Happy Easter, belles!
Marianne Caldwell, owner of RiverOaks Charleston and one of our beloved Blue Ribbon Vendors, is a Southern Weddings kindred spirit. As you can easily see on her Instagram feed, she, like us, loves beautiful weddings, the culture of the South, and most of all, strong marriages. We are continually inspired by stories of how she cares for the couples she works with and we were so excited to hear a snippet of what she and her husband, Kenny, have learned in their 33 years of marriage. Enjoy!
The only thing we will leave behind for the generations that follow us is our story. We want our marriage to be a great and meaningful story, because the marriage relationship is the most important earthly relationship. This takes intention, purpose, and a lot of work!
Daily habits are good things to cultivate, so we kiss at least three times a day–hopefully more, but at the very least, I kiss my man every night, there is an after-work kiss, and he kisses me every morning, no matter what! Love notes are made so easy these days with texting. “Love texts” are thrilling to receive and are a huge deposit into our daily relationship.
In the harder times, an intentional mindset that our relationship is more important than our issues reminds us to be quick to say, “I am sorry” or “Please forgive me.” There was a time in our marriage when we were off track, and we found that seeking outside help before it got any worse was beneficial.
Something that energizes our marriage is that we have found common interests to dream about together and we work together to make some of them happen, such as building projects, a garden, trips, ministry, landscaping, a family, and a wedding company! One of our dreams was for children, and we were blessed with four of them within five years. They are all now in their 20’s and gone from home, so we have each other alone again, which is a dream, so remember to keep your spouse above your children!
Our marriage of 33 years has been a continual and necessary lesson in what it means to live for greater things than ourselves. Our faith in Jesus keeps us learning this and makes our marriage sweeter along the way. A great way to keep your marriage growing is to invest in a couple a step behind you and pour your life into them together! We have taught newlyweds at our church for 15 years, yet this ministry has given back to our marriage more than we have ever given.
Finally, each anniversary, reminisce about first dates, first kisses, when you fell in love, your wedding day, and more, to help you cherish your story in the past, present, and future. This intentional and purposeful work in your marriage will tell your story for generations to come!
Keep up with Marianne:
Website: RiverOaks Charleston
Facebook: RiverOaks Charleston
Twitter: @RiverOaksCHS
Instagram: @RiverOaksCharleston
Beautiful!! Thank you for sharing!