I Love...Weddings!

Since I went to a wedding last month, and because I truly do love weddings so much, I decided they needed to be the topic of the next post in my I Love series.

Having been a bride myself almost five and a half years ago, I know how stressful weddings can be. There's so much to think about and plan for (and pay for!). Who to invite, where to have the wedding, who to ask to be in the wedding party, favors, food, cake...it's a lot. But, the absolute best moment in every wedding is the second that bride and groom become husband and wife. It makes every single moment of stress suddenly worth it.

One of the things I enjoy the most about weddings is how different they all are. I have gone to some that were held outside and some that were inside a church. Some of the people getting married choose to do a unity candle, others did two colors of sand blending into one, and others did communion (some choose to do  more than one of those things). Some weddings have sit down dinners, others hor d'ouevres, and still others just dessert. Some people choose to have dancing, while others do not. Some people have someone sing a song or read a Scripture verse during their ceremony. Some do a traditional guest book, others have people write words of encouragement or congratulations in a book or on something they can scrapbook. Some weddings are very fancy and others are extremely casual. Some have a theme and others seem to be a hodge podge of things. But the one thing they all have in common is the love between two people who are committing to spending the rest of their lives together as one. It's a truly beautiful thing.

So, I'm going to share some pictures of some of the weddings I've been to (or been in) and a few of the things I loved about them.

Beach wedding

My friend J.K. got married on the beach. Her wedding was very simple and didn't have a lot of guests, but it was so pretty with the bay as the backdrop. They had a very simple wedding reception at a family home in a nearby city and served hor d'ouevres and cake balls. It was the first and only wedding I've attended on the beach, which definitely made it special.

Outdoor/indoor wedding

When my friend L.B. got married, they had their wedding at a venue where they were able to have the ceremony outside and the reception inside. The only downside to their wedding was the fact that it was 106 outside that day. Other than that, it was so beautiful. They chose for their first act as man and wife to be to pray together. It was the most precious thing I have ever seen. They also did a groom's cake, which I had not seen at any of the other weddings I'd been to before that. Their wedding was so much fun and I'm so thankful I was able to be a part of it.

Chapel wedding

My friend C.M. got married in a chapel. It was the cutest thing. The chapel had gorgeous stained glass windows. We took most of the pictures outside and it was such a beautiful day for it. They left their reception in a very cutely decorated Miata. It was so fun to see them off.

Outdoor wedding

My sister got married at the home of a family we know. They got married under this huge tree in their backyard and were able to have the rest of the event outside as well. My sister spent a lot of time thinking up her table decorations and everything turned out so beautifully. We got to take pictures in some gorgeous spots around their property. It was just a beautiful day (and a very emotional one. I was so excited for my sister to get married).

Country wedding

The most recent wedding we went to was for the W's. Their wedding venue was precious. It has an old barn looking building, it's out in the country, and it had this perfect grassy spot for the ceremony. F.W. (the bride) had it decorated so beautifully (you can see some of the details in the backgrounds of the pictures above). They did a very small cake with cupcakes making up the rest of their cake. And they did a dessert only reception and the majority of their pictures ahead of time, which made the whole thing flow very smoothly and quickly. It was one of the sweetest weddings I've ever been to.

Church wedding

My bestie got married at our church and then had her reception at a hall. My favorite part about her ceremony was the fact that her husband committed to her kids as well as to her, and that they all had a different color of sand to mix in the vase for the sand ceremony. It was so precious. They had a photo booth at their reception, which was so fun, as well as some of the best dancing I've experienced at a wedding. Oh, and they had our friends from CO both sing during their reception, which was just awesome. It was seriously one of the most enjoyable weddings I've been a part of.

I have been to so many weddings since Josh and I have been together, but I wanted to highlight just a few. If I didn't cut it down, this post would be way too long.

I Need You

Today was a little rough for me.

I've known for weeks now that I was going to be leading a worship song tonight at church. I was struggling with how to sing it, because a guy normally sings it. I finally decided on a key last night...and changed it today before practice. I just didn't feel comfortable with it at all.

Then, during practice, I just lost it. My voice was cracking, it was making my voice sound funny, and I was just frustrated. I had prayed a lot today before I got there that God would help me get through this song, because I love it so much and I think it's a great worship song...but I was just having such a hard time with it. I seriously almost threw in the towel on it during practice. I was just so frustrated with it.

Thankfully, the second time we went through it, it was a lot better. And only by the grace of God was I able to get through it during worship tonight at church.

There's a part in the song that just kills me and makes my throat catch every time:

Without You, I fall apart

I was definitely feeling like that while singing the song. Every time I tried to make it work of my own strength, I was falling apart. But when I rested in Him and leaned on Him for help, it was so much better.

These past two months have been really hard on me. I have spent so much time worrying and stressing about all these different situations going on...instead of letting God have control. I just kept falling apart, because I couldn't handle them on my own...but I wasn't letting Him handle them either.

