First Post

I figured there would be no better way to start off our blog, then to share our story.

This is an essay that was written by Brandon. He wrote it as we entered a contest to win money towards our wedding. We didn't win, however we gained many other things through the contest. Viewing the comments our friends and family posted and seeing how many people voted for us was amazing and we are so blessed to know so many people love us. We were also able to take this same essay and use it to enter a contest to win a free photo session with a professional photographer and we won! 30 minutes for free! Glad to say this is officially an "award winning essay"!


Love... Love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person, as defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary. It is then further defined as the affectionate concern for the well being of another, and the passion and desire of the happiness of your significant other. When it comes to the relationship that my fiancé, Amanda, and I share, love is an understatement. The strength of our relationship has been challenged in several different ways during the time we have been together, and the two of us have overcome every challenge that has faced us without second thought. We have recently made the decision that marriage is in our near future and have begun putting together small ideas and dreams of what our "perfect wedding" would consist of, shortly thereafter realizing the cost and difficulty of the process of it all. Amanda and I are two incredibly selfless, honest, and hard working people, who in my eyes deserve the most incredibly memorable experience we could ever dream of.
Wondering whether our love for one another is real isn’t even a question for Amanda and I. The bond that we share is one that must have been created from concrete and steel. We have been together through one tour to Afghanistan, and another to Iraq. As challenging as it might seem to the average couple, we fought through the time we were forced to spend apart and kept our eyes on the light at the end of the tunnel. We talked on the phone and sent each other letters as often as we could, knowing that everyday our love was only growing stronger and stronger through the trials of separation. Another variable that has proven the strength of our love is the fact that Amanda was born with a condition which causes her body to produce cysts. Unfortunately, her condition has no known cure. Depending on the size and location of these cysts, they sometimes have to be removed surgically, limiting her ability to perform day to day tasks and care for herself independently. This condition has tested my loyalty and dedication to her as someone she can confide in and depend on, and I have stayed by her side waiting on her hand and foot during these difficult times without question. Her well being is something that means the world to me, and ensuring that she is taken care of is something that has just come naturally. With that I believe the vow, "in sickness and in health", has been more than proven. Clearly, the love that the two of us share is undoubtedly real, and in my eyes, unparalleled.
As we all know, a wedding is an event that takes a lot of time, and a lot of money to perfect. Being a younger couple, and being faced with the medical bills that have accrued over Amanda’s battle with her condition, saving for a wedding has been more challenging than we had ever expected. Amanda grew up imagining and perfecting in her mind the day that she would walk down the aisle and promise herself to the man that she would love for the rest of her life. Her visions of the flowers, candles, her dress, and the guests (just to name a few of the details) are things that are etched vividly into her mind, and I want so badly for them to come true for her, and for us. The combination of the two of our work schedules in addition to my deployments and out of town training events have also made it hard for us to make time for the rigorous planning that goes into an event as intricate as a wedding ceremony and reception. The help that would come along with winning this contest would be greatly, and forever appreciated.
As previously stated, love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person... the concern for the well being of another... the passion and desire of the happiness of your significant other. With this being said, the happiness we would share for one another would be immense if we were blessed with the chance to have the wedding we’ve always dreamed of. It would be a day that in 50 years we could look back on and remember together. It would be a memory that we could share in our hearts for as long as we both shall live.


Amanda