One Hundred Marriages Before Our First Anniversary | The Ensora Journal
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
Before we reached our first anniversary, one hundred marriages answered a question we had been asking since the beginning.
This is a reflection on Marriage-First, the experiment behind The Ensora, and the couples who helped us discover that we were never alone in believing it.
We Thought Our First Anniversary Would Be The Milestone
When we opened The Ensora, we expected our first anniversary to be our first major milestone.
Like many business owners, we imagined reaching the one-year mark and taking a moment to reflect on what had been built. One year of conversations, one year of ceremonies, and one year of learning.
What we did not expect was that something else would arrive first.
One hundred marriages.
Not one hundred ceremonies.
One hundred marriages.
And somehow, that feels far more meaningful.
A Date That Already Meant Something
The Ensora has always had a very specific opening date.
When we officially launched, we chose October 22.
Not because it was convenient.
Not because it fit a business plan.
We chose it because it was Fi Chai's birthday.
Fi Chai was our first dog and a beloved part of our family. After he passed away in 2022, we became even more aware of the importance of acknowledgment and remembrance. We realized that the people and relationships that shape our lives deserve to be intentionally remembered, rather than quietly absorbed into the passing of time.
Choosing that date was our way of carrying that understanding forward into something new.
From the beginning, The Ensora's anniversary was never simply about marking the age of a business. It was already tied to love, memory, and gratitude.
Perhaps that is why it feels fitting that before reaching our first anniversary, another meaningful milestone arrived first.
The Question Behind The Ensora
Many people understandably assumed The Ensora was created as a minimalist micro wedding venue. Others saw it as a modern legal signing space. Some simply saw it as a small ceremony room.
Those observations were understandable.
But they were never the complete story.
The Ensora began with a question.
After officiating more than two thousand ceremonies, Kevin and I found ourselves wondering whether something else was possible.
What happens when we remove many of the things people have been told a wedding is supposed to include?
What happens when the focus shifts away from production, logistics, customization, and expectations?
What remains when the marriage itself becomes the centre of attention?
Would people still find meaning there?
Would they still gather?
Would they still choose it?
In many ways, The Ensora became an experiment.
Not a business experiment.
A human one.
We were not trying to prove that Marriage-First was right.
We were trying to discover whether it was real.
At the time, we did not know whether that belief existed beyond ourselves. We did not know whether anyone else was looking for the same thing.
The only way to find out was to create the space and see what happened.
Looking back now, this feels less like a venue story and more like a question that was slowly answered through real people, real relationships, and real marriages.
To The First 100 Marriages At The Ensora
When we first opened this space, we did not know whether anyone else was looking for what we were looking for.
We did not know whether Marriage-First was simply an idea that made sense to us after years of officiating ceremonies.
We did not know whether people would choose a ceremony designed around a marriage rather than a wedding.
We did not know whether this experiment would resonate beyond ourselves.
What we know now is that we were not alone.
Every one of you helped answer that question.
Thank you for trusting a different path.
Thank you for showing us that meaning does not require complexity.
Thank you for reminding us that a marriage can be acknowledged without becoming a production.
Most of all, thank you for helping us discover that Marriage-First was never ours alone.
It belonged to many more people than we imagined.
An Answer Before An Anniversary
Like many business owners, we thought our first anniversary would be an important checkpoint. A moment to ask whether The Ensora was working, whether the idea made sense, and whether the belief behind it had value.
Instead, we received our answer before that anniversary arrived.
Not through reviews.
Not through statistics.
Not through revenue.
But through one hundred marriages.
One hundred couples who made a choice.
One hundred couples who reminded us that not everyone begins with a wedding.
Some begin with a marriage.
Before our first anniversary arrived, one hundred marriages quietly answered a question we had been asking since the beginning.
For us, that answer will always be worth remembering.
And perhaps what moves us most is this:
The question still lives here.
In this quiet room.
In every couple who walks through its doors.
In every new beginning we have yet to witness.
The Ensora may have begun as an experiment.
But one hundred marriages later, it has become a place where Marriage-First continues to unfold, one ceremony at a time.
Continue Exploring Marriage-First
These articles explore some of the ideas, observations, and questions that continue to shape The Ensora.
