Our First Year...

Our first year of marriage came and went so much faster than I ever could've expected. To say that today my husband and I are celebrating our "one year anniversary" feels incredibly surreal. As I reflect on the past year, I find myself overcome with a flood of emotions...

JOY...joy over the day-to-day happy memories and fun adventures created with my best friend in the whole entire world. 

GRATITUDE...gratitude for my faithful God's incredible provision, reaching far beyond our financial and tangible needs.

CONTENTMENT...contentment in this new, life-altering season of my life as a wife.

FEAR...yes, fear. Fear that our first year of marriage was too good to be true. Fear that our expectations for the future are unrealistic. Fear that the "honeymoon phase" really is just a phase.

Something that always bothered me from the time I was a young teenager filing away "marriage wisdom and advice" for the future was this idea that the first year of marriage is, without a doubt, not only going to be hard, but rather it's supposed to be hard. Statements like "Get ready...they become another person after you say, 'I do'," or "My first year of marriage was hell on earth," or "They're never going to pursue you like they did when you were dating" set an uneasiness in my heart anytime I would hear them. Thankfully, that uneasiness helped lead me to the personal conclusion that just because there are certain people who have had those experiences - even if they represent the majority - that doesn't mean my husband and I have to share those same types of experiences by default. We get to make our own choices. We get to choose the kind of marriage we want. We get to choose to have an amazing first year. And we absolutely did. 

Throughout the past year when many people have asked, "How's the married life going?", part of me would feel a twinge of guilt for not having a more pessimistic response. You would think I wouldn't feel the need to apologize for loving married life and having no complaints...but I've often felt this weird pressure like I've needed to - like I need to point out some flaw I've discovered in my husband or relay details of some big fight we've had. But the truth is, I haven't discovered any flaws in my husband during our first year of marriage. If anything, I've discovered more reasons for why I love him and am constantly reminded how ridiculously blessed I am to have him as my husband. And big fights? Intense discussions would be a more accurate description. And we've maybe had three of those. Is our marriage perfect? Of course not. Do we know how to push each other's buttons? You bet. Do either of us take credit for the amazing first year of marriage we've experienced? Nope. 

We both know beyond the shadow of a doubt that our marriage is a gift from God, a display of His undeserved favor like we've never known. We also know that the favor we've experienced in our first year was set in motion well before we got married - I'd venture to say before we even met. I believe today my husband and I are reaping together what we sowed individually in our pasts. (See Galatians 6:7-10 for yourself.) God is impeccably faithful and true to His promises, something both my husband and I have believed and experienced from the time we were children. And now, we're getting to experience God's faithfulness together. During our first year of marriage, we have reaped a humbling, beautiful harvest from years of sowing seeds of love...patience...gratitude...self-control...generosity...contentment...joy...trust...and that was only by the grace of God. I have no doubt that every year of our marriage we can reap a beautiful harvest, so long as we keep sowing. And we get to choose whether or not we'll keep sowing year after year. We get to choose what seeds we will sow. Hard times will come. We will make mistakes. But we get to choose whether or not those hard times and mistakes will overcome us. When we reap consequences, we get the choice to turn around and sow what will produce reward. We get to choose. 

So, if anyone asks how our first year of marriage was...

We unapologetically choose to say, it was UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING! :) 

Babe, thank you for being my biggest supporter, my constant encourager, and my best friend in the whole entire world. This blog wouldn't exist without you. I have no doubt because of the character of your heart that God will bless the photography talent He's given you in ways you could never dream possible! Thanks for always putting up with me! :) You're my favorite person. I love you most! 

Thank you so much to everyone that has been so supportive of our marriage and family! It means more than you'll ever know! And thanks for reading and supporting this blog!

[Wedding Photos by Derek Green] 

"Sweet Love" {Wedding Wednesday #3}

For my third Wedding Wednesday post (here are posts #1 & #2), I'm featuring the Sweet Love "sweets bar" I had at my wedding! Ultimately, all the credit for this amazing spread goes to my mom, from choosing the sweets to decorating and arranging them in the most darling way! She's amazing.

