The Personal Trainer's Bride {Interracial Curvy Romance}

From This Day Forward {Part Two}

Kehlani 

"Friends and families of Chaiza and Steven, welcome and thank you for being here on this special day." The minister greets. "We are gathered together to celebrate the one of a kind love between Chaiza and Steven, by joining them in marriage. Today is a celebration. A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of families, and of two people who are in it forever. You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is ind of weird, right? You're standing on in front of a lot of people, looking fancy, holding flowers, and being stared at by pretty much everyone who has meant anything to you. So why do we do it?The marriage ceremony has been an important feature across nearly every culture, religion, generation, and society. We have thousands of important moments that happen throughout our lives, but this one is regarded as one so critical, we acknowledge its special status by sharing it with others. Why this moment? Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. It's the great unifier – our one universal truth. That no matter who we are, where we've come from, what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we're doing right. That's why you are both standing here. And that's why you all are here to watch them stand up here. We have all loved in our lifetimes, and in this moment, we're reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity. All of us here today have our own love stories. Some are short, others long. Some are yet unwritten, while others are just getting to the good part. There are chapters in all of our stories that are sad or disappointing and others that are exciting and full of adventure." 

Steven turns to face Chaiza with so much passionate love in his eyes as she stares at him lovingly in return. Seeing the two of them so happily in love with each other after all these years has me thinking that they've made it this far. I feel a pair of eyes on me and I turn to Blake, who is beaming at me with generous adoration. I smile back at him, following a wink while I witness the bride and groom sharing the looks of love to each other. 

"The day Chaiza and Steven met was like a Wattpad teenage love story-- It was hot, summer day fourteen years ago. Two people set their eyes on one another at a party who were two teenagers attending different middle schools in different areas of downstate New York. Chaiza from the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn and Steven from Shirley, which is one of the cities in the Suffolk County on Long Island. Following their meeting were the exchange of text messages and phone calls along with visiting each other during school breaks. Steven knew what he was doing; he got game." Steven pretends to shoot the basketball that is flying into the net, bringing people a barrel of laughs, especially Chaiza. 

"And that brings them here; a time to pause, look back, and smile at all the moments that brought them here. And a time to look ahead to all the moments that are still to come. I'm here – we're all here – because we want those moments for you. We're here to hope with you, to support you, to be proud of you, and to remind you that love isn't happily ever after, love is the experience of writing your story. It's not one moment – not even this moment. It's every moment. Big ones like saying 'I love you,' moving in together, getting engaged – but mostly a million little ones that come in between the big moments. Falling asleep next to one another, making dinner together, spending holidays with your families, getting a big hug when you get home from work. These everyday moments fuse together into one big experience. And even though this experience is so incredible, words fail us when we try and explain it. That's just the way it is with love – it's meant to be felt, not described. But trying to describe love is one of our favorite pastimes. We use the words we have to write stories, and poems, and songs about love. And even though we describe love in different ways and even though love can look different from one person to the next; we all know it when we see it. And we see it here. A reading from the Apostle Paul, the first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13, verses 4 through 7: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Father, as Chaiza and Steven pledge themselves to each other, help them and bless them that their love may be pure, and their vows and their vows may be true. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen."