When I told people I wanted to marry Tyler at sunrise, there was pushback. Confusion. Even frustration. Understandably so, the sun rose early that day, somewhere around 6:30 or 7. And it was a Sunday, which meant people missed their normal rhythms of rest & church to be there.

But I couldn’t shake it – Sunday Sunrise.  

A sunrise is just different than sunset. It’s the beginning. & God’s love always begins with light illuminating the darkness, making all things new. It felt like the truest backdrop for a covenant meant to reflect Christ & His bride, the Church.

A sunset is lovely, but it leans into endings. It closes the day & welcomes the shadows.

A sunrise declares that the darkness does not last forever.

That morning, as the sky broke open with bright golden sun beams, I felt the Lord reminding me: love begins in The Light. Marriage is the dawning of something new. It is hope. It is promise. It is light breaking through.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” —Isaiah 9:2

The sun rose that morning flooding the sky with a brilliance that felt like every moment in Scripture when God’s light broke through the darkness. Like when the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds when Jesus was born, when Jesus’ face shown like the sun during the transfiguration, when Saul was blinded on the road to Damascus, when light was the very first word spoken into existence. 

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”—2 Corinthians 4:6

That sunrise was more than a backdrop for our wedding. It was a symbol of the Light that never fades, the covenant that never breaks, & a love that never fails.

Marriage is not simply about two people. It is a living parable, a painting of the gospel itself: Christ the Groom laying down His life for His Bride, the Church.

Seven years later, we are still learning & growing. And through it all, the vow remains: to reflect Jesus in the way we love, serve, forgive, & endure.

So, here’s to marriage! -not just to romance but to the calling of embodying the gospel together.

May our lives forever be like that sunrise radiant with His light 💛

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭8‬ ‭

in love,

kortney sue