This song, this beautiful song, has helped me to remember just how much I really do need Him.



(Lord I Need You by Matt Maher)

A Beautiful Day on the Beach

This past Saturday, we had our annual worship and baptisms on the beach.

It's seriously one of my most favorite things our church does each year.

This year was really special because we had 9 people get baptized! And we had the biggest group out there that we've ever had.

My husband and I and my friend S.W. headed out there early to hit up one of our favorite places near the beach before everything started. We arrived there around 10am and it was freezing (58 degrees outside)! We ended up eating lunch pretty soon after we got there just to stay warm. We also spent a lot of time in the arcade since it was warm in there.

My husband makes friends wherever he goes

We then stopped at our favorite ice cream place on our way to the beach. S.W. had never been there before, so that was pretty exciting. I got banana ice cream and heath bar ice cream. Yum!

It was a lot warmer when we arrived at the beach, thankfully. We got there pretty early so there weren't very many people there yet. But people just kept pouring in after us! It was such a blessed time of hanging out with our toes in the sand and the ice cold ocean water, eating good food, sharing one another's company, and eagerly awaiting the start of the evening.

Some of my Insta's from the day (I used the Over app for the one on the left)

The worship was so good. The guys leading us picked great songs. The testimonies were amazing. I seriously wish each and every one of you could have heard the awesome stories these people shared of where their lives were and what Christ has done in them since then. So beautiful. And the baptisms were incredible. It seriously is so amazing to watch someone symbolize their old life being left in the grave and emerging as a brand new person.

You can't even see all of the people that were there in this pic

My hubby took these pics. I love the emotion behind them

We sang the song Beautiful Things after baptisms. And what a perfect song to sing. God makes beautiful things out of the dust, out of us.

Some of the others that were baptized

It was such a beautiful day and I'm so thankful we were able to be there again.

Independence Weekend

This was the first year in a long time that I've spent the 4th of July away from home.

When I worked at Hallmark, my boss hosted a 4th of July brunch every year at her home, since the store was always closed that day. It was the highlight of the year for all of us employees. In the evening, I would usually spend time with friends watching the fireworks somewhere.

When Josh and I start dating, his family had a tradition of going over to his grandparents house to let off fireworks in the street. We did that for quite a few years.

More recently, we have celebrated the 4th at his parents house and then headed out to watch the fireworks. We have this special spot we sit every year that has the perfect view of the show. 

This year, we were talking with our Bible study group about taking a trip to a family cabin and spending a weekend on the lake. It just so happened to work out for us to go 4th of July weekend. So, we loaded up two very packed vehicles and headed out on Wednesday night.

We had such a blast! We spent most of the day Thursday and Friday out on the lake...and got to watch the fireworks from the shore. They set them off across the lake from us, so we had the perfect viewing spot. 

We played lots of games, ate way too much food, laughed so hard our stomachs hurt, and had the best time with each other. It went by so fast and we can't wait to go again!

 Kayak time!

Instagrammed pic of the lake

Jet skis!

Hanging in the shade

Dot35 wives!

Silly pics of 3/4 of the guys

Waiting for the fireworks to start!

 We didn't quite finish the 1200 piece puzzle...but we tried!

It was the perfect mix of relaxation and fun! Such a great weekend with friends.

Recent Happenings

June was such a busy month for us.

Sometimes I still wish I was doing the photo a day challenge just so I would have one pic to remind me of what happened each day!

We celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday, I got to spend time with my longest friend before they move away for awhile, we went camping with Josh's family at the beach, we went to a wedding, I had a girls night out, we celebrated Father's Day with our dads, our friend John from Colorado came out to lead worship and teach at church and I got to sing with him, I had a coffee date with a sweet friend, I hung out with my bestie and her precious baby, I had a Scentsy open house, I attended a women's worship night at church, I attended a game night with some girlfriends, I started physical therapy again, I got my first pedicure in over a year and a half, and we had an amazing weekend out of town with friends that are family.

Whew!

Here are a few pics from our month:

My mother-in-law and my niece at the beach!

My brother-in-law, my niece, and my hubby

 My niece and my sister-in-law

She's such a cheeser!

 The lovely bride and groom! I love how they did their cake!

 My sweet friend S.S. and I

 Part of Dot 35 and their wives (and a big congrats to the other guy of Dot 35 who got engaged this weekend)!

The women in our Bible study. They are such a blessing! 

We had so much fun at this wedding! 

Taken by my friend L.Z. from this past weekend. We spent Saturday hanging out on the beach. It was lovely.

 Me and L.Z.

The three of us snuck away on Saturday night for a little shopping and dinner. What a huge blessing L.Z. and L.B. are in my life!

I'm so thankful that we have such amazing friends and family to spend time with this summer!