Rather than going for a traditional candy bar, we decided to create our own special coffee shop/bakery, calling it Sweet Love. At the coffee bar section, guests had the option of ordering regular coffee or our specialty drink, a vanilla chai tea latte (it's one of my personal favorite specialty drinks thanks to one of my bridesmaids, Amanda, who makes them better than anyone! oh, and Reed isn't a coffee fan, so that's why we went with my favorite!). Having just one specialty drink as opposed to opening up a full coffee bar definitely helped keep our costs down, yet still provided a special option for guests who wanted more than regular coffee or the other classic beverage options that we offered.

As for the sweets bar, it was fun to incorporate a variety of treats like cookies, cake pops, and cupcakes in addition to classic candies. Branching out from just using candy helped add lots of dimension and variety in both size and color of the different sweets bar items. I loved the center Eiffel tower as the anchor piece for the table and the use of different sized jars, bowls, cake tiers, hat boxes and the cute malt glass to display all of the sweet treats. The cute peach and mint table was painted by Reed and was the perfect display for all that sweetness!

"Sweet Love" was definitely one of my favorite details from our wedding - these photos bring back so many sweet (pun intended) memories! If you're ever in charge of creating a candy/sweets table, hopefully this post provided you with some inspiration! Let me know if it did! :)

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family! I'll be back next week with new posts! :) Thanks for stopping by!

Andrea Howard Cakes {Wedding Wednesday #2}

For this week's "Wedding Wednesday" post, I'm joyfully praising Andrea Howard Cakes! Last weekend I had the sweet honor of posing for some fun photos for her website, blog, and other advertising needs. You can check out her recent blogpost to see a preview of some of the photos! 

photo credit || Andrea Howard Photography

Every time I see one of Andrea's cakes, my eyes grow wide with excitement, and my jaw drops to the floor - they're seriously on another level! Her unique creativity, attention to the most darling details, and incredibly skilled execution make her an ELITE cake designer. Andrea and her family recently moved to Edmond, OK, where she has been working on getting her new cake studio up and running. We shot the photos at her studio, and I was instantly mesmerized by the adorable decor and details I noticed throughout the renovated space. I'm beyond excited for her and all of the awesome opportunities coming her way that she more than deserves!

photo credit || Andrea Howard Photography

Not only have I had the honor of being photographed with Andrea's cakes, but I've also had the honor of having her making my DREAM wedding cake! Reed and I were utterly stunned by the beautiful masterpiece she created for us. Oh, and another fun fact? Andrea is my second cousin by marriage! The fact that she watched me grow up to then one day make my wedding cake is just beyond special! (For more info on this tidbit of history, you can check out her "Time Flies..." blogpost.) 

For more information on Andrea's cakes, check out her website, blog, Facebook page, Twitter & Instagram! 

Thanks for stopping by for today's "Wedding Wednesday" post! :) 

Brides of Oklahoma {Wedding Wednesday #1}

I've decided to start a new segment on the blog called "Wedding Wednesday" where rather than doing one giant post or a 3-part post about my wedding, I'll be breaking it down in smaller segments every Wednesday. Even when I run out of material from my own wedding, I'm the maid of honor in one of my best friends' weddings later this year, so hopefully I will have plenty of material for a while.

It's hard to believe that Reed and I got married almost 5 months ago! I can't help but smile every time I look at our wedding photos because the overwhelming joy felt on that day comes rushing back! Photography was pretty much at the top of my "wedding priority list" because, let's face it, the photos are the only aspect of weddings that live on when it's all over...well, besides the marriage of course! :)

I was super thankful we snagged our favorite photographer, Derek Green, for the wedding! Derek is incredibly talented, down to earth, and has the cutest family! You can check out his blog here. I was also super thankful that we had the opportunity to take many of our photos outside, even though our ceremony and reception were indoors (I'll expound more about this in later posts).

Today's post is focused on the special feature we were blessed with in the July 2013 issue of the Brides of Oklahoma magazine. One of our friends who works for the magazine was so kind to make this happen for us - it's such a special keepsake! This magazine is truly a stunning work of art in the bridal industry. Many of us Oklahoma girls anticipate its release twice a year. In this post I've included the photos we submitted for our feature. Choosing six photos was nearly impossible because we loved all of them so much!

I look forward to sharing more details of our wedding in future "Wedding Wednesday" posts! Thanks for reading and giving your feedback!