Nate's Wedding Vows to Stacey

 I feel now like I know what true love is. It's not just between you and I but it is our family as a whole. It is our partnership, working together, raising a family, and realizing how lucky we are. The love of our family rises above and completes the love we feel for each other.

You made that possible. Your dedication to me, and even more so to our children, defines that it means to be dedicated. I do notice how much you are willing to sacrifice. It does make a difference, and not only for our family. Dedication like that makes happy children. It makes the world a better place. I recognize it and I love you for it. Thank you.

Yet having a family does not mean we are resigned to living a complacent and uneventful life. Our adventures have not come to an end. Exploring new places and having new experiences is important to us both. Having a family has not taken away our chances to explore, but rather has expanded them. Our adventures in travel, in our family, and in our careers, and in each other will continue. I promise to you that we will not become average. We will not fall completely into the mold of social conformity. Lets keep our eyes on our goals of adventure and excitement that is in part the foundation of our relationship.

One thing I realized while reading through the notes we wrote to each other over the past six years is that we have gotten closer in steps, as we passed stages of our life. The summer we met, Carleton, St. Kates, Washington, the Boundary Waters Summer, and now our family. Between the lines in those letters I read of a greater intimacy and understanding of each other with each passing stage our life. What does this say about our future? Let's continue to evolve together and build on what we have. It will happen through dedication, inspiration, happiness, understanding, individuality, and love. Our different personalities and common beliefs are the perfect combination for lifelong happiness and lasting love. I can't wait to see where our life, our family and our relationship takes us next.

I love you Stacey.

Stacey's Wedding Vows to Nate

I didn't think I could fall in love with you more than the first year I was with you. But every year that passes I feel that my love for you cannot get any stronger. Yet tomorrow I know I will love you even more. I feel that I am in the happiest time of my life since the birth of our two children. It brings me so much joy to watch you interact with them that I often feel overwhelmed to tears. Your gentle loving ways with River and Forest remind me of why I fell in love with you. We began our journey together on a long walk on this hill. Something deep down told me that we would be together. Since then we have taken many walks together that have lasted until sunrise. Each new trail led to a deeper understanding of each other. One walk especially on Mt. Ranier symbolized our growing relationship. We hiked up and down steep ridges, over fallen trees, loose rock, and rushing waters. All to bring us to the most beautiful and peaceful place I'd ever seen. At that moment I felt that no one in the world could touch my soul as deeply and completely as you'd touched mine. I know in our relationship we will go through many up and downs and have to overcome many obstacles, but I hope we will always end up in the same beautiful and peaceful place in our relationship as we did that day on Mt. Ranier.