12 September 2017
John and I are celebrating five years of marriage this week! (Our anniversary is on Friday!) I have some deeper thoughts coming your way soon, but today, I have a question for you: if you’re married, do your wedding photos look timeless? I ask because I kind of keep waiting for mine to look dated, but at least to my eyes (and I do admit my eyes could be biased), they don’t. Maybe in another five years? Maybe. Maybe not. After all, we made a lot of traditional choices: I wore a blusher veil. John wore a black tuxedo. I carried a white bouquet. My makeup was minimal. We were married in a chapel. Our centerpieces were in collected silver. We swayed on a black and white dance floor under a sailcloth tent, to the tunes of a big band. Of course, there were other details that were more unexpected: we served donuts and cookies as our dessert. In lieu of favors, we made a donation to a pet adoption agency, and shared the news via watercolor portraits of our cats. Each of those decisions, whether traditional or unique, was carefully considered, and chosen because it felt fitting for our story and relationship. Rooting our wedding in classic style was a way we honored the enduring legacy of marriage in our families. (Similarly, I love how our gold wedding bands link us to some of the treasured people in our lives with beautiful marriages — our parents, our grandparents — many of whom wear gold bands.) I’m pretty familiar with weddings these days, and from my viewpoint, we are certainly in a “classic moment” (having shifted out of the rustic, shabby chic “moment” that immediately preceded it!). Blame it on the Duchess or Father of the Bride (a millenial childhood
15 September 2016
It’s become somewhat of a tradition for me to offer a few thoughts on our wedding anniversary. Year one I shared two things that had changed in our first year of marriage. Year two I shared a few pieces of marriage advice. Year three I shared about serving each other. And on our last dativersary, we talked about marrying the kind one. This year, I wanted to share some advice from the priest who officiated Lisa and Dave’s wedding. (Sidenote: Isn’t being invited to a wedding the greatest?! Not only do you get to celebrate with dear ones on one of the most momentous days of their life, possibly see far-flung friends and family members, twist and shout on a dance floor, and get dressed up, but, if you’re already married, you get to be reminded of the beauty and sacredness of your own commitment. And sometimes, apparently, you even get marriage advice!) Anyway, I took several notes on my iPhone throughout their priest’s homily (which is pretty impressive in and of itself), but over the last year and a half I’ve continually returned to one. I’m paraphrasing, but this was the gist: “Human love runs dry, but divine love never does. Every day, ask for a portion of Jesus’ love for your spouse, and do you think he will give it to you? Of course!” There are several things I love about this advice: — I love that it reminds me of the great love the Father and Son have for John, and for me. Seeing him through their eyes instead of my own is always a fresh view. — I love that I have access to a well much deeper than my own. Even if I am predisposed to be grumpy or tired or stubborn or snippety,
18 January 2013
Happy Friday, friends! I wanted to share an inspiration board I recently put together for one of my dear engaged friends, Jackie. She is getting married to George this September, and John and I are so excited for them! Jackie sent over a few details, and here’s what I put together… Honey jar photo by KT Merry via Style Me Pretty, wood crate arrangement photo by Lisa Lefkowitz via Style Me Pretty, portrait by Clary Photo via Style Me Pretty, bistro lighting photo by Jenna Walker via Style Me Pretty, pink bridesmaid dress photo by Morgan Trinker via Southern Weddings, soft cake photo by Jose Villa, mason jar centerpiece from Martha Stewart Weddings, floral tablecloth photo by Lisa Lefkowitz via Style Me Pretty Jackie and George are holding their reception in his family’s backyard in upstate New York. For the “feel,” she’s picturing a pretty backyard summery wedding, somewhere between preppy and shabby chic. They’re having a Sperry tent (whoo!) and will fill it with soft flowers in mason jars and George’s mom collection of vintage flowery table cloths (loved that detail!). The guys are wearing light khakis, navy blue blazers, and likely a patterned shirt (striped/checked/gingham) and a solid colored tie. Jackie was having the most trouble deciding what the bridesmaids should wear — mix and match pale pink dresses, mix and match yellow dresses, or a combination — and picturing the overall color scheme coming together. To tell the truth, I was having a hard time reconciling the dark blue of the blazers with the light colors happening everywhere else at first, too. But then I found this wedding, and everything crystallized for me! I made Jackie a version of this board with pink dresses, and a version with yellow dresses, and she ended up going with the