By Kenneth Stepp
Weddings are such a positive event. Two humans, in love, future in their eyes, and a determination in their belly. We can do this and we will. I’ve had 3 weddings. All were important and held much promise. I have been married twice, one wedding was when my bride of 24 years and I had a second wedding. A renewal of our vows is what most call them.
Our lives were so busy, she was a stay at home mom raising two amazing children, I was a businessman. I owned several businesses back in the day, and although my office was less than 4 miles from home, I was gone a lot. It was Sunday, we were at church and I looked down and noticed my wife wasn’t wearing the wedding ring set I had made for her. I stored that in the back of my mind for later.
We loved dinner out on Sunday evenings and this would not be different. The kids were being taught to interact with other people, we did that often, we wanted to not only raise great adults, but we also wanted them to be social. You know, fit in with others. I chose this time to ask my wife, why no rings? She said that silver, white gold, and platinum were in style now and they no longer matched her other jewelry. Again, I noted that.
The next day at my office i set about to plan something big. To surprise my bride. I sneaked into her jewelry box and took her engagement ring and wedding band to work with me. I had designed them myself. The engagement ring had a 2ct marquise diamond with diamond trillions on either side, the band had 5 small diamonds in it. They were a beautiful representation of my love for her. I loved the two and so did she, but time and style had moved on. I took them to a local jeweler. I had them remanufactured in platinum, they were even more beautiful this time.
Now for the presentation… I loved her and surprising a girl who “has it all” was always a challenge, but one I loved to tackle often. So what do you do for someone that means the world to you? What meant more to her than anything? The kids, of course. But tying the rings and kids together seemed weird. The kids went to a private school back then and had a very fixed schedule. My mind began focusing in on us. After years of dating and me not, “being ready” to marry, our wedding was a huge deal, especially since most thought it would never happen at all. I set a plan in motion…
It took a couple of weeks of planning to make the stars align properly. Phone calls, moving appointments, and making promises of, “I owe you big time”, to people. The day would come, it was close. Luckily, I’ve had to keep secrets my entire life and I was great at it. I really wanted to blow her away. Heck, I always want to, who am I kidding? This would be epic, well, in my mind it would be.
The day arrived. I called her and asked if she could swing by my office for a moment. I left my laptop on purpose and told her I needed it right away. Watching the cameras as she pulled into the parking lot, parked and began walking towards the ramp, on cue, my employees headed out the back door. As she walked into the office, I was on one knee, a ring box with both rings in it, our pastor and everyone that attended our original wedding was there. Marry me… Again baby. She said yes!
Again with the memories. How we got from that day to this day is anyone’s guess. I want to love like this again. That day will be etched in my heart till my heart stops beating. We all made memories. I guess this week is my week to remember those I’ve tried not to think of for the last few years.
One day I will know her, she will know me, those will be our knowns. They will make us work.
#comefindme
*tears* This is beautiful and so loving. I’m not sure how you got to this point either, and I sure wish it were different for you. You have an amazing soul and anyone would be fortunate to share their time with you. Thank you, I have had a hard week and somehow this made me feel so much better .
Thank you Melissa, this is a memory that tugged at me as I wrote it.