Ultimate Wedding Week - the Details

We've reached the last day of the "Ultimate Wedding Week" Link-Up series and today's topic is hosted by Amy over at Fresh & Fancy.  While some people find the details the most annoying part of planning anything (i.e. my husband), I actually love them!  It's the little things that are incorporated to highlight your personalities, and I loved coming up with the ideas and seeing them executed.  I guess when a pastor marries an event planner, he's going to care most about the ceremony and she's going to care most about the details.  So you see?  We really are a perfect match!

First up... the dress of course!  This beauty is a Justin Alexander:

I wish I had one where the train was not bustled, but as I mentioned in previous posts, there are no picture of just me in my dress.  Such a shame, but something that will be remedied in the near future!  Any excuse to put it back on is okay by me!

As for the shoes, I think I just found them at DSW.  I knew nobody would really see them, so even though they did not match my dress perfectly, I loved them because they reminded me of something you would wear to play dress-up in as a young girl.  And isn't this day somewhat of a fullfillment of that?  And at $39.99 for something that few people would see, I'd call it a win!

As for jewelry, most of it was borrowed.  I wore my sister's earrings that she wore in her wedding three years before and my best friend lent me her grandmother's ring, which was gorgeous (and my something blue!).  The only other thing I added was a bracelet, which I just bought at a department store.  There was nothing real about it, but I loved (and still wear) it.

Josh was very particular about his ring and definitely wanted something more masculine.  We ended up finding one with crosses engraved somewhere online (I can't remember where) and mine is from Jared's.  Yes, "he went to Jared's!"  Haha.

As for my beautiful bridesmaids, this presented more of a challenge as I knew that one of them would be 8 months pregnant on my wedding day.  Being her first pregnancy, we had no idea what kind of pregnant-lady she would be.  Some carry their babies like tiny basketballs and others get pregnant all over the place unfortunately.  While shopping we laughed a lot because she had to try on everything with the little "pregnant belly" pillow, which always looked ridiculous.  Finding this picture of someone else's wedding really helped:

Isn't Google amazing?  I planned before Pinterest existed, so I just searched "Pregnant Bridesmaid" and found all sorts of pictures!  We actually ended up getting this exact dress by Bill Levkoff and my matron of honor got a slightly different one to make her stand out a bit more.  And the best part?  It's hard to figure out who has the bun in the oven!

Dark brown and cream were not my original colors.  Because our wedding was outdoors in Florida in June, I envisioned something a bit brighter and more summery.  Once I found my dress, however, that all changed.  My dress was champagne and cream in color and the summery colors did not look right with it.  Nor did short dresses as my dress was too elegant in style to look right next to them.  Dark brown alone seemed almost too formal for me and so I finally decided to mix in a secondary color and mix it up a bit.  I could get away with putting my bridesmaids in cream because my dress was darker than that, but complimented it well.  Then of course I realized that black tuxes next to all of this brown and cream might not look the best, which is why we went with the tan suits for them, which I loved.  Plus, they would have been far too hot in black!

With so many neutral colors going on, I really wanted pops of something bright in the flowers.  My bouquet was a ton (literally... that thing must have weighed 20 pounds!) of cream colored roses as to not take away from my dress, and my bridesmaids had lots of magenta and light green in theirs.  Josh and both of our dads had cream roses for their boutonnieres to match my bouquet and the other guys all had some sort of green flower... but I'm not actually sure it was a flower.  I'm actually not sure what it was, but it looked awesome.  I don't know much about flowers, so I told my florist what I wanted and she did an amazing job!  She also brought extra (smaller) roses to pin into our hair if we wanted.  A few of my bridesmaids did and I had three pinned in after I ditched the veil at the reception.  If you're in South Florida and looking for a vendor, I would highly recommend Deerfield Florist.

