Over the past 14 years, Richmond Bride has captured the “I do’s” of local couples in our Scrapbook section. We revisited some past couples to see where they are now, how life has changed or not, and to find out what advice they have to offer to newlyweds.
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Photo by Jay Paul
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Photo by Katelyn James Photography
After more than a decade together, Aimee Reed and James Fauerbach said their vows at The Renaissance on March 2, 2013. The playful bride, whose gown featured an ostrich-feathered skirt, and her groom invited guests to dress up by giving out masks at each table, turning the reception into a colorful masquerade ball. After the wedding, the newlyweds took off on a three-week honeymoon through six countries, financed in part by guests who donated to their online travel fund.
Top Advice for Newlyweds: “Be sure to maintain your friendship. A relationship is about more than love and lust — have a strong foundation of trust and honesty, too.”
Richmond Bride: How have your lives changed since getting married?
Aimee: A few months after our wedding, James graduated from VCU with a bachelor’s degree in financial technology with a focus in actuarial science. He then started a full-time position at James River Insurance Company, where he had been interning, and has been working there ever since. In 2015, we had a daughter, Aila, and last year, we had a son, Adair.
James: We had been together 12 years when we got married, so things didn’t change much for us. We each were pretty independent in our relationship. When we had Aila, we had to form a partnership and start relying on each other much more. Nowadays, it’s like, “I need you to do this while I do that, and then we’ll regroup.”
RB: How do you deal with challenges in your relationship?
J: We try to talk things out as much as we can. If there was a situation that was handled in a way we didn’t like, we discuss how it can be handled differently next time. Lately, we’ve had discussions about how to prepare for changes in our childcare that will occur this fall. You really have to remember to give each other positive affirmations and remind each other that you’re in this together.
RB: What are you looking forward to in your future years of marriage?
A: It will be great to start having more shared experiences again. We used to travel a lot together, but that went on hold temporarily when we started having children. As they both get older, we are excited about going on family trips as well as having more quality time just the two of us.
