The Wedding

This weekend I lost 3lbs due to all of the stress I put on myself in trying to make everything perfect for someone's wedding. Julia is only 20 months old and yet she had the daunting task of being a flower girl. She had to walk hand in hand, outside, past a fountain (which she desperately wanted to swim in) with a 3 year old boy. If I am to pass on any advice don't agree to let such a young child in a wedding it can be very stressful for the parents and very unpredictable because kids are well, unpredictable. In the end, she did absolutely wonderful! I never would have expected her to do so well, especially since she didn't take her second nap that day and fell asleep 15 minutes before she was supposed to accomplish her task. Thankfully she woke up on her own, in the nick of time. Little Frank grabbed her hand tightly and guided her, away from the fountain, she did look longingly inside (everyone watching laughed...it was cute) and holding on tightly to her white flowers and orange rose buds ball she prepared the way for the bride!

It made me think back to our wedding day...

We had a summer August wedding. It was very hot. I wasn't nervous at all. I was really calm and at peace and all I can remember thinking is please no more photos I just want to be hand in hand with John. Our photographer took over...more advice, do pictures before the ceremony so that you can spend a lot of time with your guests and new spouse.

But honestly, that day wasn't what was important to either of us. We just wanted to be married. We didn't care about flower arrangements (John picked them out...we used the florist that he always bought me roses from since we were teenagers, the owner of the florist couldn't believe we were together for so long, he gave us a huge break, flowers are so expensive!) We didn't care about the cake (John sat down with our cake maker and designed exactly what he pictured...me I really didn't mind, I trusted John and actually like what he picked). We didn't need a huge fancy hall (God did provide one) or a party (the reception was fun)...we just wanted to call eachother husband and wife. The details are nice but too many couples today focus on the details and get so hung up on the wedding that they forget to put care and concern in building and preparing for the marriage. The best part of the whole process, honestly, was meeting with our Pastor twice a month for pre-marital counseling. We learned so much about each other, and our families, created our goals for our marriage (most of our goals we have already accomplished...we served over seas in China on a missions trip, and we have been so blessed to travel the world before we started our family) and a budget for our lifestyle.

The wedding is a special day, but the marriage lasts for years to come! I love you John...wow 6 years later and we are still so blessed and seeking God's hand in our life.