Wuv. Twu Wuv.

Husband and I were blinking back tears when a little boy we know got married last Saturday.

Well, I suppose he isn't a little boy, seeing as how he's been a friend of Boy#3 since they were in the church nursery, and Boy#3 has been a legal adult for several years. But as we watched that little boy and his bride vow to love each other as long as they live, it must have been kind of dusty in the church because I seemed to have had something in my eye.

And since one of our own little boys is going to star in a similar ceremony soon (squeeeeee!) I was taking notes on wedding ideas that could be stolen for Boy#1 and Lovely Girl's big day.

"It was beautiful, but I don't think there's a single idea that you would want to use," I later e-mailed LG. She replied in alarm: "Are we that high-maintenance?"

No. They are not. It's just that the beautiful wedding we attended on Saturday was beautiful for THAT COUPLE. They had a photo booth where guests posed with wacky props in front of letters that spelled out wuv, twu wuv; the minister told funny stories about A and B's childhoods; the vows were written by the couple; and the ceremony was punctuated by the shrieks of babies not old enough to understand the gravity of the moment. It was joyful (and sometimes noisy), and it makes me smile to remember it.

However, when Husband and I were married, we chose to use the traditional wedding vows, and we hired a babysitter for the youngest children. We chose solemnity, and it makes me smile to remember it.

I thought of that again the next day when Husband mentioned that the inventor of the Etch-a-Sketch had died. My response was as knee-jerk as a sneeze.

"Oh, did someone rub him out?" I said. "I bet everyone is really shook up."

And Husband, bless him, laughed. Many husbands would not have laughed, but because he knows I will go for the pun every single time I can, he humors me in this.

So it is with weddings. This is the first public declaration that a couple has that they agree on what is right FOR THEM, whether that is neon green ties or morning coats. Both the groom and the bride are saying to all involved, "We're going to agree, or to work our disagreements, because we love each other and are committing to what is right for US."

That's the meaning of wuv. Twu wuv.