An Update From Lauren and David

Hello again from Florida,

Thank you all so much for all your amazing comments and encouraging words you left on our last blog post. I thought I would update everyone on where we are and answer a few questions you had asked us.

First just to get the two biggest questions out of the way:

1. The song we danced our first dance to was "Nothing Fancy" by Dave Barnes, check him out.

2. The wedding dress designer was Maggie Sotterro and the style was the Capri Marie. I love that dress it was the first one I picked out in the store in NY and I knew it was the one as soon as I tried it on.

A lot of people have talked to us in person, through messages and comments about how we were virgins when we got married and if we were still glad we had waited so long. Our answer to this question is simple: absolutely. I believe there are a lot of lies out there depicted by society and media, one of which is we have to try before we buy.

People have asked me, "Well, how could you be sure you like it if you have never had sex before?" I guess that question logically doesn't make much sense to me, because how would I ever know the difference. My husband always is and always will be "the best I've ever had" because I have chosen to make him the only one I've ever had. To us, this was a gift that we have chosen to protect and give only to each other. I think another lie out there is that it isn't possible any more to save yourself for marriage. We have done it, it is possible.

All of this raises the issue of, "I have already done all this before what's the point." First let me say, I don't think that a decision makes someone any better or worse as a person. Meaning, David and I are not and don't pretend to be better than anyone else for deciding to save ourselves. I believe everyone, including those who have had sex before, has the ability to value sex, and decide it going to be a gift for your husband or wife.

A comment on the last blog post stated she had been physically been taken advantage of by guys her whole life and has trouble trusting. She asked how I knew David could be trusted in marriage for the rest of my life. I knew I could trust David in marriage because I was able to trust him in dating. Those things I had dreamed would be in the man I married were in him when we dated. He respected me 100% physically and emotionally, he valued me far beyond his physical desires. I say this time and time again, who they are in dating, especially the bad parts of who they are, will be amplified in marriage. If a person deliberately does not respect your boundaries now (what ever those boundaries might be), they will not later.

So that's all for now, thanks so much for allowing me to go on for so long. Read David's blog post to hear what we're up to now.

Lauren


Hello again from David.

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the comments and encouraging words. The response on tour was also so overwhelming; it was great to meet some of you while we were out on the road. Thank you to everyone who has shown support for To Write Love on Her Arms.

The response after the "Just Married" episode aired was incredible, so many people wrote in and bought a shirt or two, it was crazy. It was great working for the organization and we loved the work we did with it.

We have since left the organization to start our own called The Love Alliance (love-alliance.org or myspace.com/thelovealliance).

The purpose of the organization is to educate people on different issues of social injustice and get them involved with the issues that matter most to them. We hope to form a community of people who want to make a difference in the world.

We are on our way up to Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, Illinois, next week and will have some shirts and info cards at several booths; maybe we will see some of you there.

Everything is so new right now, but we are really excited for the future. We will try to keep everyone updated. Thank you all for the support.

David