Since out reception was outdoors, the hotel had cucumber and lemon water for the guests and we put a basket of fans by the entrance:

Thankfully we have a graphic designer in our family.  I have sung my sister's praises many times on this blog, and today she gets even more love.  She is crafty in many ways, but most talented on paper.  Actually, she just started her own crafting blog, so you should check it out here... but I digress.  This lovely talented lady was kind enough to design and print our program.  Weddings are expensive enough as it is, so if you have talented people in your lives, utilize them!  Besides, it adds even more of your own personal touch to the day:

The guest book was at both the wedding and reception site, but unfortunately got overlooked by a lot of people.  We bought an album with photo sleeves and asked our guests to write in the space provided next to the photo sleeves.  We then had a digital camera sitting out for them to take a photo of themselves.  We have some awesome photos of our guests who participated- some are "normal" and some are just plain funny- so the idea in theory was excellent.  If you choose to go this route, however, I would have maybe a younger family member, cousin, etc. man the table for awhile and take the pictures.  Here are a few of my favorites:

I think I hit the rest of the ceremony details in my ceremony post, so I'll move on to the reception.  We ended up having twelve tables (counting ours) and so instead of doing table numbers, we did the months of the year.  On each table was a recap of what happened in our relationship that month.  This worked particularly well for us since we met on July 31st and got married the following June 13th, so we had something happen within every month (just barely).  We listed things such as meeting, getting engaged, running a marathon together, traveling to New York, etc.  It was a fun way to share some more of our story with our guests.  And we, fittingly, sat at the "June" table.

Our delicious cake was a layer of chocolate and a layer of Amaretto vanilla, and it was to die for.  The grooms cake was made by the same crafty sister (seriously... what can't she do?) and was Josh's favorite, red velvet.  I'm guessing the crimson color has something to do with it:

See?  I told you I'm a details person.  I may have gone too into detail giving you the details, so I apologize for getting so lengthy on this!  As for my top 3 pieces of advice to future brides, I'd say:

1 - Figure out what's important to you and budget for those elements.  I wanted a fantastic photographer and videographer, as those were the things that would last forever.  Our videographer is now based in Southern California, so if you're in the area and looking for one, seriously look no further.  I wish I could show our video here... they make a "film" of your day set to music and it's seriously the most beautiful thing.  It's something I will cherish always.

2 - Pass wedding-day tasks off to others.  My sisters and mom were awesome about taking things from me and my friend Julie volunteered to deliver checks to all of the vendors who needed to be paid that day.  I literally worried about NOTHING... and a relaxed and pampered bride is a happy bride!

3 - And most importantly, remember that no matter what goes wrong, even if your wedding is a world-class disaster, at the end of the day you will be married to the person that God picked out for you... and that's really all that matters.  Besides, wedding day disasters probably make for some great stories later!

I'm glad I participated in the link-up party as it's been a nice trip down memory lane, but I have to admit that I'm looking forward to blogging about some other things I've had on the back burner over these past two weeks.  Plus, blogging 5 days a week has been challenging with work, church, and the little ones and I've stayed up much too late writing and scheduling posts.  It was worth it though.  Thanks so much for allowing me to share... I hope you enjoyed the Ultimate Wedding Party as much as I did!

Happy Friday, everyone... have a fantastic weekend!  Check back on Monday for a race recap of the Lexington Half Marathon!

Reflections: James chapter 1

Ohhhh, sweet James.  How I do love you.  There was a time in my life when I had read very little of the Bible.  It was not that long ago to be quite honest.  And the Bible was, well, intimidating.  And a bit boring to be frank.  And I'm not a reader.  Yeah, I had a million excuses.  And then one day, I randomly opened to James... and lo and behold, I read the whole chapter in a sitting (yes, it's short) and felt like I got so much out of it!  I've read plenty more of the good book by now, but James is still a favorite.  To me, it's almost like Cliff's notes for the Bible... the mini-version if you will.  There is so much you can draw out of it, so if you're looking for a good place to start or just a chapter to complete, I would highly recommend it.  Don't have a Bible?  That's okay, too... you can always go to my favorite resource online- YouVersion.  What's great about it is that you can set up daily reading plans and read the Bible in all different translations.  If you are not understanding something in the King James Version (which those of us who grew up in church are most familiar with and which I never read anymore... because really, who thus does readeth in that fancy language?) try it in something easier like the New Living Translation (NLT) or New International Version (NIV).  If you still need it broken down farther, you can even check out the Message (MSG) translation, which is written in modern language.  Find one that works for you then head to James and check out what he has to say.  Which brings me back to today's point... James 1 and Brittany's pick for this week's Reflections post.

