April Love

Pretty much since day one of marriage I have been eagerly waiting for the glorious pictures of our big day. For weeks I would skip out to our mailbox and then shamefully walk back to my house with only junk mail; or a big pile of nothing in my hands. It was very sad. Finally, they arrived at my door a few days ago and I felt like I was about to float I was so excited! I’ve looked over them about a million times and have come to the conclusion that sharing these beauties is very necessary. So without further ado….

*I hope you all are prepared because I literally couldn’t share these without giving some commentary and this could very possibly become a novel. 

One of my biggest struggles was finding the perfect venue. I never realized how hard it is to find something that looks decent but doesn’t cost a fortune. For instance, I found this barn online that was going for $1500 a day. It was an ok looking barn but I honestly didn’t see the catch. For one, they didn’t have restrooms in said barn. You had to walk outside to this out house to release your waters. No thanks. They also didn’t have air conditioning which was a big no no for me. The only thing that made me come close to looking at the place was they offered old vintage furniture as decor in the deal. Which would’ve been awesome but I’d only be getting the place because of that. Not worth it. After many stressful and disappointed encounters, I called my soon to be mother-in-law and she suggested this beautiful venue about an hour from where I lived. I looked it up and was in awe. It was perfect and I just knew this place was THE place. What I loved about it most is we hardly had to decorate. The building itself was just amazing and it didn’t hurt that we had this gorgeous river behind us. Once again I am reminded how if I can only wait, I just might find something better. 

This, everyone, was my amazing dress. I found this dress the very first day I went shopping and had only visited two stores at this point. I had tried on plenty of gowns and some that I even kinda liked but none that gave me the feeling this one did. When I stepped into this consignment shop, (You heard me right, I told you I was cheap.) I didn’t see walls and hardly could see the floor there were so many dresses packed in this place. The owner looked at me and without even asking, knew what dress size and style to look for. She put me in this dress that had just come in and it was beautiful, but not for me. Then a lightbulb appeared over her head (not really but that’s what I imagine happened) and she got excited as she looked for a dress that she just knew I would love. As I put the dress on, it fit me like it was made for me. I came out of the dressing room and literally didn’t want to take this dress off. Everything about it was perfect. The sparkle, the lace, the buttons, the sleeves, the ruching, the tiny pearls, the train. I couldn’t have made a better dress for myself. I felt like a Queen. Not a Princess, a legit Queen. The best part about this day was in all the excitement of finding ‘THE dress’, we got to pray over the owner who had just recently lost her husband. She was a very kind lady and I was so blessed just being in her presence and hearing stories about her loving husband. I thank God that I got to meet this woman and have such a sweet memory of the day I found my wedding dress. 

When I was planning for our big day, I wanted a wedding that was unique and personal. I didn’t want it to be a typical traditional normal wedding. Me and Darin aren’t your typical traditional normal couple so it made the most sense to me that I go about our wedding like I was expressing US and the many memories we have had together over the last 3 1\2 years. I went with a woodland theme not just because it’s absolutely beautiful, but because of our love for the outdoors and the fact our first date (plus the many other dates after that cause it was free AND when he proposed) all was at some beautiful park. I also wanted to add to our theme the saying 'two becoming one'. You will see a few aspects showing this in the next few pictures.

Most of our décor was made by hand. My family is very creative so we had no problem coming up with cool and cheap ways to make the wedding pop. Some of my favorite things that we made was the killer archway that me and my Dad (mostly my Dad) came up with, my amazing origami bouquet (which in case you are wondering has over 200 petals in it), the ‘love’ marquee, the canvas with mine and Darin’s hand print on it, and the tree trunk that has our initials painted perfectly on the side. (excuse the sriracha sauce in the background, I just had to capture the moment and he just happened to be photo bombing)

Apart of our ceremony and going along with our woodland theme, I bought a money tree (it doesn’t actually grow money, which is a bummer) that we used as a unity tree instead of candles or sand. We collected dirt from each of our hometowns and added it to the pot signifying two homes becoming one in marriage. We then watered the tree, the water signifying God in our marriage to further help us grow and become stronger together in Him. I also wanted to have communion before we walked away as husband and wife. My parents had found these gorgeous goblets at Goodwill (Score!) that say ‘I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine’ in Hebrew on one side and in English on the other. I have to admit, our ceremony was spot on. My Dad did a great job officiating it, I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to marry us! He put in the perfect amount of funny, sweet, and serious to make our ceremony the best possible. 

I tried my hardest to keep Darin’s needs and wants in the plan as well. I mean, it was OUR day. One of the things I discussed with Darin is boutonnieres for the groomsmen and neither of us liked the whole flower idea. We both decided to go manly over pretty. I searched for ideas and decided rustic crosses made out of masonry nails was pretty darn cool. I think they looked amazing and luckily, all of Darin's groomsmen approved. 

For my bridesmaids, I went a different route as well. I love lanterns so I thought, "Why not?!" Later on in the game, I was reminded of the bible verse in Matthew that talks about the 10 virgins who took their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Ok, I didn't have 10 bridesmaids; but it was still so cool to me that all of my bridesmaids, being single and waiting for their groom, carried lanterns almost like they were saying "I'm waiting for my day to come. I will keep my lamp lit until my groom arrives and takes me with him to the wedding banquet."

Well, you've lasted this long in reading my nonsence so I might as well show you the best pictures of all.. the ones of me and my handsome husband. 

To our family and friends who helped, contributed, gave, traveled, and loved on us: We are extremely grateful for all you have done. We are truly blessed to have you in our life and love each of you so much!  

Did you really think I would end this post without some dessert first?!?