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Reader, I’m Marrying Him

Photo by Michael Anderson Photography

I have been the editor of Northwest Florida Weddings Magazine for four years now. For all four of those years, I have loved the same man.

The first year began with an initial attraction to his charismatic energy, his passion for music and his devotion to pursuing his dreams. That first year consisted of Mexican and margarita dates, exchanging “I love yous” in my childhood home and late-night talks about the lives we wanted.

In the second year, we set out to find those ideal lives — quitting jobs, moving states, leaving friends and family, all to have the freedom to create. Looking back, it was a risk but a risk we had no doubt we would make with one another.

Year three, our best and worst year. Our dreamed-about jobs — him as a musician, me, a writer. Buying our first house, painting the walls and scrubbing the floors to turn it into a home. Me on my knees at his hospital bedside, thanking God for saving his life because I couldn’t live mine without him. Him on one knee, asking me for forever.

The fourth year has just begun. I am grateful already for all that it will teach us, the ways that it will grow us and the memories it will contain. The only certainty is this, on December 12, 2020, I will marry the man I have been writing about for four years.

I came to be the editor of a weddings magazine because my passion is to write and tell the stories of others. This job has allowed me to tell the best stories of all: love stories. It is my absolute honor to be entrusted with each couple’s stories.

In being exposed to so many breathtaking and creative weddings, it only made sense that I began to think of my own. I will be honest — I resisted the urge to plan because I wanted to do so with my partner. Above all, it is our wedding. Not mine, my family’s, my friends’ or my planner’s (they totally know and respect this, by the way).

It is all too easy to forget this with so many weddings to compare to. As I join the ranks of fellow couples that are wedding planning, I encourage us all to be intentional and true to ourselves. We should plan weddings that align with our beliefs, our wildest wishes and, most importantly, the commitments we are making to another person. I hope that within these pages you find inspiration, not comparison.

In four years of building relationships with the venues, vendors and photographers within this magazine, I know that each has your best interests in mind. They serve each couple with a promise of quality, a commitment to excellence and the keen ability to listen closely.

When it became my turn to plan my own wedding, I knew with certainty that I would be married in Northwest Florida and utilize the wonderful wedding service providers in this region.

Readers and fellow wedding planning couples, I hope you can feel the love that has been put into these pages. I hope they remind you of the importance of the unwavering commitment and eternal endurance that your wedding day symbolizes.

All my best,

Rebecca Padgett, Editor

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