Before I get into what this chapter really said to me, I think it's important to tell you (in case you did not know already) that James was Jesus' brother.  Well, half brother I guess since Joseph is the father of James and God is the father of Jesus, but Mary is the mother of them both.  I grew up without really thinking about Jesus having siblings, but I now feel it's one of the most important facts about the man.  Why, you ask?  Well, because sometimes our siblings can be our biggest doubters.  Seriously, if I told my sisters that I was the immaculate child of God and the savior of the world, don't you think that they would have me committed?  And until after Jesus' resurrection, James basically had that opinion, too.  He was not convinced until after the resurrection, and for him to admit that he saw it with his own eyes and became a believer, I think that says a lot.  I think in the long run, he is one of Jesus' biggest advocates, which is why I think the relationship between the two is important.

But anyway... back to the book of James.  James wastes no time and immediately jumps in with:

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,t whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Say what?  Consider it joy when we face trials?  When our faith is tested?  That's just crazy!  Nobody wants to face opposition in this life, but nobody can escape it.  This is particularly true when we step out on a limb and take a "leap of faith" if you will.  Did people think that Josh and I were crazy when we moved from the sunny shores of Fort Lauderdale to middle-of-nowhere, Illinois - population 6000?  I'm sure they did!  And a few let us know it.  And then again, we saw some concern and opposition (in fact a few people outright gave us strong opposition) when we announced that we were leaving Small Town, IL to start a church from scratch in Lexington.  We hit some brick walls along the way, and this verse became so very important to me.  Over time, I learned that opposition is okay, and I do find a little bit of joy when I run into it.  In fact, at certain times it reminds me that I'm doing something right.  A lot of folks don't believe in spiritual warfare- that there's a real devil who really wants to tempt us and mess up God's plans, but I've seen too many "coincidences" to know that it in fact is a real thing.  The devil will do anything to get in the way, so when I am trying to accomplish something  for the growth of God's kingdom and I face opposition, I try not to get frustrated and instead see it as a joyful reminder that I'm pissing off the devil, to put it bluntly.  Now that brings great joy!  It's important to note, however, that sometimes we do face opposition because we are doing things outside of God's will.  A friend's concern for a friendship or relationship that you have or guilt and/or shame for decisions you are making in your daily decisions could simply be actual red flags to tell you that it's time to re-evaluate things.  Guild, shame, anger, etc... those are not feelings from God, so if they accompany whatever you have going on, chances are you are not acting within His will.  And speaking of temptation, our friend James hits on this, too, reminding us that it's not something that comes from God either.  Everything "good and perfect" comes from above, and temptation does not fall within those t boundaries.  If you are considering doing something that doesn't feel quite right, chances are you're being tempted in some way or another.  I once heard someone describe it as something you would want to hide from your grandmother, because it would give that dear, sweet woman a heart attack if she found out about it.  Yes, that's temptation, so steer clear.

Finally, James hits us with a zinger (see, I told you there was a lot in this short book... and this is only one chapter!).  

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

I will be the first to admit that I spent most of my teenage years and twenties doing the opposite of this.  I knew (well... sort of) what the Bible said about right and wrong, Christian values, and how we should be living this life we've been giving, but I chose a different path.  I could put on a very good front, was at church on many Sundays, joined a young adults' Bible study, and even though I was "getting fed" and learning more about being a follower of Jesus, my actions when nobody was looking were not at all reflecting these beliefs.  I was truly lost, and I think I knew it deep down but did not know  how to change.  Being lost was "fun" at the time, but now I look back and I'm not even sure who that girl was.  I love the part about looking in a mirror... that was me.  I knew what I wanted to look like deep down, but could not dig myself out of the patterns of sin and temptation.  My relationship with Christ was not real, but merely on the surface, and until I truly surrendered my life to Him, my face was one that I did not recognize.  I'm sure you've heard (and may have actually used the phrase "I lost myself," well, I think this is what it refers to.  We "lose ourselves" in certain circumstances because we lose our focus on what's important.  Instead of trying to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God everyday, we throw all of our energy in living in a way that is pleasing to others- whomever we want to impress at that time.  And before we know it, we've forgotten who we are... we don't recognize that face in the mirror.  I thank my husband for challenging me everyday to live a life that is pleasing to God.  At first I did it to please Josh, and now it truly is to make God smile.  Because when God smiles on us, there is no greater feeling in the world.... you should try it sometime.

