Photo Essay: Celebrating 10 years of marriage to my husband!

Ten years ago on July 26, my husband and I stood before a government representative in Shanghai, promising to spend the rest of our lives together. It’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since that moment, yet I love John just as much as the first time I stood before him and said, “Wo yuanyi!” (“I do” in Chinese — and yes, like most of us in China, I did it more than once for reasons explained in this post).

To commemorate those 10 incredible years I’ve enjoyed with the love of my life, a guy who still makes me swoon after all this time together, I’m sharing one of our marriage registration photos from 2004 plus 10 photos of us together (one from each year of our marriage)!

2004

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This photo was taken just moments after we took our vows in a civil ceremony in Shanghai and signed our official little red marriage books. Can’t you just see that newly-registered glow in our faces? (Or maybe it’s the red we both wore that day!) 😉

2005

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As part of our Huangshan Honeymoon in 2005 (which I wrote about in an essay for the new anthology How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit) we visited a couple of traditional Huizhou-style villages in the foothills of Huangshan. Here we pose before a reflecting pool in Hongcun.

2006

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We visited friends in Chicago in February 2006 and ended up strolling beside Lake Michigan, despite the freezing winter temperatures. Who needs to worry about cold weather when you have the love of your life beside you to keep you warm? 😉

2007

Jocelyn and Jun in the park near Fenshui River.

The summer of 2007, we returned to John’s hometown to make our marriage official (in the eyes of his family and friends) with a big Chinese wedding ceremony.

2008

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Late in the summer of 2008, John and I took off for one last camping trip deep in the Rocky Mountains. What views!

2009

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When John and I went to China for the summer of 2009, we indulged in a month-long trip across the country to take in all of the sights we never visited years before — from Xi’an and Chengdu to Changsha and Kaifeng.

2010

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John and I welcomed the year of the tiger in 2010 as the emcees of a Chinese New Year celebration. What a night!

2011

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Here we are in 2011 celebrating John’s birthday over Thai curries. John never used to think much of his birthday until I came along — but if the smile on his face is any measure, he loves the change!

2012

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To commemorate our wedding anniversary in 2012, we enjoyed a relaxing evening of classical music performed by the Cleveland Orchestra. But before heading out, we posed before the flower garden to remember the evening.

2013

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For Chinese New Year in 2013, John and I whipped up a traditional Chinese feast for the family — from roast goose and ribs to ginger-garlic green beans and stir-fried matchstick potatoes. We’re smiling, but there’s exhaustion behind those eyes because we spent the entire morning in the kitchen! Still, it was worth the effort.

2014

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There’s nothing like finally spending Chinese New Year at the family home in China for the first time in years. In 2014, John and I reunited with his family and the country we love.

Here’s to hoping for 10 more incredible years with my incredible man. Thanks for everything, John.

62 Replies to “Photo Essay: Celebrating 10 years of marriage to my husband!”

  1. Congratulations on 10 years of happy marriage, may the next 10 be filled with as much love and life as the last ones.

  2. Jun & Joss,

    Happy 10th anniversary! We are so happy for you, and really enjoyed the pictures. Here’s hoping for many, many more.

    We saw your Uncle Bob last week, and he “told us about you” being in China and such 🙂

  3. Hi John and J.E.,

    Wow! I loved the photos. You should post more for us to enjoy. J.E., you are a knock-out in the red qipao. John, you are so handsome. I bet you get a lot of attention from the girls. Keep up the greatness, guys!!!!!!

    Fred

  4. Wow, 10 years already! Congratulations!! Wish you many more happy years,to come!
    I loved the idea of choosing a photo for each year. My favourite is the one in the kitchen! And you look absolutely gorgeous in the qipao for the new year party!

  5. Congratulations on your anniversary. I love seeing a photo for each year. My favorites are the two wedding pictures.

    I have a special album for my grandchildren’s school photos, one for each year. It’s fun (and sometimes funny) to see how they change–more quickly, of course, than you and John.

  6. Hi Jocelyn,
    I have been a regular reader of your blog and really like your various articles that highlight how its to be in a AMWW relationship.

    One more thing I guess most other readers of your blog also would want you to see you write is about you and John’s child. 🙂

    Good wishes!

  7. 恭喜恭喜!

    That beautiful series of pictures tell us how happy you guys are!

    The one of you in bridal dress kissing your hubby on the lawn looks great!

    I think qipao fits you and you look gorgeous it.

    Congratulations again!

    1. Thanks ordinary malaysian! Yeah, we are really happy to have each other, even when life isn’t what we hoped it would be. It’s always nice to know you have someone to rely on and to help get you through the tough times.

  8. Congratulations!!!
    I echo Rdm, a decade is not a simple feat. Wish you much happiness and ever lasting love!

  9. You look amazing in that red qipao! What a lovely post, I can’t wait to have my first anniversary next year 🙂 And I hope me and my husband will be as happy as you an John in these photos 10 years from now. Congratulations!

