Dialogue: Preserving Memories

It is common to preserve your bouquet, your dress and the top layer of your cake after your wedding, and even the day is preserved in photos and videos if you had them.

I was thinking about lately how I didn't care to preserve my bouquet simply because I knew as a military wife I would be moving a lot and I didn't want to have to worry about something so fragile. I have it preserved in photos.

I didn't preserve the top layer of my wedding cake because it wasn't even the cake I designed and ordered because the small town cake maker was not to be trusted. I hated the cake and wanted nothing to do with it.

One important thing to be sure to do is to preserve the dress, which now almost a year after the wedding I still have to do. I blame it on the fact that I am in Virginia while my dress is in Oklahoma with my parents. Of course, I only plan to have it preserved until I can afford to have the dress re-made into a shorter dress that I can wear again for a future anniversary vow renewal perhaps? (assuming the dress will still fit, lol)

Photos via Piperbella Photography

What items are you preserving from your big day? Are there any you don't care to preserve like I didn't? What do you plan to do with your dress? Preserve it, donate it, sell it?

Remember his marvelous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth. Psalms 105:5

I'm at Bowties and Bliss Today!

I am so excited to be guest posting over at Bowties and Bliss today! I am talking about how to have the Best Wedding Website Ever. Head on over there and say hello! :-)

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5

Real Wedding: Sally & Raley

I am very excited to share this wedding today from VUE Photography that has so much beauty in it! Without further ado, let's get to it!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  

We met in 2007 at a Couples' Shower for two of our good friends, Catharine and David. We actually knew of each other in previous years, as we both went to Birmingham-Southern College, but we didn't hang out back then. We both attended the wedding shower with separate groups of friends and wound up going out together after the party ended. We went to Catharine and David's wedding together a month later and have been together ever since.  

 

Describe the proposal.

It was a Wednesday night and we spent the evening going through our usual routine: eat dinner then watch a little TV. Raley was staying with his parents at the time, while he was finishing law school, so he usually left my place to head home around 9 or so. This night wasn't any different, only he stopped in the doorway on his way out and asked for a particular cookbook I own. He claimed his mom was planning a dinner party and needed something out of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. He did a good job of making it sound like his mom asked specifically, so I didn't think anything of him asking for a cookbook at 9 o'clock at night. I said 'sure, it's in the cabinet above the fridge.' He asked me to grab it for him, I did. He had sat the ring in front of the cookbook on the shelf...which I didn't even notice at first....but, when I did, I turn around and he was down on one knee! He was so cute and sweet! It was a perfect random Wednesday night proposal!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 

Having a private table set aside at the beginning of the reception for us to eat together. It was nice to have that time alone, and we were starving! I pretty sure neither of us would have had anything to eat all night if we had not set aside this time.

 

What made you choose to have your ceremony in a church? 

I've always wanted a traditional wedding with the pretty church and big, fun reception. I grew up going to First Methodist in Montgomery and have known Dr. Stegall all my life. I honestly never even considered having the ceremony anywhere else. 

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: 

Finding 'the dress' was one of the best moments for me. I actually found it, prepare to be shocked, before we were engaged. My sister was diagnosed with leukemia in November of 2009 and decided to receive a transplant in California at City of Hope. I traveled with her, my brother-in-law and my niece to Disneyland and L.A. before she was to be admitted to receive her transplant. We had a hunch that a proposal would be coming somewhat soon and that my sister would be away for at least 5 months, so we made an appointment at the Monique Lhuillier boutique on the last day of my trip. Experiencing wedding dress shopping with my sister was far more important to me than following the tradition of not trying on dresses until having the ring on your finger. The dress Allison fell in love with, and me too, is the one I ended up with!

Describe your wedding flowers: 

White, all white. I didn't want any color in my flowers, not even green. I asked my florist, Susan Geddie, (who is incredible) to even pick off all leaves that might show in the arrangements. I especially didn't want leaves in the bridesmaids' bouquests of white hydrangeas or in my bouquet of white peonies. I might have been a bit too picky, but I think it all turned out perfect.

Describe your wedding cake: 

Simple, but elegant....with more white flowers. Well, the cake itself was simple, maybe the flowers surrounding it were not. I wanted the cake to look like it was floating on white flowers.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 

Raley getting on stage to sing Mustang Sally. No question.

