Pop the Champagne!

My sweet husband and I try to dance together every day. One evening last year, I put on a song, one of my favorite, for us to enjoy.

I feel his gentle hands rest upon my waist, his adoring gaze mirrored by my own. The music begins. 

"I don't get many things right the first time" ... his smile widens and his head nods subtly in agreement.

"And where was I before the day that I first saw your lovely face, now I see it everyday, and I know That I am... The luckiest." He takes a deep breath, as if he is feeling the full capacity of his lung for the first time and quietly speaks, "This should be our first dance song. This is us." 

We continue to dance and he continues to listen to the rest of the song, chuckling at the similarities between the 'what if' scenario illustrated in the lyrics and our own conversations. He holds me closer than ever to his body and I can't help but to feel that's reflective of his emotions. He speaks the words "I love you" but before he lets me go he whispers, "I am the luckiest". 

J and I had initially planned a fancy wedding with about a hundred guests for this December, but the pressure and expense of a traditional wedding just didn't appeal to us. We called off the wedding with no intention of setting another date. One evening in late October I was up visiting my family in Washington State when I got a phone call from J. In our conversation he said he wanted to marry me when I came back home, no frills, no expense, just the two of us committing to spend the rest of our lives driving each other crazy. Well, Who could say no to that?

Two days before our ceremony I got an email from the company I ordered my dress from, saying the trucking company that was delivering my dress was involved in an accident and my dress was ruined. With only two days, there was no time to find another dress. I cried. My sweet love tried his best to console me and was finally able to remind me that he was marrying me, not a dress.

I had another dress that I had worn to our ball but I had lost a little weight and it needed to be taken in. I was able to find a seamstress to do the alterations rush but I wouldn't be able to pick it up until 10am on the day of our wedding. Knowing how lucky I was finding someone on such short notice, I didn't feel I had much of a choice. The day of our wedding, J and I went to pick it up and he insisted I try it on before we leave. I am reluctant because we are already cutting it close on time. He persisted and gave me "the look", The look of determination and a spine of steel. I sighed in defeat and stepped into the changing room. I stepped into my gown and tried to zip up the sides only to find, the zipper wouldn't budge! J had them fix it on the spot (which took another twenty minutes). I used the time to do my makeup and try not to cry over the remark that my seamstress made that I "must have eaten too much at Christmas". It's funny now, not too funny in the stress of the moment though.

We said our vows in an intimate ceremony the day after Christmas. I laughed when my husband recanted our first meeting, first date, and inside jokes and I cried when he vowed to pursue me until his dying day.

Photo Credit: Iconic Images

Although I was against it initially, we exchanged rings. My J wanted to have a token of our love to show. I rarely ever wear mine as I work hard with my hands, constantly sanding, painting, or scrubbing something, but the swell of pride I see on my sweet husband when he notices me wearing it is well worth the compromise of buying it.

Talking to our families before the ceremony.

We set up a video conference with our families so they could witness our ceremony.

J's Vows made me cry.

Jumping for Joy: We're married!

Our dear friends and witnesses

                  

We chose not to have our children at our initial ceremony, which we had quite a few remarks about. Although I don't need to explain the reasoning behind our decision, I want to. 

We believe that in a marriage, God comes first, spouse comes second and children come after. The Bible tells us that when we are married we become ONE with our spouse. Children are not to be the center of the home; God is. Children are a gift from God, they are on loan for parents to train up to be responsible, productive, and moral individuals.When children leave the home, many couples feel the sting of the empty nest and a spouse who they have neglected to invest in. 

J and I value our time with our children, and recognize that our marriage joins together two families as one, but inevitably, our marriage, the conception and maintenance of our union, is our responsibility, not theirs. 

J and I were able to spend the the entire week beforehand with all seven of our babies, and since we plan on renewing our vows annually, they will have more than plenty of opportunities to be involved in celebrating our marriage with us.

Our first meal as husband and wife? Sushi (of course)!

Looking forward to a lifetime of wedded bliss. 

For step parents who may be seeking advice, I found this article helpful when searching for my place in my partner and bonus kiddo's lives:

http://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/blended-family/remarriage/staying-married/placing-your-spouse-in-the-front-seat-of-your-heart#.VQhp5o7F98E

The beautiful photos of our ceremony and dinner reception were taken by my dear friend and fellow photographer, Chrissie, of Bella Luce Photography. As a photographer, I place a high value on photos. The very first phone call after booking my venue and date was to book my photographer, and I am so glad I did. We get to savor these precious memories for the rest of our lives. 

Wedding Photographer-To The Rescue

God works in mysterious ways

A friend of my Ex-husband referred a wedding client to me. After meeting with the couple and learning about their needs, I discovered that they only really wanted coverage of the ceremony because our mutual friend didn't mind covering the reception. In order to keep the price of my services within their budget, I offered to shoot at an hourly rate instead, really, that's almost unheard of and certainly not recommended to do for weddings as it takes away from your bottom line when calculating editing, gas, daycare and other such expenses. There was just something about this couple that spoke to me and I wanted to do this for them.

The rain held out for until after their outdoor ceremony and we got back to their reception venue to find that our mutual friend, who was going to shoot the reception, wasn't there. I was now off the clock, and they were not about to let a lack of reception photographer rain on their parade, BUT I didn't feel right about it. I told them I'd stay until after they cut their cake. I am so glad I did.

Those are some good lookin' blobs!

Something about letting strangers "borrow my camera (for a sec)" just makes me nervous. None the less, that's exactly what I let one of the amazingly fun guests at the wedding reception do last night. The gentleman who took these pictures isn't a photographer, and I ended up giving him (and the lady I'm talking to in these pictures) a quick rundown on how to use a camera. EXPENSIVE CAMERA TO LEARN ON GUYS!!! It was great fun.

Getting better

Hey, you've got the hang of it!

I enjoyed rubbing elbows last night. I genuinely enjoyed these people's company. One of my new acquaintances is a real sweetheart, even offered to bring Justin and I up to golf as his guests. After being seated at his table and getting to know him, and a few other business men and their wives, a few them mentioned they were in need Of photography for portraits, upcoming projects, and advertisements. One of my other new acquaintances runs a bachelor/bachelorette/private party service in San Diego and they were in the market for a promotional photographer. Don't mind if I do!

I'm thankful my ex's friend didn't choose sides and felt comfortable enough to refer me (he is a photographer who worked with other photographers, I wasn't his only choice). I am thankful that my clients were amazing souls. I am thankful that our mutual friend was unable to make it to the ceremony and that I chose to stay. Everything happens for a reason. I got some great images that my clients will treasure for the rest of their lives and I made some awesome new friends and contacts. You just can't put a price on that.

Dang, I'm a good teacher. ;-)