Braden Schiller

Weddings are beautiful. I can’t remember mine but I have been told it was lovely. 

I married at 19 and I was too busy anxiously shaking at the altar to pay much attention to formalities.

I’m not unromantic, I just think that what follows the wedding is more valuable. 

After transitioning from my teens to my 20s while being married I wouldn’t trade a thing.

Sure, it was an adjustment and my wife and I have even agreed that being married young has brought its own unique challenges. The biggest one being that we married and we’re still “growing up” with each other. 

But this could also serve as a benefit in the long run, it could lead to a couple later in life who have truly known each other’s ups and downs.

Life and love are complicated and unpredictable things — people have married sooner than I have and far later. My own parents waited nearly seven years to get married, while my wife’s parents were much quicker — both have had long, happy marriages.

The first year we were married we adopted a dog and in the second year we were blessed with the news of a baby boy. Some may caution against doing even one of these two things in one year. Has our marriage been fast and sometimes chaotic? Sure. I wouldn’t trade it though. 

The small problems that seemed so huge even a year ago and the late nights with our first born are what allows a marriage to grow old and strong. 

Marriage is a beautiful thing and best done at your own rhythm. As wedding season closes in I encourage all the lovebirds out there to look for their own big picture, not anyone else’s.