April 11th: The Best Day

This is possibly the hardest blog post I have had to write because I really do struggle to find the words to fully express what it is I think of one particular day in our lives. In many ways, it was just another day of God showing His goodness. Yet, in many other ways, it was so different from any other day. It was as if God was smiling down on us and oh, did we feel His nearness.

I had always wanted to get married outside. Partially this was because of the natural light, duh, but it was also because I experience God so fully when I am out in His creation. It is a reminder to me of my smallness and His vastness. It shows me His creativity and still my soul with the sounds, smells and sights of things I could never create. Being outdoors stirs my affection for God and causes me to worship in profound ways. This day, this day that Jimmy and I had prayed for and hoped for, well…we wanted it to be first and foremost a day of worship. So, with that in mind, we found the perfect venue.

It was out in the middle of nowhere and that is exactly what I loved about it. The stillness of the country was exactly the sounds I wanted filling my heart and the hearts of our guests as we simplified the chaos of the city and worshipped God as we covenanted together. We would get married under the most beautiful tree and party under the stars. It was going to be beautiful.

There was just one problem.

It was the rainiest spring I have ever seen in Dallas and really just ever. It rained pretty much non-stop from March until mid-May and with April 11th being the day of our nuptials, I was worried. We prayed and prayed for sunshine but for an entire week before the wedding, the forecast called for 90% chance of rain. You might say I was discouraged. In fact, on Sunday before the wedding, I made myself stop checking the weather because it was causing too much stress. Plans began to take place for rain backups and they were decent but certainly not the ‘party under the stars’ kind of night that I had envisioned. Finally, after much soul-searching, I began to change my prayer. While I had been praying for sunshine, I decided that instead I just wanted to know that God was shining down on us and that we would know His glory and delight on our wedding day. Well, on Thursday night, the forecast changed from 90% chance to 20% chance and I was amazed. The day of the wedding, there was not a drop of rain and in fact, we had many moments of blue sky. My favorite part of the whole day, hands down, was as I walked down the aisle to the man I was going to spend my life with, it was a cloudy sky. When we turned to take hands and exchange vows, however, the sun broke out from the clouds and literally cascaded down on us the most heavenly glow of light. My wedding day was a bit of a blur but THAT moment…well, that moment I remember so clearly. It was as if God had answered both prayers. Not only had He given us sunshine but we felt His delight as we became husband and wife.

To say that this was the sweetest day is the honest truth. The weather was perfect, the venue was everything I had wanted, the people who were there made it so special and we did dance under the stars. We had so many people help make it happen and it made me realize how important community really is. As we drove away, I turned to Jimmy and said, that was so much better than I imagined. I keep saying, it was imperfectly perfect. The beauty of it was not that it was everything I had dreamed though, but instead in the fact that it was a testimony to God’s goodness to us.

So in the name of the sweetest day,

I Say, Take Me Back!

Here are some snapshots from our wedding from the most AMAZING photographer! Constance Higley did an incredible job and I am obsessed with the beautiful images that she gave us. You can imagine how hard it would be to turn your job over on your wedding day and be on the other side of the lens! With this dear friend, though, I was so at ease and I got to fully be a bride. She has sense started in a new realm of photography and you can check out her amazing site here!

Also, to see our wedding video by the incredible Daniel Daily, check it out here!

April 11th: The Best Day