4 Years with You

For the past 18 years, my family has held a family reunion at Barothy Lodge. It’s a beautiful retreat with 15 cabins that you can rent in the middle of the woods, right on the Pere Marquette river. There aren’t any tv’s and you can barely get cell reception. I have family that comes in town from California, Florida, Texas, sometimes even Mexico and Canada to celebrate my Abuelitos (my Mom’s parents) wedding anniversary. It is the perfect long weekend and it is the place where 4 years ago, Anthony and I got married.

We got engaged in April of 2016 and we knew it was where we wanted to be married. My Abuelitos are two of my favorite people in the world and getting married somewhere that is so special to them was very important to us.

So we planned our wedding ceremony in three months. We decided we wanted it to be very small, so we only invited family (we had a reception with friends a few months later). The ceremony took place right on the river. During the ceremony, we were able to honor Anthony’s Native American culture by having one of his cousin’s drum while we poured sand into a vase together. I managed to dump the sand all over the table but it was still a beautiful moment with the sound of the drum and the rushing river. After that was finished, we all changed into our normal clothes and enjoyed a BBQ together. Our families made all of the food…they must really love us, haha. But it was delicious, of course!

Our wedding day was very low-key but to this day we wouldn’t have changed a thing.

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To Anthony, it has been an amazing start to our journey together. You have made not only these 4 years but our 8 years together, FLY by! You are patient, kind, trustworthy, and sometimes…funny. SOMETIMES. Thank you for always being true to yourself and working so so so hard for our family. Boston and I could never express how thankful we are for everything that you do for us. WE LOVE YOU!

P.S. This year, my Abuelitos are celebrating their 67th (!!!) wedding anniversary. They embody everything you hope to find in a partner and we are so blessed to able to learn from their lifetime of love.