Caitlin and I were honored to be able to share our promises to one another in front of so many dear friends and family members. These were the promises and vows we made to one another.
Caitlin’s Promises to Charles
Charles,
When we began dating, during my second year of law school, I felt great excitement and some trepidation: excitement because, in you, I found someone who understood me so completely; trepidation because the hours spent with you were ones not spent with my case books.
I don’t know whether it was the pancakes you flipped on our first date; your good humor when a five-mile hike became ten; your patience in quizzing me on the nuances of the Tax Code; or my nagging desire to defeat you in Rummikub, but you captivated me. And I ended that semester with grades intact and with you, my greatest love, beside me.
Lawyers, as you well know, rarely want for words. But I’ve found it difficult to reduce to writing what you mean to me. You are essential: you are my partner and my complement. With you, life’s joys are sweeter. And I mean that literally as well: on each trip to see you in Cincinnati, and on every trip home from Geneva, a homemade treat always awaited me. With you, worries—however big, small, or outlandish—are surmountable. And with you, no matter how long the plane ride, I always have someone to hold my hand.
Charles, today and in all the days to come, I promise always to choose you.
I promise to be your honest and compassionate partner: to support you, celebrate with you, and comfort you.
I promise to embrace the small moments, because they are shared with you.
I promise to compromise—you can buy the 1% milk—but never to grow complacent in my commitment to you.
I promise to be gentle in my words and generous with my love.
I promise to listen, even when I feel impatient, and to forgive, especially when it is difficult.
When I stumble, as I doubtless will, I promise to find the humility, and the strength, to apologize.
I promise to appreciate you and the gift of your love.
And I promise that, no matter where life carries us, there will always be room for a new cookbook in our kitchen and for you in my heart.
Charles’s Promises to Caitlin
Caitlin,
Four years ago we met in Judge Noce’s chambers. On that day, I called you our intern. A few days later, as chance would have it, we met at Brennan’s and started dating. In short time, I called you my girlfriend. Through our chats, our travels, and our adventures – those moments together that have shaped our relationship – I cultivated other names. I have called you princess, tiger, boss, and babe. I have called you my personal trainer, my delicate flower, and, in a moment of semi-consciousness, my little dung beetle. Now, four years later, the only thing left to call you is my wife.
In anticipation of calling you my wife, I make the following promises to you:
I promise to always be your companion, stand by your side and lend you a shoulder to lean on.
I promise to match the support and love that you show me, however hard that may be.
I promise to stand up for you.
I promise to savor the moments we have together, whether they be mundane or momentous.
I promise to cherish your wit, your beauty, and your grace.
I promise to listen.
I promise to keep our arguments short and to meet our challenges head-on.
I promise to see you through your goals and your dreams.
I promise to be your constant.
Finally, I promise to never forget the reasons that I am standing here today.
Caitlin and Charles 