Why Marriage? by Mari Nichols
Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person,
With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body...
Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me,
Who won't hold them against me,
Who loves me when I'm unlikable,
Who sees the small child in me, and
Who looks for the divine potential of me...
Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night
With someone who thanks God for me,
With someone I feel blessed to hold...
Because marriage means opportunity
To grow in love in friendship...
Because marriage is a discipline
To be added to a list of achievements...
Because marriages do not fail, people fail
When they enter into marriage
Expecting another to make them whole...
Because, knowing this,
I promise myself to take full responsibility
For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness
I create me,
I take half of the responsibility for my marriage
Together we create our marriage...
Because with this understanding
The possibilities are limitless.
Thursday 26 August 2010
Thursday 19 August 2010
Real Wedding - Kathryn & Lee
I was very privileged to be involved in the recent wedding of Kathryn & Lee held at All Manor of Events, just outside Ipswich.
This was a strange situation for me as I was a guest as well as wedding planner - I was even one of their witnesses!
The wedding day was glorious and Kathryn and Lee got all of their family and friends involved to make it a very personal wedding ceremony and day for them. Here are the details of their day including those personal elements:
Lee's brother and best man, Leon, played guitar for the bridal party procession down the aisle. Kathryn's chief bridesmaid and flower girl (my daughter, Darcey) entered first, followed by the other bridesmaids, who were escorted by the ushers. Kathryn then entered with her dad.
Kathryn's brother James, along with the registrar, took the ceremony and actually married them. He was fantastic - he made it really personal to them, it was a very moving ceremony. Lee’s sister, Laura read the only reading of the ceremony.
The wedding breakfast followed and then came the time for the speeches. My favourite line was from the groom, Lee talking about his new wife: “I know everyone says this but I will fight them all – I really am the happiest man alive!”
Later in the evening, the groom, best man, ushers and some friends performed a set as covers band 'Kings of Leon Smith'.
Suffice to say, it was a fabulous day that went by without a hitch. Here's a few photographs from the day:
Kathryn and Lee had a fantastic wedding day and I wish them all the very best for their future lives together.
Congratulations Mr & Mrs Smith!
Photographer - Birks Photography
This was a strange situation for me as I was a guest as well as wedding planner - I was even one of their witnesses!
The wedding day was glorious and Kathryn and Lee got all of their family and friends involved to make it a very personal wedding ceremony and day for them. Here are the details of their day including those personal elements:
Lee's brother and best man, Leon, played guitar for the bridal party procession down the aisle. Kathryn's chief bridesmaid and flower girl (my daughter, Darcey) entered first, followed by the other bridesmaids, who were escorted by the ushers. Kathryn then entered with her dad.
Kathryn's brother James, along with the registrar, took the ceremony and actually married them. He was fantastic - he made it really personal to them, it was a very moving ceremony. Lee’s sister, Laura read the only reading of the ceremony.
The wedding breakfast followed and then came the time for the speeches. My favourite line was from the groom, Lee talking about his new wife: “I know everyone says this but I will fight them all – I really am the happiest man alive!”
Later in the evening, the groom, best man, ushers and some friends performed a set as covers band 'Kings of Leon Smith'.
Suffice to say, it was a fabulous day that went by without a hitch. Here's a few photographs from the day:
The tables were all named after trees
The Groomsmen L-R; Stephen (Usher), Leon (Best Man), Lee (Groom), Alex (Usher)
The Bridesmaids L-R; Clair, Laura, Michelle and Darcey in front
Leon plays guitar as the bridal party walk down the aisle
Kathryn’s brother James takes the ceremony
Mr & Mrs Smith!
The main wedding cake was served as dessert and these cupcakes were given to the evening guests
The first dance
‘Kings of Leon Smith’
Kathryn and Lee had a fantastic wedding day and I wish them all the very best for their future lives together.
Congratulations Mr & Mrs Smith!
Photographer - Birks Photography
Thursday 12 August 2010
Wedding Reading - I
This post starts a series of posts with suggestions for wedding readings:
Wedding by Anonymous
If you go to a wedding, here’s what it means
No one wears trainers and no one wears jeans
Your best new clothes are all that you wear
And everyone in your whole family is there
Even some cousins that you’ve never known
And the grown-ups all say -
Oh, how much you have grown!?
So everyone’s sitting in one big room
(except Sally and Richard, the bride and groom)
Then all of a sudden things quieten down
And music starts playing and people turn round
And really slowly, Sally walks in
And she’s prettier now than she’s ever been.
She’s a bride and she’s really great looking today
(when normally she looks just kind of okay)
She walks in and stands with her dad for a while
As Richard her boyfriend, awaits in the aisle
His hair is all combed and he’s wearing a tie
And then Sally's mum starts to sniffle and cry.
And now it comes time for the ‘get-married’ part
The Registrar says that we’re ready to start
So she talks and she talks about serious things
Then their friend Chris steps up holding two rings
He gives one to the groom and the other to the bride
Then his girlfriend, Janaki pulls him aside.
Then Sally and Richard kind of look at each other
And another big sniffle comes from Sally’s mother
And Sally and Richard put on the wedding rings
And they talk and they promise each other some things
They promise that they’ll love each other a lot
And help one another no matter what
And be with each other the rest of their life
Then the Registrar says “Now you are husband and wife”.
Then everyone’s in such a big happy mood
And you go to a party with very much food
Where you dance with some grown-ups and drink some wine
And then do a conga-dance in one long line
Till Sally and Richard drive off in a car
and everyone’s thinking how happy they are
So we all yell goodbye and throw handfuls of rice
Then the whole thing is over. Weddings are nice!