Congrats to Sally and Raley and many thanks to VUE Photography for sharing this wonderful wedding with us!

Ceremony: First United Methodist Church of Montgomery

Reception: Montgomery Country Club

Flowers: Susan Geddie

Cake: Glenda Harrison

Band: Nationwide Coverage

Caterer: Montgomery Country Club

Bride’s (2) Dress: Monique Lhuillier, ceremony and reception

Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: Jennifer Leigh

Shoes: Kate Spade

Bridesmaids' Accessories: shoes - Gianni Bini; rain boots - Hunter

Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew

 

Photos submitted via Two Bright Lights

 

Pickle: iPhone Apps for Wedding Planning

The Pickle: If you are like me, you want to be able to do everything from your iPhone. You might know of the apps from The Knot or from Brides Magazine, but you are looking for other helpful apps for planning your wedding.

The Solution: I have reviewed some that I actually like and use that I think can be helpful for wedding planning and are free!

Wedding Gawker - You can scroll down many pictures like wedding eye candy. Click on ones you like and it will take you to the original blog post it came from often providing you even more images. Heart your favorites so you can find them again. Pretty much a wonderful way to pass the time and possibly find inspiration for your own wedding.

Brides - This is a free online magazine. Though they only have four magazines for Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Houston and San Francisco, you can still find inspiration from the images and read articles that are helpful for any wedding no matter what region you are in. You can even read through old issues, so you will have several magazines to read right on your phone!

Inspire Lite - If you aren't familiar with My Wedding Concierge, you will be now! This app is great because you can search what you are specifically looking for and it will guide you to blog posts, inspiration boards, articles, anything that matches from its database from all around the world wide web.

My Fitness Pal - Not wedding related but it is very common that brides want to lose weight before the big day. I have tried out many weight loss tracker apps and this one is my favorite. The food database and workout database is diverse enough for you to track most what you eat, even from restaurants and fast food. The other thing I love about it is that you can buddy up with friends. There is a news feed that lets your friends know that you tracked your food and workouts and it will announce lost weight every time you weigh in. Your friends can't see what you eat but the accountability is still there to urge you to track what you eat. Get your bridesmaids on it and do it together! If you want to friend me on it, let me know!

To Do - This has turned into a very necessary app in my life and I know it can be helpful for wedding planning for sure. You could write out your wedding to-dos on the notepad app, but there is no checking off anything unless you delete it. I like the accomplishment of marking something as done, and not just typing "Done" next to a task. Put your to-dos for the month, day, week, however you want to track your planning. The other feature I love is that you can have multiple to-dos, so you don't have to mix up your wedding planning with house chores or work tasks.

Drop Box - I LOVE this app. Find a picture you like from the internet on your phone, save it in your drop box and find it on your computer when you get home. Or save images from your computer in your drop box and pull them up when you go to vendor meetings. Plus it serves as a back up so if you lose the images, it is always online with Drop Box. (Wow, that sounded like a promo, lol)

 In fact, all these iPhone screenshots were transferred for this post thanks to Drop Box! What apps do you use that you can share?

Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." - Matthew 22:37

Corinthians Series {5} Love is Not Proud

In case you missed the start of this series, check out the kick off of breaking down this popular wedding ceremony reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Part Five looks at

What does it mean to be proud? It is defined by dictionary.com as this:

1. feeling pleasure or satisfaction over something regarded as highly honorable or creditable to oneself (often followed by of,  an infinitive, or a clause). 

2. having, proceeding from, or showing a high opinion of one's own dignity, importance, or superiority.

3. having or showing self-respect or self-esteem.

4. highly gratifying to the feelings or self-esteem: It was a proud day for him when his son entered college.

5. highly honorable or creditable: a proud achievement.

6. stately, majestic, or magnificent: proud cities 

7. of lofty dignity or distinction: a proud name; proud nobles.

8. full of vigor and spirit: a proud young stallion 

 
How might we see this in our relationship and marriage?
- Taking credit of an accomplishment seen as having been accomplished on your own rather than humbled by achieving something by the help of God and/or your partner.
- Pride can give you a sense of feeling like you are better than your husband
- If you pride yourself in your awards for accomplishments, you may give the process of getting awards top priority over your marriage. 
-Too much self pride can make the other person feel inferior.

