A Declaration of Love

The day came that I would finally declare my love for my soul mate in front of all out friends and family. Of course they had seen us together before, but this would be the moment that everyone knew we would be together forever.

Everything was all planned and ready to go. There were no last minute changes to be made. All the food was in place, the DJ was ready to start the tunes after the ceremony, there was even an open bar for all the guests.

I stood in the back, not seen by anyone and more nervous than I had ever been in my whole life. I didn't like to be the center of attention, and yet I was about to walk out and have all eyes be on me. Even though I knew I looked beautiful, there were the small doubts hanging in the back of my mind. The minute I heard the music start and I stepped foot in the aisle, all my worries went away.

Standing in front of me was the love of my life. The man I wanted to spend every moment with, have babies with, grow old and die with. Behind him was a wall of blue with all kinds of sea creatures swimming around. It made for the perfect backdrop for our perfect day. I walked down the aisle, and as soon as I stood across from him, the tears started to run.

We didn't have the traditional vows read by our officiant. He was only there for legal purposes and said the things we had to. For me, I didn't have anything planned to say. I only wanted to speak from the heart so that is what I did. For him, he had vows planned, but everything in his head went out the window when he saw me.

Occasionally, we would hear a little giggle from our audience. Looking out the corner of our eye, it was easy to see what was funny. The sea life had no idea what was going on. This was their home, we were only visiting. They lived their lives as they would any other day and provided us a lot of entertainment by doing so.

During the ceremony, a sea turtle hung around beside us, showing its belly and waving its flippers. A shark swam above our heads a few times, showing its teeth. Schools of fish went by slowly, just enjoying the water. When the big moment came for our first kiss as man and wife, bubbles erupted on either side of us, momentarily blocking everyone's view so the focus was on us.

Afterwards, everyone was shown out so the area could be prepped for dancing and eating. We stayed and had the opportunity to pet a penguin. I didn't know what to expect, but feeling his hard body underneath soft feathers surprised me. It was fun to watch him waddle around for a little while before joining our guests to mingle around.

It didn't take long for everything to be ready. We were held back and waited for the DJ to announce us. There was a curtain of fog separating us from everyone else that we walked through as our names were announced. When we entered, everyone clapped and cheered. We did our first dance together and each of us had our dances with our parents before food was announced and we were able to relax and have fun.

Our plates were brought to us and everyone walked by to chat before going to the line to get their own. Toasts were made, laughter was had, and the kids enjoyed running around and seeing everything around us.

We were given free reign of the place within reason and could see more of the aquarium than just that room. Everyone walked through tunnels of fish and read the little plaques that told us more about what we were looking at. At the end, everyone expressed that they had a great time and it was a once in a lifetime experience.

Months of hard work and planning were complete after only a few hours. Mentally we were exhausted, but physically we were wired from the excitement of it all. We were especially happy that we could share that evening with those that we cared about and that cared about us.

I will never forget that day. I might forget exactly what words were said and when, but the feelings and emotions will always be there.