I enjoy a good laugh, and I generally adhere to the principle that life is too short to take it too seriously. Blake shares similar values and he delights in making me laugh. We have great privilege in being able to look at the world this way, and in some ways I feel this should be celebrated. Live to laugh. Of course, sometimes we go too far and accidentally hurt people, so we do have to get the balance right. Most of the time, though, if we're trying to make you laugh, it's because we care enough to want to see you laugh and enjoy yourselves.

On the other hand, if life is short (and it is), doesn't that also mean that the moments we do have are precious? Shouldn't we appreciate them? Take some of those finite minutes to acknowledge the depth and miraculousness of our existence, let alone what we've made of it? I've talked before on this very blog about how making things meaningful is important to me. Not just because I like symmetry in all things and am a bit superstitious, but also because it's how I was raised. If it adds no intrinsic, meaningful value, then it's a fringe benefit at best or a temptation to be avoided at worst.

The fence on which I've been sitting for the past few months has become increasingly uncomfortable as time ticks on. As you can tell from the title of the post, the dilemma I'm currently facing is whether or not my (our?) vows should be entertaining and amusing, or sincere and emotional.

Now, most of you level-headed, well-adjusted adults out there have already worked out that these things are not mutually exclusive. You can be sincere and emotional with laughter and good-natured humor, or vice versa, and there isn't anything really preventing me from having my cake and eating it, too. These are my vows, after all, to be spoken not necessarily for the benefit of everyone present, but to Blake.

But where I get stuck is making something sound true to me. Is it more "me" to keep it humorous and cute with referenced in-jokes, or is it more "me" to put that stuff aside for a few minutes on our wedding day to speak from the sincere, sappy, syrupy heart? More importantly - what would Blake prefer to hear? What's he planning on saying?

I really don't want to recite heartfelt, tear-jerking vows if he's going to recite something humorous back to me. I think I would actually die of embarrassment, so the tones would have to match. But I also don't want to know exactly what his vows will be before the day itself, because I want to be surprised. Yet his definition of "sincere and heartfelt" are vastly different to mine. I kind of like the idea of working on them together but finalising them separately.

The logical solution is to find a way to punctuate the sincere with the humour, or lead off with one and finish with the other. But that sounds hard! Only writers of the best sitcoms could do that with any sort of elegance and refinement. Me? I don't have that kind of wordsmithing prowess!

So, I turn to anyone who might be reading this. What did you do? Do you have any suggestions?