To our nearest and dearest, thank you for joining us to celebrate this momentous occasion. We wouldn't want to say "I do" without you there with us

I was, neck-deep in my foxhole, dug in to survive another cold night. The place was the Ardennes Forest. The date was January 7th, 1944, or somewhere around there. The dates start to blur when the fighting is constant. Suddenly, cutting through the silence of the night, like a chainsaw through a tree, the scream of artillery rang through the air. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM; suddenly, darkness and silence bring my shaken soul peace. I don't know how long it lasted, the darkness that is, it felt like a lifetime and an instance all at once. But slowly, I struggled to open my eyes. The brightness and warmth of the sunlight reflected off the crisp white linen. The blurred silhouette in front of me began to come into focus. Her hazel green eyes and crisp smile warmed my heart and left me in awe. Confused, I was all but certain I had been met by an angel and was at heaven's gate. As my focus returned and her lips moved the ringing in my ear began to subside, and with a half-working smile, I stuttered my name off my tied tongue. "Hi, I'm Eugene and you might be the most beautiful thing I have seen in a while". She replied, "Though I appreciate your words, Sir, you were pretty close to an artillery shell that went off. " The only thing I could think to say was, "Well, damn." She laughed as though my comical confusion and awkward sense of humor was showing full force. Over the next couple of weeks, we continued to talk and get to know each other, she helped me heal spiritually along with my physical wounds. The rest of the story is history.