Marrying in the Temple

Amanda - To all you girls out there that want to get married in the temple, don't lose that for anything! It is the most important step you could take in your life and don't let anyone take that away! People will say anything to get you not to do it and it may feel like anything that could go wrong will. But that's life and that should just show us that we need to make this very important step even more. It is important to explain to people how important this step means to you and how much you will regret it if you don't do it right. It is so nice to be there in that moment and nothing can make up for it. You will remember some of the things they say but what you will remember the most is being in a place were you can think and be happy and nothing else matters but the marriage of the one person you love and will always love and yourself.
It is so important that I might have been a little worried that a ring ceremony might take away from it. But nothing could ever come close to gettting married in the temple. It's not about who is there 'cause I remember more who wasn't. People that I so wish could be there and have the wonderful blessings that I have for that choice. But sometimes all you can do is just stand up for that one thing you want the most and that you believe in with all your heart and mind. PLEASE DON'T LET ANYONE TAKE AWAY HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO GET MARRIED IN THE TEMPLE! Write back!

My Beautiful Bride

Chris - What a lot of you don't understand is that Amanda changed her wedding day to have a ring ceremony in a reception center, not a church. She dated me when most people told her she was a stupid girl for dating me, telling her I would never be able to give her that temple ceremony. She never left me, but was always there for me even when my parents got a divorce. That was not easy for me but I always had Amanda to turn to. And I would like to think that my sisters could do the same. Sure, she made me mad and frustrated when she said those things, but she was just that frustrated. And I am proud of how everything turned out. She wanted to have a ring ceremony. She was the one with that idea and she wanted it more than 5 min. She found someone to conduct it that was not lds for my mom while still making it special to us.
She never once complained when my mother told us we were stupid and making the wrong decision of getting married in the temple. Amanda is a great woman that lots of you could only come close to. So please, you don't understand all the things she had to go through marrying me. When she could have just married someone who was already a member and not had these problems. Amanda is a saint and besides, her moment of weakness made everyone who was involved welcome and cared about there feelings. Amanda might have even felt more sorry that my mother couldn't go in and truly cared about my mother's feelings. Amanda is a wonderful wife and will be a wonderful mother (but not for years). I love her and we will not only be together until we die but even after and hopefully with our children. Write Back!

Reacting To Your Comments

The necklace thing really works like this. When the couple walks out of the temple, everyone is there to greet them. So, I invited both Chris' mom and his family, so they wouldn't feel left out. When we walked out of the temple for the first time as man and wife, I walked over to Chris' mom and gave her the necklace I was wearing. It was in the shape of a heart because I wanted her to know she was in my heart the whole time. I was thinking about her. The necklace had 5 diamonds for the 5 of us. This means so much to Chris' mom Lorraine and I. It means that nothing can ever break the bond we now have. It was more special in that moment then anyone could know.

I really care about Chris's mom and sisters, and we try to see them once a week. I even had a sleep over with his sisters because Chris works nights. It was a blast. I love Chris' family so much. I feel like they were always a part of me, and I would never want to loose such loving people. I don't think I was rude to Chris' mom in any way, and I am sure she feels the same way. We love each other! I am sorry if I came off bratty, but by that time, I was tired of the whole engaged thing. Being engaged sucks so bad. But being married is so worth it.

By the way…I am tired of everyone saying young people will never make it, because we can. You are just hope squashers. If you believe you can do something, and make it last forever, like me and Chris know we can, then you can't squash it. I am just saying...When you tell a child they are stupid, they are going to be stupid. But when you tell a child that they are amazing, and that they are going to go far, they will. So why are all you people calling us immature and young if you don't want us to become that? And if you do want us to become immature and young, then why should we listen to you and become that way? Just because someone failed at this before, doesn't mean we will. We are strong, and I am telling you we will make it through any thing.

