Your Roots Will Make You Strong

Disclaimer:  This will be somewhat long and not a guy-friendly post, so you may want to grab a snack!

For me, 2010 will always be marked by the many weddings I had the joy of participating in. Every wedding has its own personality, and there is usually a sense of the couple's unique love story throughout the day. I do not usually define myself as an overly sentimental person, but getting married has opened my eyes to the wonder and expectation involved in one's wedding day, and I have learned to get wrapped up in the couple's perspective of hope and commitment. 

On our wedding day, Jordan and I chose a passage from Ephesians 3 to define our day, our marriage, and our lives:

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

I love that sentence, "Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong." I would never have gotten married had I not had a confident assurance that the redeeming love of God would be the soil into which the roots of our marriage would grow. So, my greatest joy has been to watch my friends make this same commitment in a way that was theirs alone.

In January, I was a bridesmaid in Beth and Dan's wedding:

This couple had waited quite awhile for their day to come, and when it did, you never saw bigger smiles in your life! One of my favorite aspects of their wedding was seeing Dan lead worship during his own ceremony. I love watching them because I know that they want to always point to God first, and their day was such a testimony of His work in their lives. A winter wedding was so much fun, and little details like silver pine cone necklaces for the bridesmaids added special touches that rounded out the day.

In May, I was a matron (major dislike of that word) of honor in Becky and Jake's wedding:

Becky and Jake's thoughts were on everyone but themselves that day--okay, I know they were thinking about each other quite a bit, but their concerns were for everyone else. Their ceremony was such a special time of honoring the people who have been a godly influence in their lives and a humble expression of their thanks to the One who brought them together. Plus, I love that Becky's decorations (browns, deep orange, and a deep green) were purchased with the intention of later decorating their new home.

In June, I had the privilege of singing in worship at Emily and Brian's wedding, as well as singing a solo during their unity candle ceremony:

I miss Emily and Brian a lot! Soon after their honeymoon, these two moved down south for a job Brian accepted while Emily finishes college. It was so much fun to get to witness these two as they grew in friendship, then see their dating relationship begin, progress, and eventually lead to marriage. Emily and I had many talks about marriage, and I really respect these two for being honest about the struggle involved in building a relationship God's way. Though on their day I was a bit distracted with making sure I did my part right, I loved seeing these two demonstrating love in Christ.

In July, I took a break while Jordan ushered in a Fourth of July weekend wedding.

In August, I embarked on a new venture and coordinated decorations for Bekah and Nate's wedding:

This was my first time experiencing an outdoor wedding. It was amazing to see how God worked everything out for their day. The wedding took place in Bekah's parents' backyard, which was flooded before and after the wedding, but dry for the weekend of the wedding. To me, it felt a little like taking a trip back to the Pride and Prejudice era. There was definitely an ethereal quality to the day; yet, it was also a relaxing time with a picnic reception. One of my favorite aspects of this wedding was the vows these two wrote themselves that reflected their priorities, their perspective on marriage, and their deep joy in each other. Bekah has a wonderful eye for decorating and all things vintage, and helping her vision become real was really enjoyable because of her good taste!

Labor Day weekend, I was again a matron of honor in Ruth and Matt's wedding:

Ruth and Matt's wedding was a perfect balance of solemnity and fun. Their ceremony focused on God and the families that raised them to become the people they are today. When each of their parents came on stage to encircle them in quiet prayer for their new life together, that's when the tears came to my eyes. What an awesome foundation these two have! I really enjoyed their reception and the photo booth that the best man built for the couple so guests could get their pictures taken, too. Another fun aspect of the reception was the way that the host dismissed tables to the buffet lines--someone would draw a table number out of a basket, and when your table number was called, your whole table had to excitedly yell out your number back, or your table would be skipped. :)

I think I may be done with my involvement in weddings for awhile, but after all that shower-throwing and the weddings themselves, I am starting to wonder if my new hobby should be wedding planning.... Any thoughts?

Here are just a few more pictures I can't resist including:

Singing at Emily and Brian's wedding

How cute was Bekah's idea of buttons around the flowers as centerpieces?