Mike's vows to Aude

Aude,

First of all, I'm just glad you pulled the "do-your-vows-in-a-second-language" card during the wedding planning process!

Over the last year, in the time we haven't spent wedding planning (which frankly doesn’t seem like much these days), I've spent thinking about you and our relationship, trying to put down into words what it all means to me.

Aude, I still remember the exact moment when I read your WhatsApp message telling me you needed to reschedule our first date, how close I was to canceling, and how something inside me told not to… that something about this girl could be different. Someone that I hadn't even met, somehow I thought to myself, could be the type of woman I could see myself marrying. It sounds crazy, but what I've come to realize is that love itself is crazy.

A kid from a tight-knit California family meets a girl from a tight-knit French family…while living in Miami, during a once-in-a-century pandemic, goes to Tulum on a third date, takes their relationship trans-Atlantic and then settles down together in LA. Crazy enough?

Aude, I still remember the minute I met you. You came to our first date with your make-good jar of salted caramel, as promised, and with a smile on your face, a smile that three years later, I've rarely ever seen missing from your face. Aude, the truth is, you have a sense of happiness and optimism about you that I've rarely ever seen in a person.

But back to the salted caramel! It really meant everything to me. It meant everything because it's exactly what I would have done. And it's exactly what I did!

But I won't pretend like I can compete with your salted caramel. Nor can I compete with the care and thoughtfulness you put into it three years ago. It's the same care and thoughtfulness I've seen you put into every friendship, every relationship, and of course, in caring for Nox! Whether in your rainboots in the pouring rain or your heels after a late night out with yes, a few too many tequila shots, the love and care you show Nox is remarkable. It's the same love and care that leaves no doubt in my mind that you will be the most amazing wife and hopefully mother one day!

Aude, I can't believe how lucky I am to get to marry you. You're everything. Kind, loving, smart, and of course, beautiful. When I'm with you, it's like nothing else in the world matters. You inspire me to be the best version of myself and challenge me to reach new heights. You're always up for an adventure and I can't wait to embark on the adventure of life together.

Aude, today is the best day of my life. But when the music turns down and the fireworks are over and it's just us, that's what this is really about and that's what I'm really excited for. Spending every day with you, waking up next to you, cheering on your successes and supporting you through life's challenges. When life gives us lemons, I promise I'll make cocktails!

Aude, I promise to love you with my full heart every day for the rest of my life. I promise to cherish you and our relationship…to build and to strengthen…trust and respect…share and compromise…listen and empathize. I promise to always put you and our relationship first. I promise to be your best friend, biggest fan, and lifelong dance partner!

You know, people always say "love requires work". And maybe they're right. But as someone who knows a thing or two about work and effort, I can honestly say that loving you is one of the most effortless things I've done in my life.

Aude, I have spent my entire life searching for perfection… often driving myself, you, and probably everyone else here a little crazy in the process. People always tell me, "Perfection doesn't exist." I don’t agree.

Perfection is your smile when I come home every night,

The way you make sure to do your hair just right.

Perfection is the way you can't help but dance to Enrique

Perfection is…you and me. Every day.

Je t'aime mon ange!

Aude's vows to Mike

To love you and to be loved by you, is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. Since the very beginning, I have felt like you love me entirely, exactly as I am. That includes my dorky dances when I’m eating something I like and my obsession for French cooking shows, and you’ve even loved me through all the crippling migraines. You have also welcomed in your life every single person that’s important to me: Nox who slowly but surely won your heart, my parents who you great every year with open arms, and my best friends with whom I have weekly hour-long phone calls.

You’ve loved me so entirely and so exactly that you loved part of me even I barely knew were there. You’ve made my spontaneous side shine through, convincing me to go to Tulum on a whim with you, or later on to go to Thailand, Saint Tropez, or Oaxaca, also on a whim (there’s a theme). You also have encouraged me to show my fierce and ambitious side at work, while still being my bubbly self. All along you knew those facets were in me, and you have unearthed them.

Mike, you’ve loved me so perfectly, that loving every single parts of you in return has been the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I instantly fell in love with your dimpled smile, your dance moves and your joy for life. And then I fell in love a little bit more, every time I was witness to how caring and thoughtful you are, how integral to your life your family and friends are. And every time I would see you get so invested in absolutely everything you do until it’s perfect in your eyes. I am falling in love with you a little more every single day: Every time you speak a few words of French to make me laugh, and every single time you say “bonne nuit little pup” to Nox. I even fell in love with your imperfections, because yes, you can be indecisive, but I know it comes from you caring so much to make the smartest decision. You don’t take life lightly, you live it fully, joyfully and with so much purpose, that I don’t know anyone that wouldn’t be swept in your enthusiasm. It’s that same enthusiasm that has swept me off my feet and makes me want to live every single day by your side.

Since those first dinners in Miami, we have built a life together, and I’ve also fallen in love with who we are together. You are always moving us forward, making plans and dreaming for us, while I’m creating the best life for us here and now. We have built a fun life filled with friends, taco parties, travels, concerts and so much laugh; we have also built a life that often is a bit uneventful, just us cooking dinner after work or going to the farmers market, but having you by my side to do all those mundane activities makes everything so much brighter. We’ve grown to be such a solid team together, that we have faced any challenge coming our way with grace and resilience, finding support in each other. I wouldn’t choose any one else in the world to hold me when bad news come. In just a few years, we have created together a wonderful life, and I can’t wait to do it forever after.

Mike, today in front of all our loved ones, I promise to always be your dance partner, and party with you until my feet hurt.

I vow to always travel beside you, through the world but also through all of life’s adventure.

I’ll always be your sous-chef for any new recipe you want to try and the first person in line to taste your cocktails.

I promise to be just the right amount of hard headed, and most importantly to always trust and value your opinion.

And foreverafter, I promise to be your shining light when everything looks dark, to be your champion for any dream you decide to pursue, and to cherish you unconditionally and never lose our spark. I love you.