You were always the answer

[Groom's name], I have written and rewritten this speech so many times because nothing I put on paper seems big enough for what I feel about you. But I'm going to try, because you deserve to hear it out loud, in front of all these people who love us.

Before I met you, I was good at being alone. I had my routines, my independence, my carefully arranged life. I didn't think I needed someone else to make it better. And then you showed up, not to fix anything, not to fill a gap, but to walk beside me. You didn't try to change my world. You just stepped into it and suddenly everything had more colour.

I think about the night you stayed up with me when my dad was in the hospital. You didn't say much. You just held my hand and made tea and let me fall apart without trying to put me back together before I was ready. That's when I knew.

You love me in a way that feels safe without being small. You push me to be braver than I think I am. You listen, really listen, even when I'm talking about something that doesn't interest you at all, which, based on the glazed look you get, includes most of my work stories.

I promise to love you honestly. To fight fair. To always choose us, even when it's hard. To build a life with you that we're both proud of.

Thank you for choosing me, [Groom's name]. I'd choose you every time, in every lifetime. I love you.