Brief wedding vows for a partner at a backyard ceremony

Remember the night the string lights shorted out mid-dinner and we ate by phone light, laughing in the dark. That's us — unbothered, together, making it work.

I promise to keep choosing you on the ordinary nights, not just this one.

I promise to laugh easily and hold on tightly.

This backyard, this grass, these folding chairs — I'll remember it all, and I'll keep building our home right here with you.

That same night, the lights went out and you grabbed my hand before I even asked. I knew right then I wanted that steadiness for good.

I promise to be the calm when things go dark and the light when they don't.

I promise to meet your laughter with my own, every time.

Under this same sky, in this same yard, I promise to keep showing up — plainly, surely, for the rest of our ordinary, wonderful nights.