The day was actually perfect. The sun glittered on the lake, the white lilies were fragrant, and my bride-to-be looked like an elf in her snow-white designer dress, straight out of a fairytale. We walked along the narrow forest path toward the altar, the music started--and then fate (in the form of an exposed tree root) took its course.

It happened in slow motion. A small stumble, a startled "Oops!", and suddenly her elfin elegance transformed into an aerodynamic flight path. With a resounding "SPLASH!" she landed right in the only black mud puddle for miles around--a remnant of the heavy thunderstorm from the previous evening.

It wasn't ordinary mud. It was thick, pitch-black bog.

Silence... The wedding party held their breath. My mother-in-law turned pale, and the photographer almost dropped his camera. I rushed to her, ready to rescue her from the predicament, but as I reached the edge of the hole, something unexpected happened:

My wife was knee-deep in the black mud, a clump of sludge hanging from her ear like a fashionable accessory--and she started to snort. The snorting turned into giggling, and the giggling into peals of laughter that echoed throughout the forest. She looked down at herself, wiped the black mud from her forehead, and exclaimed, "Great, I only meant to wear this dress once anyway!"

I looked at her, saw my pristine white shirt, and thought to myself: It's all or nothing. "A problem shared is a problem halved, honey!"

I didn't just jump to her; I immediately pulled her into my arms. There was a squelching and sucking sound as the bog ate its way into my suit. What had been planned as a rescue attempt instantly degenerated into a wild mud fight. We threw the black stuff at each other until we both looked like two happy moles on speed.

When we finally stood before the registrar--covered head to toe in glistening, dripping black mud--the laughter of the guests was louder than the church organ.

We exchanged our vows as the mud slowly dripped onto the carpet. We might not have been the cleanest couple of the day, but we were definitely the happiest. Because one thing was clear: if we'd made it through that swamp together, nothing could easily knock us down.