Miss to Mrs.

Prior to this, we had discussed a wedding. My husband had dreamed up the ‘perfect’ proposal including where, when, how, and what exact words were going to be used. We had talked about possibilities of a venue and discussed the details that would go into a wedding.

Our wedding was perfect. It was stress free and centered on what every marriage should be centered on: Our love for each other and our love for God in our marriage. There are many reasons that the proposal and wedding were not what we had previously discussed. The signs were all there for us to move forward and to truly become one. From me having to return home unexpected the very day that my husband had a deep conversation with a great friend and the epiphany of EXACTLY what our marriage was to be. Signs that the jewelry store called that very day requesting the diamond from his grandmothers ring to be placed into my ring. That when he entered the jewelry store that day, he pointed to a single simple, yet perfect, white gold band asking the size. It was my size, 5 and three-quarters, a size that they do not carry under normal circumstances, and it was the only one they had on hand.

We were married on a Sunday afternoon along the riverbank. It was peaceful, intimate, and beautiful; the perfect beginning to our marriage.

We were able to celebrate with family and friends at a reception a few months later. We rented out a summer camp for the weekend and had a fantastic time complete with food, dancing, sleepovers in the cabins, campfires and camaraderie.

While it was a truly chaotic several days, being Mrs. Jones is a wonderful feeling. We have had so many conversations about our wishes for every person to feel the love and happiness that we are so blessed to live in every day.