Happily ever after

She entered the glade riding in an open, horse-drawn carriage. With a light flick of the reins, the white palomino eight hands high turned and came to a stop with a stomp of its massive hooves – just 30 feet from the lucky attendees.

The carriage, trimmed ornately in silver and gold, was the type only reserved for Europe’s royalty. And rightly so — for royalty the passenger truly was.

The weather for the outdoor wedding was perfect. At 6, the sun had just started its slow descent beyond the horizon. Soon the woods would fill with the sounds of night, but now all that was heard was the quartet of string violins hitching a ride on the cool gentle wind over the some 300 guests.

All heads turned as the horseman, dressed in a white tuxedo and tails, dismounted the carriage, walked over and held the hand of the soon-to-be bride.

She stood for a moment. Before stepping down, her crystal blue eyes scanned the crowd trying to take in the enormity of the moment. A snapshot of it in her mind forever. Slowly, a smile spread across her china doll face.

She had found her true love: the man with whom she’d spend the rest of her life. He was awaiting her — under a gazebo trimmed in white lace and carpeted in red rose petals, flanked by his groomsmen and her bridesmaids.

He smiled back. The quartet started the wedding march, and all guests rose as the storybook bride stepped down from the carriage and gracefully made her way across the glade.

Under the gazebo, she took the arm of her father for one last time before he gave her away. Their gaze only lasted for an instant, but in that instant all the struggles of raising a daughter – and a father – vanished to be replaced with an outpouring of love and respect for one other.

This was her day, and he couldn’t have been more proud of his little girl. A single tear fell down his face and splashed on a rose petal at her feet.

Vows were softly spoken. Rings — the symbol of love eternal – were exchanged. The minister announced the couple for the first time as man and wife. They made their way back down the aisle and climbed into the carriage as 500 white balloons were released to dot the dusk-blue sky.

On the steps of the grand ballroom, the proud father toasted the newlyweds, wishing them all the luck in the years to come. They would face trials and tribulations, but their love for each other would see them through. He ended the toast with the hopes he would see his first grandchild in the next year or two.

The newlyweds made their way up the steps to the glass doorways of the ballroom. There they greeted family, friends, and well wishers.

As I watched in the crowd from the bottom of the veranda, the last rays of the fall sun graced The Wife’s face. That’s when I realized: I’m still the luckiest man alive.

If seven years from now they’re in love as much as The Wife and I still are, then something wonderful would have happened to them also.

Their romance and storybook marriage would have turned into something really special. A romance that will truly have them living happily ever after.