Mark & Hannah

My computer has been gone for the last few weeks being repaired, I am so thankful it is now back and was here for me to edit my pictures from the wedding in Kentucky we traveled to this past weekend. Its not very often that you get to go to a wedding where you know both the bride and the groom from high school. 

I spent a lot of time in High school with this sweet bride and her sisters as we all went to youth group together, they are just the sweetest and so fun to be with. I also went to school with the groom. 

So I was so thankful we were able to make it to their wedding. Still can't believe the incredible story the Lord has written here with this couple. Never would I have imagined The Lord would bring this guy I went to high school with into her life! But The Lord has so been at work in both their lives and you can just see the evidence in their love for him, others & each other!! There is no doubt that He brought these two together & that He is going to do amazing things through their lives together. I can't wait to see what He does......

The Lord truly writes some amazing love stories that bring Him glory!! 

P.S. More pictures from the last few months coming soon, now that my computer is back! yay! 

{On my Heart} Mondays. [Loving all the days of your life]

To love a spouse amid the flame of honeymoon passion is human,

but to love a spouse all the days of your life,

even before you ever lay eyes upon that person -

this kind of love is divine.

― Eric & Leslie Ludy, A Perfect Wedding ―

Love begins way before your wedding day, even before you ever meet 'The One' the Lord has for you. 

Love, the way the world throws at us, sounds alluring but is so different to real Love.

Dating whomever you want - no committment so no hurt involved right? 
If you really 'love' someone, you will sleep with them. 

See where the relationship goes, if you guys don't like it, well that's ok - it was just dating!
Sounds so carefree and full of pleasure.

But the root of a lot of the world's version of love is selfishness. 
How the other person completes us, how they make us feel, how they satisfy us 'in the moment'.

We stop wanting to be a part of the Love when we are not longer satisfied. 

Marriage thrives on a different kind of love, a divine kind.

We only have to look at scripture to understand it is nothing like what the world defines as love.

'Love is patient and kind. 
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
 It does not demand its own way.
 It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, 
and endures through every circumstance.'
{1 Corinthians 13: 4-7}

'A Poetic love is a selfless love.
It's noble, it's pure, it's tender, it's dignified, it's grand....
it's heavenly.
We all have our moments of selfless nobilioty, but poetic love isn't a one-time heroic deed. 
Rather, it's a lifelong lifestyle of romantic service to our spouse.'
― Eric & Leslie Ludy, A Perfect Wedding ―

One of the most beautiful ways of keeping romance alive in marriage is thinking of the other person. Being mindful of their needs.

This can start before you are married.

If you are single, you are still able to be mindful of the one that the Lord has planned for you.

You can care for them by loving them all your days.

How can you possibly love them all your days? You mean before you even know them.

That's what I am proposing!

When you are not married and the Lord hasn't yet shown you the one He has for you, there is an incredibly opportunity to still love them in waiting.

You can write them love notes or even songs as well as not allowing access to the inner depths of your heart to any guy who shows interest.

It is not a bad thing for a guy to work for your heart.

A man who is truly seeking God will work for the priviledge of knowing your heart.

I started a book of notes when I went to college, I will have to explain our story fully sometime to explain the beauty behind what the Lord was doing in my life. (I know I keep saying this.)

I had surrendered a relationship to the Lord and was not dating.

I did not have anyone pursuing me as much as I wanted that to be happening.

I bought a book and started writing letters to my future husband.

I wrote in that book through to the night before my wedding day.

It was such a wonderful gift to give to A.

I won't share with you any of the content as it is reserved for his eyes only - but it was my gift to him of the inner depths of my heart.

I wrote dreams in there, letters & prayers...when he did appear on the scene and we did not want to discuss any 'heavy' topics initially those went in there too.

I was able to pour my heart out in those letters, freely.

I wanted him to see my love for him all those days even when I was not sure who he was.

Even if you feel you didn't start early enough, or you are already in a relationship.

Why not start anyway. 

I have several amazing friends who started this so much earlier than I did.

But it was still beautiful even though I only wrote in my book for a few short years.

'God never wastes a test of patience.'

 ― Eric Ludy ―

'Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.'
― Elisabeth Elliot ―

The point I am trying to make is the importance of selfless love.

Sacrifice before you are married, builds sacrifice in marriage.
Patience now helps you to be more of a grace-dispenser in marriage.

'Before you get married, learn to give everything - 
and learn to give as if giving were the greatest pleasure, 
because it is. 
Learn to stop figuring out what you should be getting out of the deal. 
Learn to give without a required payback. 
Learn to give simply because God has given so much to you.'
― Eric & Leslie Ludy, A Perfect Wedding ―

Learning to give selflessly for me, is also a way to be content.

There is nothing like focusing on someone else to help you see what truly matters.

That you and your problems are really not that big.

Even if you have made mistakes in the past, God is a redemptive God.

He is able to wash your slate clean, wash you literally white as snow.

He frees us from our past enabling us to start living for Him today.

Live to glorify Him with your love life.

Trust him to show you the prince He has for you.

Show the Lord that you trust Him by living devoted to that prince all the days of your life.

