June 26th marks two anniversaries for us as a couple. So we thought we would share a bit of our love story.

Thirty years ago today, we sat at this pinic table at Scovill Park in Decatur, Illinois and exchanged class rings. We had dated off and on prior to this, but this was the final commitment we would make prior to becoming engaged. We were young, Mark was 16 going to be a junior in high school and I was 17 going to be a senior in high school that fall. We had known in our hearts for sometime we had found our lifetime partner. This is a photo of us back around that time period.

So once we got engaged a little over a year and half later, we knew what day we would get married on… June 26, 1984. When we looked at the calendar to see what day it was…well it was a Tuesday. My Mom said, “people don’t get married on Tuesday, we need to move it to a Saturday”. But we both insisted June 26th held such a special place in our relationship and that would be the day we committed our lives to one another. So here we are on our wedding day. You can see pink has been with us since the beginning.

Is it any wonder why we enjoy filming weddings so much? Being a part of a couple’s and for that matter a family’s wedding day when two become one is an honor and such a joy. We also enjoy keeping up with our couples and seeing their families grow, knowing we were there to see it all begin.

Our marriage has been and continues to be a great adventure. We value and treasure our marriage and are quick to say having God at the center of our relationship has been the stabilizing force to stay the course. So many have set great examples of marriage for us to follow and we hope to do the same for all the generations to follow us as well.

Over the years we have learned, a great marriage takes a lot of WORK and effort by both spouses to always put the other before yourself. We purpose to never go to bed angry. We have committed to never put the other down verbally (we even avoid it in jest :: words are powerful!). And “I’m sorry, will you please forgive me,” is a big part of our vocabulary. But most importantly we have committed to love, honor and cherish one another and keep God at the center of our lives.

We thank God everyday for bring us together and we look forward to sharing many more anniversaries to come.

Celebrating 28 years of wedded bliss! ~Mark +Trisha

With all of our children all grown up, our oldest daughter Tori, is married, our son lives at Dry Gulch, finding time to get everyone together can be quite a challenge. Well Saturday night we all met for dinner at one of our Tulsa favorites. We have two birthdays coming this week, so our oldest daughter Tori presented Megan (our youngest daughter) with a gift bag to open at the dinner table. Out popped a package with two pacifiers. Yes, Tori & Micah are expecting their first baby. Our first grandchild! It was quite the surprise. We are thrilled and excited.

Everywhere we go everyone is always asking us, if we are grandparents yet? Well it is official and we are! This little bundle of joy should arrive sometime in February if all the calculations are correct. Boy or Girl?  Well I think there is a baby reveal video in our future. Stayed tuned….we look forward to sharing a bit of this wonderful family adventure.

The Von Lanken Atherton Crew :: Left to Right Megan, Trisha, Tori, Micah, Mark & Matthew.