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First Comes Falling in Love, Then Comes Growing in It

A letter from the editor

I recently realized that I have not attended or been invited to a wedding in over a year. My life has transitioned to attending housewarming parties, sending congratulatory flowers for work promotions and scrolling social media feeds brimming with pregnancy announcements. 

While I couldn’t be more grateful that my friends are growing their successes and their families, I really want to attend a wedding. 

I thrive in a wedding setting. Being reconnected with old friends and getting to know the people I haven’t met but have so often heard about that shaped a friend’s life. The anticipation of the reveal of the bride’s dress. Tearing up at the couple’s reaction to seeing one another down the aisle. Tearing up again when they read their vows. 

At the reception, I note every detail — the flowers, the decor, the meal served, the cocktails selected, the music the band plays. I’m no stranger to the dance floor and dread the last song of the night.

My own wedding day was the most fun I’ve ever had. It was also a day filled with peace and joy. It somehow went off without a single hitch, though I had mentally prepared myself for many. 

I wouldn’t change a thing about it — and yet … I find myself daydreaming about color palettes. I see beautiful flowers and think how they would look in a bouquet. Every bridal fashion week, I envision myself in the latest styles. Mostly, I want that feeling again — being all encompassed by love shed upon us by so many that we in turn love. 

In many ways, I have the ideal job for me — a role that allows me to witness weddings. While I may not be in the audience of a ceremony or on the dance floor of a reception, I find myself swooning over the details of Northwest Florida Weddings Magazine’s featured brides and getting goosebumps when they share with me the most cherished moments of their wedding day. 

For me, love looks different now and I’m learning that’s a good thing, a healthy one. We planned the wedding. We said the vows in front of our loved ones. 

That was, and is, love.Now, love is doing a chore to make the other’s life easier. It’s running errands and picking up the treat they like just to make them happy. It’s choosing not to let the heartbreak and the hard moments of life break you down, but instead build your marriage stronger. It’s placing your partner’s hand on your stomach, watching them feel your baby kick and realizing this is the love you always hoped you would feel. 

The wedding invitations arriving in my mailbox may slow and cease, but I take comfort in knowing love continues to grow, to satiate, to deepen.

All my best,

Rebecca Padgett Frett, Editor

Featured image by Sarah & Paul Photography 

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