Much Love,

L

'Two Hearts In Love' Thursdays. [Flowers]

 For our wedding, I decided that I wanted to use a combination of silk and real flowers.

This is a part of the wedding which can get pretty expensive.

If you have a large budget, then by all means you might be able to afford gorgeous real flowers for everyone.

We chose to tighten the budget in this area and spend the money on other areas.

My own bouquet was real, as were the Boutonnières for the guys, flowers for our parents & grandparents.

We ordered those from a florist in the area (we shopped around).

We chose pretty simple flowers for this, so I was not worried at all at the way they would turn out.

 For the bridesmaids...I found a whole bunch of silk flowers on clearance in a Joanns which was in liquedation. I can't remember what I paid for them....but it was minimal.

The flowers were so nice, everyone was stunned they were not real.

The best part, my bridesmaid who all had to travel (some across the world - no joke) were able to keep their beautiful flowers and take them home.

If you do want real flowers, very important to remember what will be in season when you get married.

You can guarentee if you order flowers out of season for your bouquet - you will end up spending 

A LOT more money than those which are easily available.

 Also...think about your color schemes. I'm sure this is obvious.

If you have 2 colors already, go with those when picking flowers.

It will tie together your colors really nicely.

Check out some pictures below to see what I mean.

Another tip given to me by my hair stylist (haha).

Make sure you have a vase at your reception so you can put your bouquet down & keep it looking good.

You can buy these really cheap from the dollar store and they look great on the head table, while you enjoy the party as a married couple.

{Via}

These are stunning! What amazing colors!

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Adding the twig-like parts really add a natural look to the bouquet.

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Beautiful Fall colored flowers.

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These are one of my favorites. They are simple stunning flowers!

{Via}

Adding a unique touch by having the bridemaids carry pinwheels. So sweet.

{Via} 

Loving the simplicity of these flowers. So understated but gorgeous!

{Via} 

In Love with this necklace & flower combination! 

{Via} 

For the unique look again....

So beautiful!

Isn't it great how many types of beautiful flowers the Lord made friends!

Just because He could, I am sure He loves beautiful things =)

Happy Planning!

L

'Two Hearts in Love' Thursdays. [The Dress]

When we are little girls, most of us at some point picture our weddings.

We imagine a lot of details about the event.

What kind of wedding we want it to be, what the flowers will look like....

and you probably spent a long time imagining your dress.

Now that its become a reality and you're engaged, 

maybe you know exactly what kind of dress you want. 

Or perhaps you have no idea.

Having been shopping with a few brides, I've noticed that most girls have an idea of what they like when going into the bridal store.

But for some, you start putting them on.....you find that the style you wanted looks different from what you imagined.

That's ok.....

There are so many different styles that one will look perfect for you.

Classic, vintage, strapless, princess-like, simple, lace, beaded, sequins, ruffles.....

the list is endless.

My advice would be....head to that store with 1 or 2 girls with you (perhaps even your mom if you want to share that moment with her) and try on a whole bunch of them.

You may end up going to multiple stores, that's ok.

Enjoy the process!

You will find that dress.

When you try it on....it will look beautiful!

Try a whole bunch of styles you aren't sure about.

For both me and my sister we ended up buying something totally different to what we thought we would get.

And her dress.....is stunning!

(I won't share pictures of the dress she chose, as we don't want her man to see them beforehand!)

But trust me....she looks stunning!

As does each bride on her wedding day.

Enjoy these Pinterest finds....

{Via}

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Happy Dress hunting!

And don't forget to enjoy the moment!

Much Love,

L

'Two Hearts In Love' Thursdays. [Sisters]

It's here!!!!!!

The brand new series is all about wedding planning.

I have so many inspiring pictures and projects related to weddings, 

I couldn't resist sharing them with you all.

For my first share on weddings, 

I would love to share this picture.

Because although I have planned my own wedding, my sister is now the sweet one planning hers.

This photo is just precious.

What a cute picture of two sisters at one of their weddings.

{Via}

One of the sweetest pictures I have ever seen.

The subject of sisters in weddings automatically makes me think of the Maid of Honor.

For my own wedding, I did have my sister as my Maid of Honor.

But that doesn't have to be the case.

I felt my sister was dear to me & had known me the longest.

I wanted her to be recognized on my wedding day.

There are so many topics within wedding planning around Maid of Honors.

{Image property of E.Girdlestone}

What I did, in order for my sister to stand out, was to have her in the same dress as all the other bridesmaids but her dress was in a different color.

Or rather different shade of pink.

Your Maid of Honor should be a girl dear to you, who understands you.

My Maid of Honor & our Best man were such a huge blessing to me leading up to our wedding.

My groom was still finishing up school, so he didn't get into town until 24hrs before we got married.

Since I didn't live in the place we were getting married either, 

I flew in about 10 days before we got married myself.

(Perhaps more on our story at a later point)

So you can imagine what a relief it was to have two awesome people helping me out.

The choice can be difficult when choosing a Maid of Honor though.

It can be a delicate issue at times in order to avoid hurting feelings or making your friends feel uncomfortable.

Choosing the ladies to stand up there with me was possibly one of the hardest decisions I had to make during the whole process.

How did you guys choose? Or how do you plan/think you should choose?

Much Love,

L