Kathy and Brandon Gunn were given a wedding gift from an aunt on their wedding day and waited nine years to open it!

Given to Kathy and Brandon Gunn nine years ago, on their wedding, was a gift from Kathy’s Great Aunt Alison in a plain white box, with a that read:

“Do not open until your first disagreement”

Wait…so this couple didn’t argue for nine whole years of their marriage, you ask? Well, not exactly. In a Facebook post on Love What Matters, Kathy explained that “there had obviously been plenty of disagreements, arguments and slammed doors throughout our 9 years. There were even a couple of instances where we both considered giving up… but we never opened the box.”

Kathy goes onto explain, “I honestly think that we both avoided turning to the box, because it would have symbolized our failure. To us, it would have meant that we didn’t have what it takes to make our marriage work – and we’re both too stubborn and determined for that. So, it forced us to reassess situations. Was it really time to open the box? What if this isn’t our worst fight? What if there’s a worse one ahead of us and we don’t have our box?!? As my Great Uncle Bill would say, ‘Nothing is ever so bad that it couldn’t get worse.’”

Kathy’s Great Aunt Alison had been married for nearly half a century, so Kathy and Brandon always assumed that the content of the box contained “an age old trick – unbeknownst to us rookies”. And in a way, it did:

“That box went beyond what I believe my Great Aunt had intended. It was by far the greatest wedding gift of all.
For 9 years (and three moves) that box sat high on a shelf in various closets gathering dust, yet it somehow taught us about tolerance, understanding, compromise and patience. Our marriage strengthened as we became best friends, partners, and teammates.”

In the end, it was not an argument at all that cause Kathy and Brandon to open the box, but an upcoming wedding they were about to attend. While enjoying a glass of wine on their deck, talking about an upcoming wedding in Kalamazoo, where they both attended college, they tried to think of the best gift they could give their friends. Thinking back on the gifts given to them, Kathy realised that “The gift that meant the very most was still sitting in a closet… unopened.”

So with that thought, and not that of what argument came between them and forced them to admit defeat, Kathy and Brandon opened the box because they realised that “the tools for creating and maintaining a strong, healthy marriage were never within that box – they were within us.”

So what was in the box you ask?

Two notes wrapped in cash. One for Kathy which instructed her to use the cash to buy pizza, shrimp, or something they both liked, then start a bath. The other note was for Brandon and instructed him to use the money in the box to buy flowers and wine.

The great lesson that Great Aunt Alison was providing was that healthy communication was the most important tool for a couple to have, and we defiantly agree! So, if you’re looking for the perfect wedding gift for your loved ones’ fairies this wedding season, why not take a note out of Great Aunt Alison’s book. I mean, look how well it turned out for Kathy and Brandon:

All images via Today via Kathy Gunn