In the last year, we have been to three weddings.

For us, that’s unusual, as it’s actually been quite a while since we’ve been to any wedding at all.

Every time I attend a wedding, it causes me to reflect back on my own wedding.

My husband and I have been married for 30 years now.

It’s funny that when we got married, we were pretty clueless about the whole wedding process.

Both of our parents got married in very small venues.

My parents’ plan was to just have the two of them get married without anyone else attending.

But my grandmother, being the good Jewish mother she was, showed up anyway.

She flew all the way in from Germany, and every single wedding photo that I have of my parent’s wedding includes my grandmother.

My husband’s parents were married in a very similar situation.

But when Rob and I were getting married, we had no idea what we actually wanted.

My parents invited all their friends. Rob’s parents invited all their friends. And our wedding became this huge 250-person wedding, of which I knew maybe 30 people, at best.

We spent so much time thanking everyone for coming to our wedding that we didn’t even get to eat dinner.

When we left our reception, we literally drove through the Burger King drive-thru—Rob in his tux and me in my wedding gown.

And it was the best Whopper I’ve ever had in my life.

I forgot how powerful weddings truly are.

The last three weddings we attended are the only weddings I’ve attended in the last decade.

And I forgot how special they are.

Every time I watch a couple stand together and express their love and commitment to each other, I get emotional.

It’s really such a powerful moment to be a part of.

I was also impressed because each wedding was very well thought out. And they were all about the bride and groom.

For these weddings, it wasn’t about what everyone else wanted. You could tell that each bride and groom really put their personal touches into every moment.

For example, at one of the weddings we attended, the bride actually picked the entire playlist of songs that the band played.

She did this because she wanted to make sure that every age group attending the wedding had songs they could connect with.

I thought that was pretty powerful and very well thought out.

No one demanded this. It was the bride’s idea because she wanted to make sure everyone felt like they were an important part of her wedding.

I was so impressed by her thoughtfulness and willingness to think of others on a day that has always traditionally been about the bride.

The best part of every wedding is love.

Beyond the beauty of a wedding, the flowers and the dress, the delicious food, and the amazing venue—is love.

The thing that stuck out to me the most in every wedding we attended was the love that radiated between the bride and the groom.

Obviously, this is what should stick out the most at a wedding. But there was just something magical about it this time around.

It’s not that this is unexpected, but these days, it’s something that we can’t take for granted.

We live in a world where there is so much negativity being tossed around. And we could all use a little more love in our lives.

It was so emotional for me to hear the vows that each bride and groom wrote for one another. They were ready and willing to build a life together.

It was such an honor to be included in these beautiful events where two hearts became one, bound together by love.

Love is all we need.

When my kids asked me if I would change things about my own wedding, it was hard for me to answer.

Looking back 30 years ago, sure, our reception may not have been what I wanted. But at the time, it worked.

And if I had to do it all over again, I would still have made the decision to marry my husband. He has been the best part of me.

I believe that everything we do in our lives brings us to this moment in time and shapes who we are.

Every decision we have made, and every experience we have had together has brought us closer as husband and wife.

And Burger King after your reception is not necessarily a bad thing.

That Whopper was exactly what we needed because we experienced it together with love between us.

And let’s be honest—when your first meal as a married couple is a Whopper, that’s love. Also, you can be pretty sure that it’s going to be all uphill from there.

In all seriousness, no matter who you are, the most important part of any wedding is the love that is felt between the bride and the groom.

And even after 30 years of marriage, the love we started with while eating that Whopper is still there and growing stronger every day.