So I'll leave you with this... wake up each morning and allow your first thought to be, "God loves me."  Sounds simple, right?  But seriously, do it.  Remember each and every morning that no matter how much you've screwed up in the past, where you've been, or who you used to be, God loves you deeply.  He made you in His image, and despite any insecurities you have, You are the most beautiful creature to Him.  And with that in mind, try to use those thoughts to guide your day, working toward pleasing Him as you go about your business.  You don't have to go preach a sermon on a street corner, but just love on people and go out of your way to show some kindness, building others up... even that is enough.

Thank you for letting me share and for allowing Brittany and I to reflect with you weekly.  As always, you can read her post here and if you've written your own you can link it below.  If you don't have a blog or don't want to share on your blog, please leave one of us a comment... the whole point of this is to share our perspectives and apply the things we're learning to our everyday lives.  It can be uncomfortable at first, but I can assure you that it sure feels good to the soul.  And everyone could use a little bit of that!  So link up below and then jump to the bottom for next week's topic.  I can't wait to hear about how James has shaken up your week!



Ok, so for next week I had considered continuing with James since he's such a rock star.  But then throughout the week a single word kept coming to me: FEARLESS.  So this week we're going to meditate on the verse that Josh and I focused on throughout our church planting process, which can be found in Joshua 1:9 which reads:

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Also, take a look at Psalm 27 this week... it's all about God being with us in whatever we do, too.  As we grow up, get married, have kids, go to our 9 to 5 jobs, and just go through the motions, we lose some of the adventure that once filled our younger days.  Growing up should not mean growing into something boring.  I know that God loves adventure.  I know that God wants to challenge us.  So this week, think about these verses and ask God to show you what He is calling you do, even if it's scary.  In what areas do you need to be "bold and courageous"?  Then be FEARLESS and share it with us!  Whether it's admitting that you want to lose 20 pounds, start your own business, write a book, have a baby, or even start a ministry... share it with us!  Putting it out there and applying the above verses to your life will make it real, and will hold you accountable.  I can't wait to hear what He's saying to you!  Thanks again for reading... have a lovely week and know that you are loved.

Ultimate Wedding Week: The Reception

It's day 5 of the Ultimate Wedding Week series and today is all about the reception!  What better way to celebrate a great union than a fabulous party, right?  We were fortunate enough to have our wedding and reception at the same location (which I would highly recommend) so our guests headed over to the cocktail hour while the bridal party finished up the photos.  The only downside of this was that I do not have any pictures of the cocktail hour... oh well.  But when we finished our photos, we had drinks and hors d'ouevres waiting for us in a separate room so we could snack for a minute (as well as freshen up) before making our grand entrance:

I can't remember what music we walked in to, but I did love how all of the groomsmen sported their aviators, which were part of the grooms' gifts.

Next up?  The first dance and father-daughter dance.  The first picture of Josh and me might be my favorite from the whole day.  We danced to "Everything" by Michael Buble and my dad and I danced to "You Make Lovin' Fun" by Fleetwood Mac, which was "our song" when I was little.  I called it the "Miracle Song."  I picked upbeat songs for both so that I wouldn't spend the whole time crying... and it worked!

Yes, my dad can break it down.  He is probably the best dancer in our family and we all love taking a spin on the floor with him.  Good times.

After that we all sat down and ate dinner.  For those of you who have been told that the bride and groom never get to eat at their own wedding, I have news for you... it's your day, so enjoy it!  You bought dinner for 120 (or however many) of your closest friends, so I think that entitles you to a bite to eat, too.  Our event manager hooked us up and made sure that we had our own server, which was fantastic.  She waited on only us, played a bit of interference while we grabbed a bite, and even found some more pigs-in-a-blanket in the kitchen since Josh missed them during cocktail hour.  Yes, my husband is classy like that.  He was also the only one who got "hot bacon dressing" on his salad.  We opted to have both beef and chicken on every plate so that we would not have to track who ordered what, and the food was incredible.  I don't have a picture of the plate, but we also had purple potatoes, which I did not know existed until our tasting.  I'm not a big potato fan, but made an exception since they were special.  After dinner we had a series of toasts from Josh's best man Merritt, my matron of honor (and sister) Angie, Josh's dad, and my dad.  We laughed more than we cried, but my dad definitely had me tearing up at one point.