Pride isn't always a bad thing, for instance being proud of your spouse's accomplishments or efforts to achieve something is a feeling that isn't a selfish one. The issue lies really where pride becomes a negative influence.

Take too much pride in work, you may not be home with your family much.
Take too much pride in your appearance, you may end up spending too much money.

Of course it is okay to have pride in your work and appearance, so long as it doesn't hinder your marriage. Basically, moderation is important.




Do you have any examples or stories to share today? Do share!

Weekly Wedding Round-Up {2}

I was going to have my usual bi-weekly inspiration board up today but something happened that kept me from getting to it. That being that I never got to it! lol. At least we got my Round-Up of my favorite things this week:

My Favorite Pic:

Source: bridalmusings.com via Melina on Pinterest

Actually, I am lying. This is one of a few of my favorite pics this week and they all come from the same Real Wedding post from Bridal Musings.

Inspiration Board- This board had me at Beach! Love the colors for this beach theme board from Postcards and Pretties

Fashion- When I think weddings, I think flowers and lace. So this post on Lace from Southern Aisle is a must see for Lace inspiration on dresses, decor and accessories.

Decor- Engaged and Inspired shares her own DIY Wedding and if you don't find decor ideas from this wedding, I'd be quite surprised!

Planning- The finances of being a Maid of Honor from Lovebird Productions is a great guide. If your MOH is asking you what she is supposed to handle as your MOH, this article will help her out!

And one more thing. I started a new Album on the Wedding Pickle Facebook Page called "This or That" this week. Each week I'll be putting up two photos and you can vote for your favorite by liking or commenting on the photo. This week was on cakes. So if you haven't liked Wedding Pickle yet, go ahead and click like on the widget to your right so you don't miss out!

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. - 1 Timothy 6:11

Bride's Prayer: It's not a Competition

It could be that your sibling or friend got married recently or is getting married the same time as you. It could be that you constantly find yourself saying, "But so-and-so is getting this for their wedding, why can't I?" or "Well my cake has to be better than hers!" or "That reception was a bummer, mine is going to be so much better!" or "I have to have the bigger cake! People will notice!"

Source: wedding-dresses.tk via Destina on Pinterest

Source: topcake-cakes.blogspot.com via Laureen on Pinterest

If you find yourself saying anything along those lines you need to take a moment to think about where your heart is.

As it turns out when you strive to one up somebody, it never is good enough because you are focusing on the wrong thing. You'll always be disappointed and want better.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. - Matthew 6:19-21

If your heart is all on the material items of your wedding, just to be better than the other, how can your heart be on your future marriage? Time will pass, people's impressions will pass but if your heart was in the right place when you were prepping for marriage, your relationship with your husband will reap the rewards.

No one is going to remember that your cake had 5 tiers when your sister-in-law's had 3. So what if your old college girlfriend is having her wedding at the hippest location in town where you wanted to get married. Who cares if your brother gets to have a DJ AND and band while you only get a DJ?

Look at weddings for what God intended them to be and your heart will be in the right place.

The Prayer:

God, the pressures of social society makes me lose sight of the real reason behind my wedding. I am selfish to want to be better in material items than another. I know it hurts the real value of my wedding, and I pray that you can guide me to let all that go. I have found love and I am marrying the best man in the world! I count my blessings and I am thankful for Your love and my fiance's love.

Dialogue: Family Traditions

There are traditional weddings and non-traditional weddings. But what I want to know about are your family traditions in weddings. Maybe it is a bible carried down the aisle, a family heirloom used, a type of food served, a certain prayer said, etc.

Source: stylemepretty.com via I luv you Jen-nay on Pinterest

With my Dad's side of the family being Dominican, I remember growing up and anytime there was a party or a get together, loud Merengue music was played and everyone danced! So when I was putting together my reception playlist, I knew I had to have lots of Salsa and Merengue music. We played it loud, people danced and it was a hit!

Go ahead, share your traditions! What traditions from your families are you carrying out for your wedding? Share in the comments below or carry the discussion over on Wedding Pickle's Facebook page.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. - Psalm 34:8