Wedding by Anonymous
If you go to a wedding, here’s what it means
No one wears trainers and no one wears jeans
Your best new clothes are all that you wear
And everyone in your whole family is there
Even some cousins that you’ve never known
And the grown-ups all say -
Oh, how much you have grown!?
So everyone’s sitting in one big room
(except Sally and Richard, the bride and groom)
Then all of a sudden things quieten down
And music starts playing and people turn round
And really slowly, Sally walks in
And she’s prettier now than she’s ever been.
She’s a bride and she’s really great looking today
(when normally she looks just kind of okay)
She walks in and stands with her dad for a while
As Richard her boyfriend, awaits in the aisle
His hair is all combed and he’s wearing a tie
And then Sally's mum starts to sniffle and cry.
And now it comes time for the ‘get-married’ part
The Registrar says that we’re ready to start
So she talks and she talks about serious things
Then their friend Chris steps up holding two rings
He gives one to the groom and the other to the bride
Then his girlfriend, Janaki pulls him aside.
Then Sally and Richard kind of look at each other
And another big sniffle comes from Sally’s mother
And Sally and Richard put on the wedding rings
And they talk and they promise each other some things
They promise that they’ll love each other a lot
And help one another no matter what
And be with each other the rest of their life
Then the Registrar says “Now you are husband and wife”.
Then everyone’s in such a big happy mood
And you go to a party with very much food
Where you dance with some grown-ups and drink some wine
And then do a conga-dance in one long line
Till Sally and Richard drive off in a car
and everyone’s thinking how happy they are
So we all yell goodbye and throw handfuls of rice
Then the whole thing is over. Weddings are nice!
Thursday 5 August 2010
Searching for 'The Dress'
Part of my job involves going along with brides to search for their perfect dress – as a wedding planner, I can provide a no nonsense, impartial opinion and relate that to how the style of dress will fit with the overall theme and design of the wedding.
I thought I’d share with you the story of my search for a wedding dress:
I did what every bride to be does, as soon as I got engaged I bought loads of wedding magazines and started turning the page corners of the wedding dresses I liked. A pattern emerged and there was one particular style of dress that I continually went back to – it was similar to the picture below. A strapless corset style bodice with a very full skirt with lots of layers.
The day soon arrived and I took my mum to a dress shop to start trying on some dresses. I picked out several dresses that I liked in the shop – all very similar to the above design. I excitedly went into the fitting room with the dress designer and put on the first dress – it felt good, although the skirt did seem quite big! I went outside to show my mum and look in the mirror – my mum’s reaction was not really what I’d expected – she couldn’t stop laughing! She said I just needed a pair of wings and a wand and I could be on top of a Christmas tree – I looked in the mirror and completely agreed with her. Whilst it was a beautiful dress, the style was all wrong for me and just looked ridiculous. So now I was in a tricky situation, all the dresses I’d looked at were in this style, so now that I’d discovered this wasn’t right for me I was stuck – I didn’t know where to start! Luckily the dress designer said she would take a look around the shop and pick out a selection of dresses that she thought would suit me and my shape. I tried on several different dresses and ended up going back to the first dress that was picked out for me. I still had the fitted bodice and a full skirt but the style was much more subtle and suited my shape. Here’s a picture of me with my mum on my wedding day:
So, I guess the moral of this story is to try not to set your heart on something purely based on a picture. Go to the dress shop with an open mind and be prepared to try on some different styles. Allow the dress designer to have some input too – they fit brides in dresses every day so they really do know what they’re talking about.
Good luck with your search for ‘The Dress’, if you would like a no nonsense impartial opinion when dress shopping contact us to find out how Endless Love could hep you.
Picture credit: Ideal Wedding Dresses
I thought I’d share with you the story of my search for a wedding dress:
I did what every bride to be does, as soon as I got engaged I bought loads of wedding magazines and started turning the page corners of the wedding dresses I liked. A pattern emerged and there was one particular style of dress that I continually went back to – it was similar to the picture below. A strapless corset style bodice with a very full skirt with lots of layers.
The day soon arrived and I took my mum to a dress shop to start trying on some dresses. I picked out several dresses that I liked in the shop – all very similar to the above design. I excitedly went into the fitting room with the dress designer and put on the first dress – it felt good, although the skirt did seem quite big! I went outside to show my mum and look in the mirror – my mum’s reaction was not really what I’d expected – she couldn’t stop laughing! She said I just needed a pair of wings and a wand and I could be on top of a Christmas tree – I looked in the mirror and completely agreed with her. Whilst it was a beautiful dress, the style was all wrong for me and just looked ridiculous. So now I was in a tricky situation, all the dresses I’d looked at were in this style, so now that I’d discovered this wasn’t right for me I was stuck – I didn’t know where to start! Luckily the dress designer said she would take a look around the shop and pick out a selection of dresses that she thought would suit me and my shape. I tried on several different dresses and ended up going back to the first dress that was picked out for me. I still had the fitted bodice and a full skirt but the style was much more subtle and suited my shape. Here’s a picture of me with my mum on my wedding day:
So, I guess the moral of this story is to try not to set your heart on something purely based on a picture. Go to the dress shop with an open mind and be prepared to try on some different styles. Allow the dress designer to have some input too – they fit brides in dresses every day so they really do know what they’re talking about.
Good luck with your search for ‘The Dress’, if you would like a no nonsense impartial opinion when dress shopping contact us to find out how Endless Love could hep you.
Picture credit: Ideal Wedding Dresses
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