And then... well... things got a little crazy.  You see, I was "that bride" that forced my bridal party to learn a choreographed routine.  Yep... it was a medley of all different songs to kick off the party.  We all walked out there as if we were going to do a slow dance and then the music changed and we were off to the races.  The funniest part, however, is that I totally blanked on everything, so the video footage is quite embarrassing!  We ended with a conga line, picking up people as we went along to get them out on the dance floor whether they liked it or not:

Somewhere in the midst of it all, we did find some time to mingle with our guests and take some great photos.  Our photographer did an amazing job of following us around and making sure he got pictures of everyone!  His picture of us, my sisters, and their husbands is still my favorite picture of all six of us that we've ever taken.

And of course there was cake!  We agreed ahead of time to be kind to one another when feeding the cake, and surprisingly we both stuck to it!  As a funny side note (and a recommendation) we opted to not freeze our cake top.  The hotel was kind enough to box it up for us, which is what we wanted, and the two of us took it with us to our room.  Late night dessert?  Yes, please!  

And last but not least, we did the traditional garter and bouquet toss.  My nephew, Kevin, caught the garter, so needless to say, we did not do anything embarrassing to the couple that ended up with those items.  I always feel so bad for those people when they have to dance or take a picture!

The evening ended much too quickly and we made our rounds to say goodnight to everyone and thank them for being there.  We stayed the first night in a suite at the hotel, so thankfully we only had a short walk and then a golf cart was waiting to whisk us away.

I really would not change much at all about our reception... it was so much fun?  But if I did have any advice for future brides it would be to make sure the room is dark and cool for dancing.  We had to ask to have the air turned up and the lights turned down to get that floor hopping!  Also, be aware of where your DJ will set up the speakers.  We had our parents and grandparents at what we thought would be the best table (location-wise) and they were blasted out with loud music all night.  Whoops!  Of course they didn't mind, but they probably couldn't hear the next day either.  Lastly, don't be afraid of "group dances" such as the Cuban Shuffle, Cha Cha slide, etc.  I had originally requested that our DJ not play any of them since they can be kind of cheesy.  Someone eventually requested one and it slipped through the cracks.  Then, miraculously, everyone was out on the floor.  Who knew?  Oh, and make sure that "Rocky Top" is on your must-play list, too.  Okay, so maybe that's not for everyone, but fun alma mater songs and stuff like that is great to incorporate.  

What a great night... stay tuned for Friday when I will highlight the details of the day- everything from flowers, to the dress, to the programs, etc.  And make sure you link up you wedding post today with Natasha over at Hello! Happiness.  That impressive gal still managed to do this after having a baby girl on St. Patty's Day!

And finally, don't forget about our weekly "Reflections" link up tomorrow. Brittany picked the topic and it's James chapter 1.  Can't wait to read your thoughts!

Dear Sweet Lilly-Bug,

I am baffled... how has it been six months already?  I am convinced that with every child that comes into a family, time speeds up exponentially... and if I could, I would keep you just as you are for awhile longer.

I never really had the fear that some moms get before their second child is born.  I have heard of mothers who worry that they will never be able to love a second child as much as they love the first.  I somehow knew all along how capable of loving you I would be, even if I had to "share" the love with your brother, but I am in awe of how much I can love you.  Boys and girls are different... I already knew that.  And I love your brother to bits, but with you it's just... well... different.  When you came along I just wanted to hang onto you and never let you go.  I want to protect you from the world by keeping you all to myself.  I want to cuddle you until you won't let me (which is what I fully intend to do) and squeeze those sweet cheeks until they turn red.  You are so incredibly cute that I could eat you up... and I can never get enough.  You're a borderline obsession for me, and I'm okay with that.

I think a big part of this has to do with your personality- talk about laid back!  I used to say that your brother was an easy baby, and I still think that he was in a lot of ways, but you redefined what an easy baby is for me.  Nothing ever ruffles your feathers and all you want in life is to be talked to and smiled at.  If you do get fussy, it's usually because those things aren't happening and even if I just pass by and talk to you for a minute, your whole face lights up.  And your smile is just about the prettiest thing I've ever seen... and we see a lot of it.  You are so very alert and watch everything that goes on around you.  I am always impressed that you can spot me from across the room and know who I am, even from far distances.  It melts my heart every time.  You also love to watch your brother, and he makes you laugh the most.  In the rare moments (that are becoming more frequent) that he comes over and talk to you or pats you on the belly, you giggle yourself into fits.  I'm still trying to catch it on video and will hopefully be successful eventually.  You are truly his biggest fan and nothing makes a mama happier.  We've already taken you on a long car trip and an airplane ride and you've proven to be a champ at world traveling.  Aside from pooping up your back (which is your favorite thing to do apparently), we hardly even knew you were with us!  You even fall asleep when you're being carried through the airport in the Moby wrap... now that's impressive!