  10. Congratulations on you 10 years together. Love and miss you both; it’s wonderful to see you both so happy.

  11. Congratulations on ten years! Hope you two have a wonderful anniversary celebration. All the best to you and John!

  12. Congratulations on your 10th anniversary! May you and John experience many more happy years together! Any special plans for this special time? All the best!

    1. Thanks Maria!

      Yes, we did have some special plans — I got my hair and makeup done, we visited West Lake and then had a dinner together with friends at a Thai restaurant. But it was not exactly all as we planned. If you watch for my post tomorrow, where I write about it, you’ll find out why!

  13. Such happy faces! I hope you both have a lovely life together. And I couldnt believe those pictures spanned 10 years! You both look as young as you did in 2004. Maybe thats the effect of true love. 🙂

    1. Thanks SBC! Oh we might still look young in the photos, though admittedly there are subtle signs that John and I aren’t in 2004 again (particularly the growing number of silver hairs on John’s head). 😉

  14. Congratulations! Can’t believe it’s already 10 years 🙂 I feel so excited for you guys! I want to jump and shout my wishes to you 🙂 I hope everything will stay so good for you 🙂 and your photos are amazing, in every one of them you can see that happiness and love – perfect example that people can be happy together for many years 🙂 plus you look great and I hate you for that – why can’t you get older?! 🙂 what’s your secret? :>

    1. Thanks Lina!

      Well, Lina, if you were standing right next to me I could show you a few signs that it’s no longer 2004, believe me! Those photos just happened to capture me at the right angle (and hide those signs of aging). But I can promise you, no photoshopping occurred! 😉

    1. Thanks R! Yeah, it totally flies. Sometimes I can’t believe it.

      Well, that qipao is the same one I wore in my wedding, so it’s true that you would see it in my wedding photos. I just happened to also wear it for that Chinese New Year celebration when we hosted it.

  15. Great pics, guys. Your husband has such a baby face in the 2004 pic. That is one trait I admire most about Asian men. They have such baby faces (no wrinkles and no facial hair). I can only wish that I have no facial hair and wrinkles.

  16. Trolling with subtle denigration as always –> Manny

    Complimenting with hidden agenda –> Manny

    Diverting any topics here to White guys Asian women issue –> Manny

    Instead of shutting his mouth, complimenting with denigratory remarks at someone else anniversary –> Manny

    And finally, …

    Offering his two sisters for Asian guys for senseless bang –> Manny

    Who would have thought that Manny is such a useless piece of trash trolling around in internet?

    Hey Manny, there are tons of Chinese men with White women, learn yourself in youku with Chinese text. You’ll be amazed how large the community is. If you’re so sincere seeing Chinese guy with white women, they are treasure for sure.

    1. @ RDM

      You are so nasty and negative. I in fact admire the Asian boy with the baby face. I am not so interested in the subject of Chinese men with White girls. I come to this blog to learn a few things so that I can improve myself and my relationship with my gf. That is my simple goal. Don’t you have anything better to do than to be nasty? I once offered my 2 sisters as a joke. My sisters now both have boyfriends but did not have one back several years ago. How time flies, uh?

  17. @Jocelyn:

    Congratulations!

    @Rdm

    Manny does not live in the real world. To this day he has not answered me why it is easy for a white male to chase Asian women in Hong Kong but impossible for an Asian male to chase a white female in Tuscaloosa, AL or Athens, GA, let alone Oxford, MS or Greenville, SC.

    1. @ David.

      You are right that I have not answered why it was so easy for a white boy to chase and catch a China doll in China than it is for a Chinese man to catch a white girl in the Southern states. I do not have the answer to this question and this is the reason why I cannot answer you. Maybe it was not so easy for a white man to get a Chinese gf in China? I do not know if you recall, but when I was in H.K. and Shenzhen several years ago, I tried to get a China doll but failed. I had a lot of fun trying though. I was only successful here in the U.S. and we are still together.

  18. “Offering his two sisters for Asian guys for senseless bang ”

    May be he thinks he is living in the anti-bellum south…that is where they used to arrange such marriages..not anymorem but the white women from that part of the world are so indoctrinated that his sisters wont come near any Asian guy even if he “offers” them…you can have my word on it!

    1. @ David
      Don’t bad mouth my 2 sisters. They are not prejudiced against Asians. I did not offer them to an Asian man for a senseless bang. I only asked them if they would try dating Asian and they said that if the chance comes, they will try. But now they have boyfriends so the opportunity now is foreclosed.

  19. I’m very happy for your 10th anniversary Jocelyn! You two are great together. Still enjoying your blog and hope all is well with you and your family there.

  20. long time reader, first time commenter. It is heart warming to read that you are both still very much in love after 10 years. You don’t know how lucky you are to have found each other so early, it means you have plenty time to share your lives!
    Here’s to many more years!

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