Today is the twelfth wedding anniversary of my husband and I - so I wanted to share with you today possibly the most precious piece of artwork in my life - and one which changes and evolves every single day.
A year before we got married, my boyfriend at the time, Mike, suggested we go for a walk. We trudged up a nearby hill on a cold day. Mike encouraged me to look at the view - but I was getting impatient, and wanted to move on. Finally, I realised why he had got me to stop - because he had carved his marriage proposal into the tree. He had gone there the night before, and carved it into the tree in the pitch black. It was a truly beautiful way of proposing, and a year later, we got married. Needless to say, our wedding invites featured a picture of the tree.
The tree which features the marriage proposal is close to our house, and we visit it regularly. The 'Marriage Tree' is somewhere I often walk with friends and family, and my husband of course. Twelve years later, it looks very different. The lettering has become gnarled and twisted - and some of the letters have almost disappeared back into the bark. But to my mind, it is a living work of art - and as it ages and changes, I feel that represents the success and endurance of our marriage and relationship. It is a piece of art in its own right, and one which I regularly visit and pay homage to - and that fact that it is in a beautiful place with a stunning view, all within walking distance of our house makes it even more special.