rama hughes & christine castro

one year ago, my wife and i got married. the months leading up to the ceremony were an ordeal. although we didn't come close to breaking up, the preparations did bring us as close to breaking up as i can remember. now, i think of wedding plans as a rite of passage. and i have lots sympathy for those who have to do it.

on the day of the wedding, i woke up in a hotel room by myself. i hadn't been alone with my wife for a couple of weeks. i felt like i was about to perform a christmas play on christmas morning. i was that nervous and that giddy. when i heard ~ by way of the maid-of-honor ~ that christine was calm, i felt calm too. the day was amazing. all the preparations paid off. there was so much laughter and joy. and dancing and candy! our marriage has barely begun but it has been a blast so far.

of course, we did have some fun with the wedding plans. my favorite chores were cake tasting and illustrating the invitations. this drawing, for our save the date cards, is a portrait of me drawn by christine and a portrait of her drawn by me. i inked both drawings and she designed them into the invitations. our first collaboration!