Lucky in Love… or Just Really Intentional?

March has a funny way of making us think about luck. Shamrocks show up everywhere, people start ordering Guinness like it’s a personality trait, and suddenly every couple is being told, “You two are so lucky you found each other.”

I hear it all the time at weddings.

And listen — I love the holiday. Rachel and I actually got engaged on St. Patrick’s Day. We leaned into it fully. We love the day, we love the energy, and yes, we love a good Guinness, We’ve been known to enjoy a Dublin Drop like we’re back in our twenties with zero responsibilities and questionable decision-making skills. It’s one of those holidays that feels celebratory by default.

But here’s the honest part: if there were an award for “worst planning luck imaginable,” Rachel and I would at least make the podium. Weather rarely cooperates. Schedules shift constantly. The most meaningful ideas we come up with usually require twice the logistics and half the convenience. Planning has never exactly gone smoothly for us.

And yet, none of that has defined our marriage.

So were we lucky to find each other? Absolutely. I’ll take that compliment every time.

But luck didn’t build our relationship. Choosing each other did.

There’s a real difference between saying, “We got lucky,” and saying, “We keep choosing each other.” Luck is passive. It’s something that happens to you. Choosing is active. It requires intention, effort, patience, and a willingness to show up even when it would be easier not to.

That difference is exactly why weddings feel magical.

From the outside, a ceremony can look like this beautiful, emotional swirl of music, vows, laughter, and tears. It feels effortless. It feels like something just “clicked.” But magic at a wedding is rarely random. It’s built.

It’s built in the conversations where couples decide what parts of their story actually matter. It’s built when they choose honesty over perfection. It’s built when they allow their personalities — not trends — to shape the ceremony. The moments that move a room aren’t accidental. They’re intentional.

That’s why the ceremony becomes such a powerful experience for everyone present. It’s the one part of the day where guests aren’t just watching something happen — they’re feeling the weight of two people publicly choosing each other. When someone comes up afterward and says, “That ceremony was so them,” they aren’t describing luck. They’re responding to alignment. They’re feeling the intention behind every word.

Even the emotional highs and lows of a ceremony — the laughter, the pause before a vow, the quiet tears, the collective cheer at the kiss — are designed to tell a story. A good ceremony doesn’t just list facts about a couple. It brings people through the journey. It allows joy and depth to coexist. It reflects the reality that love isn’t one steady note; it’s dynamic, layered, and alive.

Rachel and I may joke about our terrible luck when it comes to planning, but the one thing that has never been left to chance is our commitment to choosing each other. Every day. Not just on a holiday that celebrates luck. Not just on the day we got engaged. Not just on the wedding day.

So this March, if someone tells you you’re lucky to have found each other, smile and embrace it. Celebrate it. Raise the Guinness if you’d like.

But remember this: luck might have introduced you. Commitment is what will sustain you. And when your ceremony day arrives, the magic won’t come from coincidence. It will come from two people standing in front of everyone they love and intentionally saying, “I choose you.”

That’s not luck.

That’s love, built on purpose.

Sláinte — and may the road rise up to meet you.