Another "rumor" about the second child is that they get the short end of the stick a lot.  While it is probably true that I do not have fourteen thousand of the same picture of you sitting in your bouncy chair like I have of Jake, you are so much more spoiled in other ways.  Because I've done this before, I have parented you without fear that I would do something wrong.  I have gone with my own instincts, even when they aren't "by the book."  I also understand now how quickly you'll go from being my baby to a non-stop toddler, so I try and cherish the baby-moments before they're gone.  So with that, I rock you to sleep just about every night, and if it spoils you to the point that I'll be paying for it later I'm okay with that.  When you fuss in the middle of the night I pull you into bed with me, and you sleep soundly between me and your daddy until the morning.  On many occasions, you even start out there.  I know it might develop bad habits later, but we'll deal with that when the time comes.  Waking up right next to your smiling face is worth it... and you smile the biggest in the morning!  Someday you may not want to snuggle so I'm going to get it all in while I can.  You are a night owl and generally don't go down for the night until close to 10 (which would explain why I am always exhausted!), get up around 4 to eat, and then love to sleep in until 8 or 9.  You are definitely my kid in that way.

As for what you're up to these days, well, you're moving at your own pace.  Another benefit of being the second child is that we're not always "pushing" you to do the next thing.  Nope... there is no rush at all.  For the longest time you were just content laying in one spot.  There were days when I thought you would never roll over.  And then on your 4-month birthday, you did it!  Both ways!  And you've been rolling back and forth across the living room ever since.  You recently enjoy sitting up to play with your toys, but cannot get into the position on your own.  You'll topple over occasionally, so we usually put the Boppy pillow behind you for support.  And over this past week you've spent a lot of time on all fours rocking back and forth.  I'm not quite ready to have you crawling all over the place, but it will happen before I know it.

Let's see... what else?  Oh yes, those deliciously chubby thighs... we say that you have rolls on top of your rolls... and everyone loves them so much.  I'm curious to see what you weigh (we have our doctor appointment this Friday) and am impressed that you are so round on breast milk alone, with an occasional bottle of formula.  We've put off solid food only because you are so content with the milk, but we'll probably introduce it in the coming weeks.  The only other thing you have tried is some rice cereal and peas, and you liked both.  Your roundness has you wearing 9 month clothes already and I'm trying to use up the rest of the size 3 diapers so that we can move you up to 4's.  Your brother is in 5's, so the thought of this is killing me.  Your eyes are still a mystery color and I think they'll be gray-ish like your Aunt Mindy's.  Your hair is always in your eyes, but it is a beautiful auburn color that looks red in the sunlight.  As the only girl cousin on this side of the family, you're admired a lot.  I feel like this will always be the case and might cause some problems in your teenage years, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.  For now, I'm okay with everyone fawning all over you... you really are that cute.  You have your daddy wrapped around your finger and it doesn't help things that the only sounds you really make are "da-da."  Yep, he's smitten... and it's the cutest thing ever.  Speaking of smitten, both of your grandpa's and your uncles are, too... you are one lucky little girl.

Sweet angel, I could go on and on and on for days about you.  You have proven that second babies are just as special and loved as first ones are, in some ways even more so.  I cannot believe how in love with you I am, and that love just grows bigger everyday.  Thank you for being so sweet and loving all the time.  Thank you for making my day everyday.  And thank you for being mine.  I am one lucky mama.  Happy half-year birthday, baby girl.  Now do me a favor and make sure the next half goes by a little bit slower.

Forever and ever (which is how I sign letters to your daddy, and now to Jake and you!),

Mommy

6 months

4 months

1 month

The Ultimate Wedding Week: The Ceremony

There are three more topics left in the "Ultimate Wedding Week Link-Up Party" and today is all about the most important part: the ceremony.  Throughout our wedding planning process, Josh stayed very involved, but was most invested in the ceremony itself.  Seeing that he is a pastor and has been to his fair share of weddings, I loved planning this part with him as he had such a clear idea of what it should be.  And at the end of the day, we knew that if anything went wrong or a wedding detail did not happen the way we wanted it to, we would be husband and wife and that was the most important thing.  Focusing on that rather than all of the "what if's" really kept my stress levels down... knowing that I was going to be married to the most special person I have ever met was all that mattered.

