{Happy Anniversary} Our Wedding Ceremony
2 years ago today, we walked the aisle, we made the promises, we raised the glasses, we danced the dance, we shed the tears, we joined our lives.
In the 2 years since, life has been beautifully messy and real. It’s held soaring highs and the darkest lows. But every night I go to sleep, and every day I wake up next to my best friend, my partner in life and in business, my husband – the love of my life. We are a family, every day. And that’s the best gift ever.
I couldn’t love anyone more.
For our anniversary, we’ve decided to share the full video of our wedding ceremony, but for one week only.
The ceremony is original, written alongside our officiant, yogi and friend, Billy. There are snippets heavily influenced by, or even borrowed directly from, other bridal bloggers who shared their ceremonies online… but the bulk of it is highly personalized and crafted carefully with just the right balance of heart, soul, hippie granola, and universal community for our particular love story. I still get the chills whenever I hear it.
Billy wrote the song for us that he performed to seal off the ceremony space (learn more here). We included group blessing, ring warming and wine box ceremony. and made vows to the world, as well as each other. We stomped the glass. We laughed, we cried… it was a dream. It was absolute heaven.
(Read more about our wedding here.)
Happy Anniversary, my love. I’d do it all over again. and again. and again.
Thank you for taking such good care of me. Thank you for nurturing me, challenging me, inspiring me and empowering me to be better every day, and to keep growing and evolving and expanding in everything I do… and thank you for pushing yourself to do the same. Thank you for being such a good dad to Paco, a good brother to our siblings, a good son to our respective parents, a good citizen of this earth.
Thank you for forgiving me when I’m not my best, and for continuing to always look for the best in me, even when I’m too tired or broken to look for myself. Thank you for caring for me with such patience and understanding and love, every single day. For making me feel safe. For making me laugh.
Thank you for celebrating me when I succeed, as heartily as you celebrate your own good news. Thank you for sharing in my struggles and showing me I’m never alone in them. Thank you for loving me unconditionally, for that is how I love you.
I know this year has been particularly hard at times, and particularly beautiful at others. Let us learn from both, and move forward into our 3rd year together with the insight of the past and with inspiration for the future. I can’t wait to see where this year takes us!
Thank you for being you. I love you so so very much. My love, my light, my prince, my king, my Cazador, my husband.
Here’s to a lifetime of anniversaries to come.
Our Wedding Ceremony from The Broke-Ass Bride on Vimeo.
Video by Digital Princess Productions ♥ Officiant: Billy Gill ♥ Dress: Deborah Lindquist ♥ Suit: Everything’s Jake Vintage ♥ Bouquet: Emplume ♥ Florals: La Vie en Rose ♥ Coordination: Sharlene Griffith ♥ Processional: Trevor Hall “To Zion” ♥ Bride’s Processional: Jump, Little Children – “Mother’s Eyes” (first 1:25. I entered at 30) ♥ DJ: The Flashdance ♥ Photography: Dan Chen
We’re off to Disneyland this afternoon for some fun love in the sun before I have my surgery tomorrow. I can’t think of a better way to head into an operation than still aglow from the magic of the mouse and the music of our marriage… can you? 
Thank you for sharing! Happy Anniversary
Ooooh Dana, I just cried my way through your whole wedding! It was BEAUTIFUL, and clever, and so very meaningful. I hope you have a great time at Disneyland today (the weather is perfect!) and I wish you the best of luck tomorrow!
What a wonderful way to incorporate your friends and family into your ceremony, especially as they all announced you as Husband and Wife. I choked up several times. Happy, happy anniversary, and thank you for sharing such a joyous day with all of us.
Happy Anniversary to the two of you!!!
Sending happy thoughts to you for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery
Much love and many blessings!!!
Happy anniversary! This was lovely to watch and you guys made me cry! Enjoy Disneyland (yeh I'm jealous) and wishing you all the best with the surgery.
That was so beautiful. The simplicity with which your love permeates the people around you is so inspirational. May you have this and many more happy years together.
Your ceremony was beyond beautiful and romantic!! What is the tradition behind sealing the ceremony space? I read the other posts and I saw no other mention of it.
Dana and Hunter:
Well over the one week limit you set for this video, I happened upon this post while going through the blog looking for ideas for my own upcoming wedding (October, 2012). I have watched a few of the videos you both have on YouTube, doing various crafting tutorials. Before I even knew that you were married, I could immediately tell that the two of you were so completely and totally in love. I am so glad that the video was still up, so, I thank you for that. Yours was such a beautiful ceremony, and incorporated some similar things that we wish to include in our own wedding. While watching, I laughed (very hard), cried, and otherwise reflected on what marriage means to me, and the love I have for my soon-to-be-husband.
Thank you so much for allowing me, and everybody else to view this wonderful, heartfelt and completely touching commitment that you shared with each other and your friends and families. The best of luck to you, happy anniversary for this one past and many many more in years to come!
Robin