Real Engagement: Callie & Matt

If you love lovebugs, peace signs, Starbucks and the woods, you will love this engagement! I am so excited to get to feature Chelsea Patricia on my blog again with this adorable shoot. It took place last December which you will see in the coat segment of their shoot. :-) You can read more of their story and see more fun photos of the shoot on Chelsea's blog, but I just had to provide an excerpt that just melts my heart!

"One thing they know is that opposites do indeed attract. Matt is structured and Callie is random. Matt is military, Callie wears peace signs and headbands. As Callie puts it, she is the “scribbles to his straight lines.”
I overheard family members at their rehearsal dinner saying that for Callie to be with Matt, and for Matt to be with Callie, it must be God. Believe me, when you see them together, you know it’s true.
One thing they have in common is their love for Jesus, and as Matt said when he proposed to Callie, “I want God to be the center of our marriage.”"

 Photography by Chelsea Patricia Photography submitted via Two Bright Lights

Guest Post: Being Yourself On Your Wedding Day

I am so thankful to have another great guest poster for you today! I am still living with no furniture and no internet. How long does it take for a moving truck to get to Florida from Virginia? It's been over a week now! Oh well, I am so happy that because of my move I get to continue to share awesome bloggers with you all! I am so excited to have Lisa from Bride and Joy to fill in for me today with some great advice!

The first real experience any of us have with the wedding industry (save for being a bridesmaid for a friend), is our own wedding. Suddenly we are bombarded with choices. We scramble to recall just how everything was done at weddings we attended as guests as we trawl through website after website of generic personalized favors. We know there's a mold, we just have to fit into it.

Photo by Lisa O'Dwyer Photography

STOP! Let's get back to basics here for a second - this whole wedding thing started with two people, it should continue to be about you two. Figuring out the essence of you as a couple and channeling that into your wedding plans is the one sure-fire way to make sure your day is a memorable one for everyone (ok, there's also hiring a crazy-famous singer to do the music, or tripping over your dress on your way up the aisle, but we're talking normal-budget, non-humiliation style weddings here).

We all show an indefinable spark when we express ourselves, so when we put our unique stamp on our weddings, people are drawn to it. You can choose to go all-out on a theme - like Books for the wedding of two librarians, or All You Need is Love for Beatles fans, or you can let subtle details do the talking - naming the tables after places you've visited as a couple, having a very 'you' first dance song, etc.

Sit down with your significant other and have a good old fashioned brainstorm. Get it all out on the table, describe all the little details (and the not-so-little ones) you imagine for your big day. Also discuss what sets you apart as a couple, your interests and your quirks. Soon you will have a blueprint of your essence which you can refer to as you choose suppliers and venues.

The final part of this takes place on the day itself. Take a few deep breaths and relax. Being at your ease in the glare of camera lenses and eager eyeballs may seem like a tall order, but remember your guests are there because they want to share and celebrate your wedding with you. And once you are enjoying yourself, it shows.

Lisa Treanor is the bride-to-be behind Bride and Joy wedding blog. Bride and Joy is there to hunt down The Quirk Factor and to deliver it to you in daily morsels for your perusal.

Dialogue: Allow Dates for the Bridal Party?

Well, I got bored, as one would be without internet so I typed up this dialogue post inspired by a friend’s recent wedding with incident. On my Mcdonald’s wifi trip I decided I can quickly get this post copied and pasted for today! This is the first post I’ve written since I moved to Florida so it feels so good to write again!

P.S. Can you believe that the nearest Starbucks to me is 30 minutes away and that there is no Panera nearby at all so that I have to camp out at Mcdonald’s? I feel like a loser hanging out there when the place is hopping with teenie boppers while I am seriously trying to get work done! I miss Starbucks! I miss internet! lol. 

Source: goldynfotografika.pl via Jo on Pinterest

Okay, now on to the dialogue. In a nutshell, the best man brought his uninvited girlfriend to the wedding, she was asked to leave by the bride’s mom, thus making the best man decide to leave his best friend’s reception. I now worry how it will affect their friendship now that this happened.

My thought was, why wasn’t the bridal party if not the best man and maid of honor allowed to bring a date? Wouldn’t that be the courteous thing to do considering all that they do for the wedding? Spouses of guests are usually invited, I understand it can be a rule that not everyone can bring a date if not married, but can it be or should it be okay to allow the bridal party to bring dates? I thought this would make a great discussion topic!

I actually allowed my bridal party and my special out of state guests to bring a date. I know decisions can be made based on etiquette, on budget or just plain what feels right. I understand that circumstances are always different.

So, what are your views on this? What are you doing or what did you do for your wedding in regards to dates for your bridal party?

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. . . – Psalm 27:4

Guest Post: Christian and Dance Songs to Love!

I'm still without internet and working out of McDonald's Wi-fi and waiting on the movers to arrive, but while I'm missing in action, I've got another guest blogger for you. If you love music, Colleen's blog, Soundtrack to I Do, is one you should check out. She is so kind to now provide a wedding song list for the readers of Wedding Pickle!

Hi guys! Colleen here from Soundtrack To I Do. I’m so happy to be guest posting for Melina, I’ve been a fan of the Wedding Pickle for some time now. One of the things that I love about Melina and her blog is her dedication to and openness about her faith. So I wanted to tie that in with the focus of my blog – music!

