Wed.

In Texas, where I'm from, there's a three-day waiting period to marry (3 days longer than it takes to purchase a firearm, by the way, which is why you shouldn't mess with Texas), so a little over a month ago, my Beloved and I flew to my hometown the Tuesday before we were to be wed there.

Soon after, our friends and family started arriving from all over the country and the world - and we put them to work. Our celebration of love thereby turned into the grandest communal expression of it, and whatever heartache we felt when regretful RSVPs rolled in (they don't warn you how sad that part of wedding planning can be) melted before the exuberant faces of those who gave us the honor of their presence.