I think that Chris and I will be just as good parents now, as we will be 10 years from now, because we will believe in, and love our children. They will be our whole world. If my child decides not to get married in the temple, I will be there the whole way to support them. They would be my child, and nothing will change that. I will be by my child's side, even if she gets pregnant at 16, to comfort her the whole way. NO MATTER WHAT my child does, I will still be there by their side making every effort I can to help him/her through any trial whatsoever. If Chris had decided not to get married in the temple, then we wouldn't have. But Chris wanted to, and I didn't force him in any way. This was as much his choice as it was mine. It was a 50/50 thing, and we both had to do our part.

Corinne Attaya - Thank you for your beautiful comments. We did our best to put the church in a good light when we first agreed to this. We did not realize that we would be representing the church, so that made it 10 times more stressful because we love the church so much, and would never want to hurt what we believe in. Thank you to all you nice people that said such beautiful comments. THANK YOU!!!

I think that, because of MTV, and not wanting to ruin anyone’s image, this added more stress to my to-do list then most people. Also, I think me and Chris were in charge of our situation. Everyone was happy and it all turned out very beautiful. And I say, "Let he who has never gotten frustrated, and said things that they didn't really mean, cast the first stone".

Chris and Amanda: The Married Life

Amanda - Being married is absolutely great and I love it! I’ve even suggested it to my sister Eve. She is 23. Chris and I are enjoying life and think everything is great. We are happy with our choice and love being married. I don't believe some of the things I said during the whole wedding process, and think it's embarrassing because I was just stressed out. And I said a lot of things I didn't mean. I mean really… I love Chris’s sisters to death and I didn't really care if they read the poems or not. To tell you the truth, I kinda feel like I was pushed into saying something. I was just frustrated with the whole thing and said some things I didn't mean. Planning a wedding is stressful and if anyone reading this is getting married, please remember it's not just your wedding. It's your fiancés’ to! Oh, and your mother's and your mother in-law’s. Don't forget that.

Chris – Hi. The wedding was perfect. I loved seeing my family, and Amanda was absolutely beautiful(she still is). Everything is going great, and we love being married. We both have been working a lot lately, with Amanda giving massages and me in the lab. We are just loving life.

Little Soldiers

From Jake: Jen wants like seven kids when I'm out of the military. But two will do for me. I want a little soldier of my own one day. She works just as hard as I do now- so we know we have enough money to move back to Cleveland in 3 years and be able to buy a house and make a family. In high school I told her that I want to grow old with her and watch our grandchildren play on the porch. So I will give her just that.

Planning On a Family

From Jen: Jake and I are planning on having children when he is out of the military. We plan on moving back to Cleveland in about 2 1/2 years, and we are going to buy a house before we make a family. I decided to stay in Hawaii while he is in Iraq, so by the time he gets out of the military, I should have my nursing degree. Jake plans on being a firefighter and also going for a degree in business. We both want a house in the country where no one can bother us, since we do better when we are alone. Jake and I are really looking forward to the future together. One day we will be old with seven children and lots of grand babies!

Saturday: Remodeling and Relaxing

Jake - My wife and I spend the day together remodeling our house. After we finished, we sat around and spend the day together cuddling. I don't want to go back to school because I don't want to leave my wife alone again.

Spending Quality Time Together

Jen- Being the best wife, as Jake says, I have made reservations this weekend to go on a romantic Polynesian cruise. Since Jake is gone Monday thru Friday, we felt that we need a night out alone to bond some more and actually have the hubby- wifey feeling.

Jake- It feels great to finally be home and spend time with the wifey. She does all the things I ever wanted in a wife and I can't wait until we make a family together because she will make a great mother as for wife.

Before our special day . . .

Ever since Jake and I have been married, we have been planning ahead for the future. Taking "Deployment Readiness" classes, I am preparing myself for the worst. With only a year left until his deployment, we try to spend as much time together as possible- but it is very hard. We fill up our weekend with activities that are fun and try to make them memorable so we have something to look back upon. I love being married to Jake and looking back to the past, I wouldn't have changed anything about our relationship because who knows, we might not have been where we are now! Write back! --Jenn