"Laugh at yourself and laugh together" - Rebecca & Dave's Advice and Steadfast Love Story

I met Dave at a martial class he was teaching and I went along after a colleague had told me about this specific type of martial art.

We became friends for a few years and then we both happen to be recovering from surgery at the same time, he had a knee operation and at 29 I had to have a total hysterectomy. We started to chat more and more as we were both in our respective homes recovering. When we went back to work, we continued to talk and eventually went on a date. That was January 2010, he asked me to marry him in May that year and we got married (for the first time) in a castle, in May 2011. In 2014, I became really ill and in 2016 I was diagnosed with a degenerative condition that effects my joints and most of my internal organs. I went from a normal 30-something working my a*s off to being really ill. I no longer felt like the woman that he married, so I asked him to marry me again and in 2018 we renewed our wedding vows in a ceremony in Japan. These pictures from both our weddings.

Dave is always there to help after surgeries, there have been 36 so far. We continue to support each other through the good and the bad times. This year is our 10th wedding anniversary and the best piece of advice I could give anyone is, don't take yourself too seriously, laugh at yourself and laugh together.

~ Love Story written by Rebecca Giddings

Note: This love story is part of on ongoing curation in a series called Love Stories that details how couples met and their advice on how to create a long and happy marriage. Want to tell your love story and be a featured Love Story on Happy Little Vows? We'd love to hear it! Check out our HLV Instructions for more details.