So anyhoo... where was I?  Oh yes, the ceremony.  I've mentioned that we got married at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, which has so many beautiful spots for a ceremony.  Being in Florida and having friends from all over visiting, we really wanted an outdoor ceremony, since God's church is everywhere anyway!  Why not get married in his biggest masterpiece?  I had to twist some arms to have my ceremony on the spa terrace, which was being taken over by new management that would be utilizing the area for other things and no longer available for brides.  It's such a shame, too, because this is what the gorgeous place looks like:

See what I mean?  The terrace itself is up top, the building behind it, overlooking the fountains and gardens.  And just so you know, I was the last bride to get married there.  We've come under new management yet again (Mr. Donald Trump's management in fact) and I hope this is one of the things he changes.  It would be a shame to not use this space for weddings!  This picture was taken in the early afternoon when my photographer arrived, and it rained shortly after.  All day.  It was cloudy and dreary, but the upside was that it was cool.  The event manager waited as long as he possibly could before pulling it inside, and about 2 hours before the ceremony, the rain stopped.  I wish I had a picture of the weather map that day because there was green covering all of south Florida, except for this little circle over Doral. God smiled on us that day for sure.  There was still a small part of us that was concerned it might rain down on us at any point (which happens out of nowhere all the time down there!) but we decided to go for it.  Besides, it would make a great wedding day story if all of our guests (and us) had to run inside and finish the ceremony there.  No big deal.  Because the venue was so gorgeous and green, we really did not need flowers or decoration.  We just kept it simple with a cross my mom bought for us and a garland that our florist made for the occasion.  I did not know what she had in mind (as we did not budget for it and so she said she'd make something inexpensive) but the final product was perfect.  Simple and elegant, which was pretty much my vision for everything.

For the processional, my lovely bridesmaids walked down the aisle to an acoustic guitar playing Canon in D.  Meanwhile, Josh waited at the bottom of the terrace steps and then made his way up to the top with our officiant and his groomsmen.

And then the moment was upon us... time to walk down the aisle!  I had not been nervous all day, but man did those butterflies amp up right then!  My dad asked me if I was ready and I could hardly speak, but then he said, "ok, let's go," and off we went.  I could see my guests long before I could see Josh as I had to round a corner to get to him.  I love the picture of me waving to him upon first sight.  This moment to me made it worth waiting until the ceremony to see each other.  I also love how incredibly big and cheesy my smile is in these pictures... clearly this was the happiest day of my life to that point!  I did not realize how choked up my dad got until I saw that last picture.  He really had to try hard not to lose it.

I really did not get too emotional until it my dad gave me away.  He told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek... it was such a mixture of happy and sad, but I held it together.  Seeing Josh standing there brought that smile right back to my face.  One of my favorite pictures of the day is the one of my dad and I standing there waiting for that moment.  I love the contrast of our faces.  My dad has three daughters and I am the third, so even though it was difficult all three times, seeing his baby go was not easy.  That is why Miss Lilly is never allowed to get married.  Okay, okay, that's a tad unfair.  Maybe I'll change my mind when she's 35.

The ceremony itself was pretty much mapped out by Josh and myself.  Because we were not getting married in a church, we chose to be married by our friend, Blake, who is also in ministry and one of the godliest men that I know.  He had never performed a wedding and was so honored when we asked.  We gave him the specifics and told him that first and foremost, we did want a Gospel presentation to be a part of the ceremony, but we also wanted the ceremony to be twenty minutes tops... it would be too hot for anything longer!  When we met with him the day before, he nervously read us what he had prepared.  He talked about how God loved marriage so much that He started and ended the Bible with one... the first being between man and woman the second being between His son and the church.  It was beautifully thought out and eloquent and we were stunned at how well he took what we wanted and put it into words and Blake was stunned that we liked it so much!  Josh told him that he would be "borrowing" that opening message for the weddings he performs in the future and as promised, Josh's version of it has been put to use once or twice.  We are so thankful to have friends like Blake and his wife Julie.

