Locking Up Our Love in Paris

Karen WalrondThis June, my husband Marcus and I have been married for 10 years.

Ten years.

I'm going to be honest with you: I'm as stunned about this fact as anyone else. My husband is a wonderful man - with the patience of Job, it must be said - but I am the exact opposite: I am impatient and opinionated and, frankly, a pretty challenging person to put up with. The fact that I have been married for 10 years and - even more shocking! - I still love the man fiercely is an amazing state to find myself in, and I couldn't be more grateful for this. I am very aware of how lucky I am.

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When Marcus and I first married, we promised ourselves that we would renew our vows on a beach in the Caribbean in 10 years, but for various reasons, we decided against it. Our subsequent decision process on how we would celebrate our 10th was long and involved; however, it is ultimately how we've found ourselves in the beautiful city of Paris, France, where I am currently writing this post. Thing is, however, since we chose a city vacation instead of a beach one, arranging a renewal of vows was going to prove more complicated; so I needed to come up with a more simple way to celebrate this day.

Enter Love Locks.

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There is a beautiful bridge here in Paris - my favorite, in fact - called Le Pont des Arts. This sweet pedestrian bridge has a wonderful tradition: couples bring padlocks to the bridge with their names engraved in them (or simply written with a Sharpie), and they lock them onto the railings of the bridge before throwing the keys into the River Seine. Legend has it that their love will last as long as it takes someone to dive to the bottom of the Seine, locate and retrieve the padlock's key, and unlock the lock.

Needless to say, I was all over this.

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So a couple of months ago, I ordered a specially engraved padlock with our names and anniversary date; and this morning, first thing, we trekked over to the bridge (Marcus had no idea why). When we arrived, I explained the tradition and handed him the lock. Together, we locked the lock and threw away the key.

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And because our daughter is with us on this trip, I also had a special one for her to attach as well.


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I love that we can have this tangible evidence of how much we love each other. In fact, we may just have to return to Paris for our 20-year anniversary to add a new one.


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If you're ever in Paris with someone you love, I strongly recommend you do this. (Pro tip: get the padlocks in advance. There are a few enterprising souls on the bridge selling them to tourists, but as you can imagine, the prices are more than you'd pay in your local hardware store.)

- By Karen Walrond
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Karen WalrondKaren Walrond is a writer and photographer, and wildly convinced you're uncommonly beautiful. She's the author of Chookooloonks and The Beauty of Different.




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