Wedding week is here before I know it. All the planning is done, and luckily, I've had the pins removed from my finger and only have a removable brace to protect it. After the cast was removed, I tried to see if my wedding ring would fit before the big day. It wasn't even close. There is no chance my ring is going to fit. I order a silicone wedding band with next-day delivery so we have something to put on my finger.

The first official wedding event is my bachelor party. I have no desire to drink and party, so I plan a paintball event with Duby, my best man. Natalie hates the idea.

When I met Natalie, it was a week after the Air Station threw a morale paintball event. I had welts all over my body and one on my neck that looked suspiciously like a hickey. Natalie is convinced that I am going to rebreak my finger and show up for the wedding photos covered in paintball battle scars. We compromise, and I tell her I will keep my finger brace on to protect it and cover my entire body and head.

I show up for paintball wearing an old flight suit and some type of special-forces-looking scarf that covers my whole neck. They provide a paintball mask, and I am completely covered... or so I think.

We are out in the dense Florida woods, in the sweltering heat, serenaded by cicadas. They split us into teams and position us on opposite sides of the forest battlefield. Within seconds, my paintball mask is totally fogged up. I charge through the forest, bounding from tree to tree for cover. I hear screams in the distance and paintballs hitting in my area. I dive into a prone position for cover and smash my hand in the process. I think I may have rebroken my finger, and it is throbbing with pain, but I am at war.

I army crawl toward the enemy, thinking I am completely hidden, and then I feel a paintball explode against my head just above my temple.

I'm hit!

I roll over toward some trees to find more cover and assess the damage. I can feel a huge welt, and it's bleeding. I am no more than a minute into this battle and have possibly rebroken my finger and sustained significant battle damage to the only exposed skin on my body.

Natalie was right, and I am in trouble.

We all have an absolute blast decimating each other with paintballs and crawling around in the woods, but I am dreading seeing Natalie afterward.

Once I get back to the hotel, she notices the giant welt on my head immediately but shakes her head and laughs it off. Natalie is a saint and has an incredible amount of patience with my antics. The next day, we have the wedding rehearsal and dinner at a state park by the beach.

I wake up the morning of the wedding, and the first thing I do is check the weather. We are getting married at The White Room in St. Augustine, and it's a rooftop setup with a beautiful view of the harbor. I need the weather to cooperate, and we luck out with an absolutely beautiful day.

Natalie has all kinds of things to do and is running around doing errands, getting beautiful, and setting everything up. I work out and spend most of the day relaxing at the pool with my groomsmen and best friends.

It's perfect.

When it's time, all the groomsmen get dressed, and we meet up for the first look and pictures. We are in picturesque downtown St. Augustine, and I wait anxiously for Natalie to arrive. When I turn around and see her for the first time in her wedding dress, she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and I feel like the luckiest man alive.

We wander around downtown St. Augustine, have a lot of laughs, and somehow get all the wedding photos taken. It's not my best look, with a battle scar on my head and a strangely swollen finger, but Natalie makes up for it.

Soon after, we make it to The White Room, and I am standing next to Kyle. Duby, Anthony, Ryan, and my closest friends are standing shoulder to shoulder with me and ready to share this moment. We have been through so much together, and these are the people who have helped me up every time I have fallen.

For a second, I am sad as I look out at the crowd and realize there is almost no family there. I have no grandparents left, and I miss Bertie Boy. He would have loved Natalie.

My dad is not out there. With everything that has happened, there's no way I could have invited him, but I wish things were different. My immediate family and one aunt are out there. That's it. No other aunts, uncles, cousins. Nobody. I couldn't even invite them. Looking out at the groom's side of the crowd, it's clear that the family I had growing up is fractured, and it hurts.

I do what I'm trained to do and immediately bury that sadness.

Moments later, the show starts, and my nieces are again the flower girls. They seem to have really perfected it after the beach wedding, but then somehow one of them loses a shoe mid flower toss, nearly face plants, and barely hobbles through.

Then Natalie's walkout song comes on, and I see her with her dad walking her down the aisle. I wish I could stay in the moment forever. I don't want this feeling to ever end. I have my best friends next to me, and the woman of my dreams is about to marry me for the second time.

All I can think is that I must have done something right to deserve this.

Kyle begins to talk and gives a beautiful speech. He gives advice about what makes a good marriage, reminding us that the little things are the big things like saying “I love you,” showing appreciation, learning to forgive, and giving each other room to grow.

He reminds us that marriage is not only about marrying the right partner, but also about being the right partner.

Kyle also talks about how Natalie and I met and our common love for the sea. He quotes President Kennedy's 1962 America's Cup remarks about our connection to the ocean, the salt in our blood, sweat, and tears, and how returning to the sea feels like returning to where we came from.

After that, it's time for Natalie and me to make it official again. Kyle says, “Before you exchange your vows, take time to reflect on the power and beauty of the sea. Even when there are waves in your marriage, know that in due time, the stormy weather will pass, and the beauty of your marriage will return.”

He looks at me, and I recite my vows to Natalie. Then he looks at Natalie, and it's her turn. He says, “I, state your name,” and as he is saying it, a motorcycle passes by loudly on the road below and throws Natalie off.

She just looks at Kyle, flummoxed, laughs nervously, and says, “Huh?”

Kyle and I start cracking up, and it takes a while for us to lock in. After that, we are given the rings, and one of them drops to the floor. We scramble to pick it up, and then Natalie tries to put my silicone ring on my swollen, mangled ring finger as I wince in pain.

It is a fairy tale ceremony.

The rest of the wedding is incredible. We have the most delicious dinner, Duby and my sister deliver heartfelt toasts, we eat cake, and we dance the night away in front of the most beautiful sunset.

When the night eventually comes to an end, Natalie and I walk off as all our guests light the path with sparklers and cheer us on. I look around at all my friends who have been there to pick up the pieces every time my life has fallen apart. I look at Natalie and remember the beautiful girl I met in the surf shop so many years before.

I never could have imagined how much love and joy she would bring into my life. I am eternally grateful that she took a chance on some hungover kook who was too shy to ask her out.

Who knew that moment would change the course of our lives?