An Open Letter to my Husband on Our Tenth Wedding Anniversary

Today my handsome husband and I celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary so I thought I’d share an open letter to mark this momentous occasion.

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My Stevie,

Ten years.

I genuinely cannot believe we said “I do” ten years ago today. Time really does fly.

It feels impossible that an entire decade has passed since that beautiful June morning, yet at the same time, I struggle to remember what life looked like before you were my husband.

I can still remember the nervous bubbles fizzing away in my tummy the night before our wedding and on the morning itself.

There was so much excitement, anticipation and emotion wrapped up in those final hours before we became husband and wife.

And one of the things I will always be grateful for is that you understood how important it was for me to get married at home, in my church, surrounded by the people and places that meant so much to me growing up.

Thank you for supporting that wholeheartedly and for letting me spend the night before with my family before meeting you at the altar.

Looking back now, that feels like such a precious gift.

Our wedding day was everything and more than I could ever have dreamed of.

We were surrounded by family and friends, all gathered together to celebrate the start of our married life.

At the time, I don’t think either of us fully appreciated just how special it was to have so many loved ones under one roof.

As the years pass, and as we sadly lose people we love, those memories become even more treasured.

Photographs capture moments, but they can never fully capture the feeling of that day.

The laughter.

The excitement.

The happiness.

The overwhelming sense of love.

In fact, my face actually hurt the morning after because I’d spent so much of the previous day smiling.

One of my favourite memories is our first dance.

I remember us nervously attending those couple of lessons beforehand, hoping we wouldn’t make complete fools of ourselves. Somehow we pulled it off and it turned out to be one of the highlights of the day.

Having so many of our favourite people join us on the dancefloor afterwards made it even more special.

It wasn’t just our first dance as husband and wife; it felt like everyone we loved was celebrating alongside us.

And then there was the morning after.

Not only were we waking up as newlyweds, but it was Father’s Day too.

Looking back, being able to spend time with both of our dads that day feels incredibly special. It’s one of those moments that perhaps seemed ordinary at the time but has become increasingly precious with each passing year.

When I think about the last ten years, it’s impossible not to reflect on everything we’ve experienced together.

We’ve changed careers and jobs.

We’ve moved house more than once.

You left behind a fifteen-year career and moved more than 250 miles away from your family and friends so we could build a life together in my beloved North East.

We’ve become parents.

We’ve faced challenges, setbacks and difficult times.

And we’ve celebrated some incredible highs too.

Through it all, you’ve remained the same person I fell in love with all those years ago.

My biggest supporter.

My loudest cheerleader.

The person who believes in me even when I doubt myself.

Whether it was helping me build my portfolio for my journalism qualifications, encouraging me through countless interviews, supporting my breastfeeding journey, or simply reminding me that I can do hard things, or that I should actually go to the doctor when feeling unwell, you’ve always been firmly in my corner.

I don’t tell you often enough how much that means.

Watching you become a father has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.

I knew from the moment I saw the way you adored Amelia that you would make an incredible dad one day and as usual I was right.

From buying giant parenting books before Elsie was even born, to assembling furniture, attending appointments and throwing yourself wholeheartedly into fatherhood, you’ve always shown up.

Elsie absolutely adores you.

You make the ordinary magical.

You make her laugh.

You encourage her.

You worry about her.

You champion her.

And while she’s definitely still a daddy’s girl, I do occasionally get a look in too.

You have patience that I envy and a wonderful ability to make even the simplest moments fun. One of the things I love most about you is that you’ve never really lost your sense of fun.

Your laugh remains completely contagious.

You still make me laugh every single day.

You still make fun of me every single day too, which I’m less enthusiastic about.

But your ability to bring joy, to lighten difficult moments and to remind us not to take life too seriously is one of your greatest gifts.

It’s certainly one of the reasons I fell in love with you.

Over the years, I think you’ve changed too.

Not dramatically.

You’re still wonderfully you.

But you’ve become more settled, more practical and more positive. You seem more comfortable in yourself than ever before.

And yes, annoyingly, you continue to get more handsome with age too.

While some people dread milestone birthdays and getting older, you’ve embraced every chapter with quiet confidence.

I admire that.

Marriage isn’t always easy.

We’ve had ups and downs.

Becoming parents tested us in ways neither of us could have anticipated.

Life has thrown challenges our way.

But standing here ten years later, I genuinely believe we are stronger because of everything we’ve navigated together.

Your loyalty, love and commitment to our family have never wavered.

You work incredibly hard.

You care deeply.

You give so much of yourself to the people around you.

And while I know I’m often guilty of taking that for granted or being too quick to criticise, I hope you know just how much I appreciate everything you do.

Thank you for choosing me twelve years ago and saying I do ten years ago.

Thank you for building this beautiful life with me.

Thank you for every sacrifice you’ve made for our family.

Thank you for every laugh, every cuddle, every conversation and every adventure.

Thank you for being my safe place, my teammate and my best friend.

Most of all, thank you for being you.

My wish for us is simple.

May the next ten years bring more laughter than tears.

More adventures than worries.

More reasons to smile until our faces hurt.

More family memories.

More ordinary moments that one day become our most treasured memories.

And no matter what the next decade holds, I hope we continue to face it the way we always have; side by side.

Happy tenth wedding anniversary, handsome husband of mine.

I love you more than ever.

Love always,

Rach x

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