And Then My Dreams Came True

Stylists were busy with curling irons while chiffon rustled, and coffee steamed.

Nervous Anticipation: is this really happening?!

My talented Auntie turned the wedding into perfect fairyland.

My mind kept wandering..."I wonder where he is right now..."

And then, it actually happened. All those months of planning and praying and wishing - there it was.

At long last, here's a little peak at our wedding day. Words can't describe how wonderful it is to find your one and only Soulmate.In spite of the way marriage is viewed nowadays, when you put God first, it is heaven on earth. Indescribably wonderful.

We might have been a LITTLE excited.

Maybe I was a little giddy. Maybe.

 

He's all mine, Ladies!

 

"And then he kissed her..."

 

               
*Aherkm.

Yeah...
Anyways...

More respectable pics (aka: less frosting + more bridal party) are on their way.

Stay tuned!

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

And Then My Dreams Came True

Slideshows and Paint

Our house smells very much like fresh paint right now: Two bedrooms, three ceilings, a picket fence and shabby-chic shudders are the essence of "overly scented."

Enough to make you nauseous.

Very. Nauseous.

Of course, no large event would be complete without a slideshow; which involves digging through old pictures, searching through old jpg files and scouring Facebook for pics of when Ethan was a teenager.

And THIS is what happens when you go digging around in a dark closet, trying to find picture frames. Just don't even go there...

But wasn't he cute?!

Still is, as a matter of fact.... 

*Be still my heart .... Can't believe I get to marry this guy.

                                    Okay, fine. I'll stop gushing now.

CHEEEEEEESSSSE!!! {Way to ruin the picture, Anna... I still love this shot, though...}

Ooh! And here's another interesting one... with my MOH! (love ya, Kara:)

Okay. Enough Randomness; I need to go make supper before I become even more ridiculous. ;)

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Slideshows and Paint

Princess Dress

When I was little, I used to draw pictures of what my wedding dress would look like. Sometimes they changed a little; a fuller skirt, an added ruffle - but usually, it came back to the same, imaginative sketch. 

And, after searching and searching and searching and searching until, finally, all six of our family members bowed our heads and prayed about it; I found that dress.

Online.

But I wanted a couple things changed...So, I took it to the seamstress. When I got it back, I was mortified...the hem was crooked and too short, my whole design had been changed, the stitching where the alterations had been made were coming undone, and the main problem that I had asked her to fix remained untouched.

Then I paid double.

Now, I had convinced myself that I was going to be one of those calm, laid back brides...and I was. Kinda. Until my dress was ruined. 

"Anna..." they told me, "It's not that bad."

And then I showed them.

It was that bad. 

"Well... I guess, at least... I have cute shoes...?"

My very calm, sweet Father pulled Mom aside for a quick conference, then Mom took me, my problems and the poor, ruined dress to a more professional seamstress.

I love professional seamstresses. I could've hugged her. 

After a second fitting (and about two weeks), I was able to bring the dress home. I nearly cried again - it was exactly the dress I had dreamed of when I was a little girl. And it was okay. In fact, it was beautiful. Long...modest...and perfect. 

I'm so glad the Lord cares about wedding dresses - I feel so much more prepared now that I know my dress won't look like a giant, white potato sack. {Although Ethan assured me that I would still look beautiful if it came down to that.}

#SOTHANKFUL

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Princess Dress

A Day In the Life...

Bonjour!

Anna here, taking a break from writing thank you notes to ease her writer's cramp, and stopping in for a quick ((over-do)) update on life in general. 

Mine, actually.

But you didn't know that.

Yesterday, my sweet, ultra-coordinated MOH (aka: Kara) pulled off a charming bridal shower for me. She did a fabulous job - what would I ever do without her?!

To see more pics of her handywork, click on over to her blog: HERE

Hanging out, waiting for the fireworks to start on the 3rd. (I'm 19 now, by the way...)

