Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars

James and I got married yesterday!

They say your wedding day is one of the best days of your life. I used to think this was just an overhyped cliché, and wondered whether all the planning and preparation was really worth it for what seemed to be a short ceremony and a big party. How good could your wedding day really be?

After experiencing our own special day, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It is an indescribable feeling to have all your loved ones gathered in one place, getting to know each other and celebrating your love and commitment.

There were a million little things that came together to make our wedding weekend possible. We are so grateful to everyone who contributed – from those who spent their Friday afternoons with me at dress fittings to those who spent their Sunday afternoons with us folding invitations and wax-sealing envelopes. Some brought us floaties for the beach, and others grabbed tequila on their way out of duty-free for evening festivities. The heartfelt speeches, the random errands, the 200 Polaroids – every gesture meant the world.

Our wedding ceremony began with a reading on travel. The passage was a gift from a friend, who shared it with me after using it in their own wedding ceremony. As we prepare to leave Isla Mujeres tomorrow after the most magical weekend, now as husband and wife, the sentiment of the reading feels fitting:

It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn. Maybe that's enlightenment enough — to know that there is no final resting place of the mind, no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom, at least for me, means realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.

- Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations