Seven years. SEVEN YEARS! That’s how long I’ve been married and I’m just as confident today as I was seven years ago. We’re getting older, but will we ever feel old together? Maybe we’ll just keep having too much fun and feel this way forever!
In honor of the day I’ll never forget, here’s the best speech I’ve ever heard, given by my dad at our wedding, glad he was able to get through it without water falling on his head or a steering wheel in his hand:
April 27, 2013
A few years ago, a friend of mine told me you will never find a man good enough to marry your daughter. After thinking about this for some time, I was coming to the conclusion he was correct. I went through different scenarios and couldn’t think of anyone good enough to marry my daughter.
I thought about the qualities I would like in a man that’s good enough to marry my daughter. I figured out what I was looking for but just needed a way to make Autumn think it was her idea.
But while watching the republican convention on TV one evening, I figured out how to show Autumn who was good enough to marry my daughter. Men were in suits and tuxedoes, women in evening gowns and nice jewelry. Clint Eastwood spoke to an empty chair and I thought, that’s who’s good enough to marry my daughter. The man sitting in that empty chair.
Autumn grew up in the Westmorland-Brawley area, Blake for the most part grew up in Holtville, across the Mason-Dixon Line. Autumn graduated from BUHS, Blake from Holtville High School. Never met or heard of each other. Both Autumn and Blake decided they would like to go into the field of engineering. Both chose Cal Poly to get their degrees, Blake in San Luis Obispo, Autumn in Pomona. Incidentally, when Autumn said she would like to go to Cal Poly, my question was are you going to school to get a degree in engineering or an engineer with a degree? She assured me it was the first.
Autumn graduated with a degree in engineering from Pomona (I guess she was right), and Blake graduated with a degree in engineering from San Luis Obispo (I guess we were both right). And they had still never met.
Both Autumn and Blake’s first choice, if possible, was to move back to the desert and find work here which made our families happy.
They both began filling out applications for jobs (which made Jeff and I very happy) and within a week of each other, they were both working at IID as engineers (which made Jeff and I very very happy. Two very’s).
They were both given an office. One office. With two desks. This is when Autumn and Blake first met. And that was almost 3 years ago.
I’m going to jump from there to now. When Blake asked me for Autumn’s hand in marriage, this is what I told him: Since Autumn was just a little lady, Charlotte and I have prayed that if God chose for her to marry, that He would send her the right man at the right time in her life. I believe the path that it took for you two to get here was not a coincidence, it was an answer to Charlotte and my prayers.
Then I said no.
Not really.
I said I would be honored to have Blake become a part of our family. I then said if you and Autumn will put God first, each other second, kids, jobs, everything else in line behind that, I will guarantee you that every single day of your lives will not be as exciting and happy as tonight, but at the end of your lives, you will have had a happy and satisfying marriage together. And if one day you are blessed to have a daughter and she gets married, you will feel as proud as I do tonight.
Autumn and Blake, I want to thank you for being patient and doing this God’s way and in God’s time.
Last, Autumn, I have changed my mind. I believe you have found a man good enough to marry my daughter.
I love you.
Dad.
Love these men and our very very happy family. Two verys.