Oh, yeah. And I experienced an epic "Pinterest Fail" this morning. 

The "Listerine Foot Soak.." 

Yeah. Just don't even go there.

I've always had icky, wrinkled-ish feet, and I was trying to coax them into beautification for sandal-weather....but...yeah. Blue and green is ten times worse than...used, wrinkled and brown.

I ended up scrubbing them with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to make them normal. ish. kinda.

The pic is included as persuasive evidence. ((My toes are rather humiliating - feel special that I cared this much about warning you not to soak your feet in blue mouthwash for 30 minutes. ;) ))

Moving on!

Yes...quite literally. I've packed up my life in a number of boxes (which I scrounged together from the coffee shop's basement). It's been fun...and slightly sentimental.

((The quilt Mom made for me when I was little..))

I'm curious to see how we're going to smash all this stuff into the van...we shall see...

Thank the Lord, everything's coming together!!!

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

A Day In the Life...

To the Bride

They printed my invitations pink and purple.

Two hundred and thirty dollars for pink and purple invitations.

Pink.

And.

Purple.

The weddingness of my week had not been going well at all. There was a conundrum with the dress, I had to order invitations three times, not to mention the issues with my veil, and some crazy-busy non-wedding-things that added to the pressure.

I needed to breathe.

But there really wasn't time for that.

After calling my sweet fiance and drowning him in my overwhelmed WHADAMIGONNADO moment, his solution was simple. "It's going to be okay, Anna. You get some sleep - but promise me you'll read a scripture before you go to bed."

I promised.

Paging through the new testament I found a chapter. Suddenly there it was, in all it's simplicity: Ask what you will.

"Wow. That's nice," I thought.

I flipped over to a different book. (Luke, I think). Again, it read; "Ask what you will."

And the light dawned. In essence, I was hearing straight from the Lord. "Anna, stop falling apart over things that I can handle. I care. Let me make your joy full again. Don't let this bring you down and steal the happiness I've given you."

Exactly right. Girls - being engaged is such an amazing thing; knowing you get to spend the rest of your life with your dream-come-true, hearing his voice on the phone every night, making plans together and, really, just loving - is what this stage is all about. Don't let the wedding, ((in all it's fairy-tale glory,)) mess that up.

I finally came to that realization after a week of over-thinking everything. Sunday service brought me back to the real focus of it all. Namely: God and God's plans for me; what God calls important.

Think about it. What does His plan entail for you? You and your man enjoying every minute of being engaged, or you being an exhausted mess because the seamstress hemmed your dress crooked?

We say: "Yes...but..."

Ask what you will.

"But, Lord, they said..."

Ask what you will.

"BUT THIS IS A BIG DEAL!!"

Ask what you will.

When you know you're in God's vindicated path for your life, no matter what obstacle (be it an awful printing job, discouraging remarks, whatever) you can go forward, pray, and laugh it off. As God once told Abraham, face to face; "Is anything too hard for the Lord to do?"

Nope.

So do yourself a favor and go with the flow. Focus on your man and your marriage.
Relax.
Do your best.
Let God work His wonders.

Don't let yourself stress. Skip all that drama and keep the added pressure off of your fiance and your family. (Remember going nuts doesn't affect just you.)

Make it a point to enjoy every single minute of this weddingishness - it only happens once!

John 16:24

Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

(33) These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

To the Bride

Lazy Sunday Afternoons

::Today involves::

A craving for strawberry glace pie

The bug that perished in my coffee ((bleck))

Slouching on the couch

Trying to sit in the sun (which went behind a cloud)

Kara's sleepy sarcasm

Textin' my fiance 

A break from the wedding planning
Time to re-charge

And, Oh - on another note, gotta love these suits I found for the groomsmen.

((Ps. they fell for it! ROFLOL))

                      Yes. My sense of humor only becomes more dilapidated with less sleep.

Share:facebook - twitter - pinterest

Lazy Sunday Afternoons