As for the ceremony elements, we did not want to do a unity candle as we were outside and we did not want to do the sand because we did not want to have to keep a jar of sand in our house forever.  No offense to those of you who choose to do that, but it just wasn't "us."  Josh loved the concept of Ecclesiastes 4:12 that says "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."  This verse had been printed on our invitations, too.  He thought it would be awesome if we made something to braid and after a little Google research, I found that this already existed!  We purchased our rope from God's Knot, a website that I stumbled across on accident.  The braided cord now hangs over the cross from our wedding and both are displayed on our mantle.  If you choose to do this, I would suggest making sure your groom knows how to braid first!  He faked his way through it like a champ!

The other thing we really wanted was for our bridal party to come around us in prayer.  Thankfully we had a large enough area up front to make this happen and it actually resulted in another one of my favorite photos from the day.

Aside from the verse in Ecclesiastes, we also had two of our cousins come up and read from Ephesians 5:21-28 and 5:31.

This was the only point in the ceremony when the weather gave us a scare.  A huge gust of wind swept through and for a moment, everyone thought that a downpour would come with it.  Our photographer was ready and captured the moment perfectly with both Josh and I looking at the sky.  On our video you can hear Josh whisper, "just five more minutes, God."  He not only gave us five, but the rain stayed away for the rest of the night so we could get more outdoor photos, too.

Finally we said our vows and exchanged rings.  Josh and I decided to read and write our own vows, which was more difficult than I thought it would be.  How do you tell a man how much you love him in just a couple of minutes?  I thought a lot about it, wrote many version, and admittedly did not complete them until that morning.  And for some reason, on our wedding day, I just had such clarity on what I wanted to share at that special time... the words basically wrote themselves.  Many people told us that it was their favorite part of our wedding.  I'd have to agree.

Then finally I heard those words that every girl dreams about since childhood... "Without further ado, I know pronounce you husband and wife.  You may kiss the bride!"

To me, it was perfect and I would seriously not change a thing.  I cannot believe this post got so long, but I just didn't want to leave anything out.  My advice to any couple would be to make the ceremony your own, even if you're staying within a traditional framework like we did.  We found elements that were unique to us, but showed others how much we loved each other and more importantly, how God was at the center of it all.  A lot of couples get nervous about writing their own vows, but I would also encourage couples to consider this.  I do love the traditional ones, too, and the fact that couples for thousands of years have recited those same sacred words, but there was so much more that I wanted to share with Josh on that day.  We put some of the traditional vow elements into the "repeat after me" portion of the ring exchange so that they could be incorporated, too.

Once our ceremony was over the guests all went over to the cocktail reception and we took a few photos with family, our bridal party, and a few (far too few!) of just the two of us.

I have tons of advice when it comes to this because we did it all wrong!  I had read to make a list of the picture you want taken that day and even though I meant to do it, I never did.  Because we didn't have a plan I feel like we missed out on a lot of pictures that I would've loved to have had.  For example, we do not have one of our combined families together or even our extended families with us!  And we literally have only one photo of our entire bridal party together and somehow my flower girl isn't even in it!  There were such beautiful places on the grounds that I loved, such as stone staircases and iron gates, but I never shared that with my photographer.  He wanted to take photos out on the golf course, and since he's the expert, we did that.  I felt like we spent too much of our allotted photo time riding in the cart to get there and then I looked windblown in every one of them.  He did do a great job and again, I take responsibility for not getting the ones I wanted, but my point is to speak up.  It's YOUR day.  I agree that they are experts, but all of your vendors can and should be able to work within the parameters of your vision.  I do not Pinterest (as I have plenty of other things- mainly 2 small kiddos- that take up enough of my free time) but if you're planning a wedding, find the kinds of pictures you like from other wedding, pin them, and then show them to your photographer so that he or she can see what kind of style you like.  I had a "photography" file saved on my computer, but I never shared any of the sample pictures with him because I did not want to offend him.  Now I know that he would not have been offended in the least, and if your photographer does get offended, I would reconsider using him or her!  Your pictures are the one thing that lasts forever, so to me, spending the most of your budget there to get exactly what you want is super important.  On the upside, the photos he did take are amazing and our video is probably the best I have ever seen.  They have since relocated to Southern California, so if you're in that area, they are worth every penny.  You can check out their site here.

Okay, I think I've bored you all enough today... I never meant to get so long winded!  Make sure you go over to Shue Love today and link up with all of the other brides there.  And stay tuned for the reception on Wednesday and the details on Friday.  Thanks for letting me share!