Eight Years Ago Today...

...Malcolm and I were married. It's so hard to realize that it has really been eight whole years. Sometimes that sounds like such a short amount of time, but most days eight years sounds like forever, while it feels like we've only been together a hand full of years.

Our wedding was very special and I still flip through pictures and remember the joy and happiness of the day. We had decided early on that we wanted a small wedding with only family and close friends there to share the moment, and we also wanted a little country church somewhere. It took a number of weeks, but we finally found the perfect one, a little white Methodist church set on a knoll with trees and pastures around it. Sadly, I don't have a picture of the church with me. So you'll miss seeing the actual structure, but the pictures below might convey to you some of the joy of the day.


My family (sister Meagan, Dad, me, brother Ken, Mom, and sister-in-law Sarah) were all there with us to celebrate and help out. There is nothing like having your family encircling you with their love on such an important day in your life!

Malcolm's family (sister Rachelle, Malcolm, Mom, sister Justine, and Dad) had to travel all the way from Montana in the middle of haying season, so their presence was very meaningful to us.

One of the important people at a wedding is the minister and we were blessed to be married by my this man. For many years he was my youth minister at church, a support, counselor, and friend. When Malcolm moved to Tennessee, Jimmy did some work at the farm Maclolm was managing and the two of them became fast friends as well. So there was little debate as to who would perform the ceremony. Our wedding party was composed of our nearest and dearest. The best man was Malcolm's cousin, Michael Paul, a close friend to both of us, and one of the people responsible for our meeting. And the other groomsman was my brother, Ken.

My maid of honor was my sister Meagan, and the other bridesmaids were my sister-in-law and Malcolm's two sisters. More girls than guys, but we weren't concerned with keeping numbers even or symmetry. It was about people we love, not appearances.Our photographer had a lot of really fun ideas for shots. The one below is one I requested though. In my parents wedding album, I've always loved the picture of Mom standing in front of a window looking at her wedding ring and so I wanted one like it.Our wedding pictures are precious to us as treasures from the day. But some of them have also become treasured for other reasons, such as the next two. The first is Malcolm, his father, and both his grandfathers. Three generations of Johnson men and they all traveled to be there for us on our day. And I love this one. Three generations of women in my family. My grandmother, mother, sister, and I.

Despite it being July, we wanted to have our reception outside, even though the church had a small fellowship hall. I was apprehensive about asking everyone to sit outside on a July afternoon in their "Sunday clothes," but really just wanted an outdoor reception, because I wanted our wedding to reflect some of who we were. We decided to go ahead and chance everyone being miserably uncomfortable, but God came through for me. After a rather stuffy summer, July 6, 2002 was unbelievably comfortable with low humidity, slightly cooler than the usual, and just the right amount of breeze. Everyone was quite comfortable, had a marvelous time visiting, and I got the outside reception I had hoped for.

I hear so many brides say they remember little about their wedding day. Not me! I remember everything, and treasure each memory. And it is such a gift that to this day, I still have family and friends telling me how much they enjoyed our wedding and it is still their favorite one of all they've attended. Not because I'm seeking the fame, but because I truly wanted our wedding to be something everyone could enjoy and not just endure for our sakes. I think we accomplished that.

It was a special day filled with love, and eight years later, despite the bumps and potholes you hit on any marriage road, our life together is still filled with love for each other. I'm looking forward to the adventures of spending the next eight years together and hopefully many many more past that!