Although I and my wife are approaching our 24th wedding anniversary in January, we are in the planning stages for our 25th wedding anniversary. It's the silver anniversary and my wife wants a church wedding because our original wedding was a civil union performed by a Justice of the Peace.

Church Wedding?

The reason we have to plan early is because I know it will cost us at least a thousand US dollars. I'll be saving a whole lot of money by having the wedding reception in my back yard, but I need to use creative ways to keep the cost of the wedding invitations low. Did you know you can save a bundle if you make your own wedding invitations? I didn't even think of it until today.

Having the reception in our compound also solves the problem of getting home in an inebriated condition. Our party will probably start with wedding toasts and then progress to heavy drinking by everyone involved.

My wife is of the Catholic faith. I'm not. I couldn't care less if I was married in a church, in a courthouse, or at the end of a pier. It's not the location or kind of wedding that counts, it's the union itself. It's the tie that binds, hopefully for a lifetime.

Diamond are a Girl's Best Friend and Diamonds are Forever

I don't know why women get so hung up on one of the most expensive stones I know of — the diamond. Like most men, I can think of more than a thousand things I could spend money on besides a rock on a ring. My wife, on the other hand, won't settle for any other kinds of rings that include stones.

Perhaps the slogans for diamonds are well-founded. Diamonds really do last forever, unless you lose them. My wife is living proof that diamonds really are a girl's best friend.

The Silver Wedding Anniversary — 25 Years!

It's hard to imagine living with the same woman for even a year, much less so for 25 years. 25 years from the day we met passed in June of 2008. January of 2010 is the actual 25th anniversary date. We're 25 years older and about 25 pounds heaver (each of us) than we were when we met. 25 seems to be a magic number or something.

I'm not looking forward to receiving very many wedding gifts from anyone locally — they just don't make enough money to do so. If you feel so inclined, I'd be more than happy to accept gifts from you. I'm kidding, of course. The cost of sending anything to the Philippines, making sure it would actually get here, would probably it cost twice as much (or more) as the original price.

Anyway… 25 years is a major accomplishment. It's longer than the 20 years I spent on active duty in the military. It'll be an even bigger accomplishment, in my opinion, to pass the 30 year mark. That would be longer than my active military service and 10 years of reserve military service combined. I hope to make it there, provided I don't get killed or something (possibly by my wife) before I do.

• Our Upcoming Wedding Anniversary and Renewal of Wedding Vows
• Today, the 25th of January, is my 25th Wedding Anniversary
• 22nd Wedding Anniversary
• Happy 24th Wedding Anniversary, Babes
• A Wedding Reception in My Back Yard