I may be biased, but I happen to think that music is one of the most important details on your wedding day. It sets the mood and it says a lot about the bride and groom (whether they want it to or not!) Something to consider for Christian couples (and non-Christian too!) is song lyrics and whether the songs played are appropriate for your guests and/or fit you as a couple. Especially when it comes to the reception music, because a lot of dance songs these days have some pretty scandalous lyrics. You can always give your DJ a no-play list, but if you are especially worried about it, you may want to give him or her a yes-play list (not that you would actually call it that – but you know what I mean.) Create a list of songs that represent you both as a couple, or at least don’t misrepresent you. I wanted to offer up some great songs that you may want to use on your wedding day, if you’re interested.  First, a few sweet love songs by Christian artists in case you need inspiration for a first dance or ceremony song. And secondly, a list of great dance tunes that have clean lyrics but are also great for getting people out on the dance floor! (They also span the last few decades – so you can cater to the younger and older crowds!) Hope you like them!

{Laffler Photography}

Christian Songs

Dancing In The Minefield – Andrew Peterson

When I Say I Do – Matthew West

God Gave Me You – Dave Barnes

Hold You Up – Matthew West

Amen – Dave Barnes

They Danced Alone – Matthew West

He Was Walking Her Home – Mark Schultz

Wouldn’t Change A Thing – Matthew West

On A Night Like This – Dave Barnes

When Love Comes Home – Matthew West

{We Heart It}

Dance Songs

Do You Love Me – The Contours

Don’t Stop Believin‘ – Journey

She-Wolf – Shakira

Twist And Shout – The Beatles

DJ Got Us Falling In Love – Usher

Livin‘ On A Prayer – BonJovi

Celebration – Kool & The Gang

Put A Ring On It – Beyonce

Hey Ya! – Outkast

Shout – The Isley Brothers

Smooth Criminal – Michael Jackson

I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas

Dancing Queen – ABBA

Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO

Great Balls Of Fire – Jerry Lee Lewis

Vogue – Madonna

Firework – Katy Perry

Sweet Home Alabama – LynyrdSkynyrd

I Want You Back – The Jackson Five

Beat It – Michael Jackson

Boom Boom Pow – Black Eyed Peas

ChaCha Slide – DJ Casper

Ain’t No Other Man – Christina Aguilera

Now That We Found Love – Heavy D and the Boyz

Dynamite – Taio Cruz

We Are Family – Sister Sledge

Holiday – Madonna

Crazy In Love – Beyonce

Old Time Rock & Roll – Bob Segar

1999 – Prince

Only Girl In The World – Rihanna

Footloose – Kenny Loggins

Forever – Chris Brown

Thriller – Michael Jackson

Paper Planes – M.I.A.

Last Dance – Donna Summer

Say Hey (I Love You) – Michael Franti & Spearhead

Real Wedding: Ryan and Jess in Key Largo

I have to confess that my presence online will be scarce which I am bummed about. The good news is that I do have a new home and we have our tv up and running. Bad news is we are still waiting on the movers to arrive with our stuff and we won't have internet for 2 weeks. So I went to the nearest hot spot I can find, eating apple dippers at Mcdonalds, lol. I still have a couple guest posters going to be filling in this week for me with great stuff for you! And today I have a real wedding from the Florida Keys that just hits the spot for all of us craving some beach time. :-) Many thanks to Churchill's Photography for submitting this gem of a wedding to gawk at. It really is beautiful. Also, thanks to the bride, Jessica, for providing her story which I know you will love! Enjoy! Many blessings to Jessica and Ryan!

We actually met on Match.com after many other attempts at relationships that didn't work out.  We spent our first date at an Ethiopian restaurant where we ate with our fingers and talked the whole night long.  I think we both knew it was something special from the start when we could converse for hours over messy finger foods!

Ryan's proposal was super sweet.  I feel like it could have been featured on the Perfect Proposal!  Our first date was on a full moon, and he would often plan little surprises on the full moons of each month.  On this one, he planned a date on the beach to watch the sunset and moonrise with a bottle of wine and, my favorite, stone crabs.  After a while, he gave me a big box.  When I opened it, I was suprised to find... a new pair of scrubs for work.  Really surprised, actually, that he would go through all that trouble to wrap up a new work outfit.  When I pulled out the scrubs and when I picked up the top, I felt something inside the pocket.  Turns out, it was a beautiful diamond ring!  Afterwards, he surprised me with a hotel party with my friends and family and a pre-arranged day off work the next day!

Our wedding went off pretty smoothly.  My sister is an event planner, her friend is a DJ, one of our groomsmen's wife's is a florist, and my husband's family friend is an officiant.  So I had a lot of people on my side helping out!  I think my biggest issue was putting things off until the last minute.  Procrastination is so bad for weddings because by the time the wedding is rolling around, the last thing you want to do is work on it.  You want to hang out with all your out of town guests and relax.  

Unfortunately, we were taking breaks from our beach BBQ the night before to finalize the seating arrangement and placecards.  Another issue I had was with paying the vendors.  I forgot to bring my checkbook so was scrounging around trying to get enough cash to pay the vendors.  I guess one piece of advice for brides would be to write out all your checks ahead of time or pay in advance before the actual wedding day!  So there's nothing to worry about but having the best time of your life!

Photography by Churchill's Photography

Find more photos from this wedding on their blog!