Say Yes to the Dress!

So much has happened in the past few weeks!

We have finally decided on a ceremony site, but the road to that decision was not an easy one.  I had always dreamed of having my wedding in a church, for the tradition, the sanctity and the prospect of starting my marriage in a truly Christian ceremony.  But I learned something along the way, while church after church told me I could not have my ceremony in their sanctuary because I wasn't a member, I began to feel like all of those churches had lost sight of how a sanctuary should be used.  A sanctuary should be open to all, rich and poor, saved and unsaved, lost and found, member and non-member.  Open to all for worship, and I personally view a wedding ceremony as a ceremony of worship and declaration before God.  But evidently you are only allowed that if you are a member, according to a lot of the churches I spoke with.  Andrew and I attend a church regularly, but it wasn't the style we wanted for the wedding and we wanted a ceremony site closer to the reception site for convenience to our guests.  Well (drum roll please) we have found that at the Bryan Courtyard at the Carolina Inn.  That's right folks, we are having the ceremony literally down the hall from the reception.  And we will be having it in one of God's most beautiful creations, made by Him and Him alone... nature.  In the natural beauty of trees and flowers.  While I fully agree and support anyone who would want to have their ceremony in a church, I have found in my journey that a truly spiritual and Christian wedding ceremony does not have to be within the four walls of a church sanctuary, but it can be anywhere you want, your relationship with God and your spouse is what makes it spiritual and meaningful.  

The other milestone that has been competed is the wedding dress!! My mom placed the order today for my dress!! I'm sooooo excited!! I wish I could describe it but Andrew is watching me type this right now, but it is GORGEOUS.  I was so nervous to go dress shopping.  And I don't mean nervous in an exciting kind of way, I mean I was dreading it.  I seriously was not looking forward to shopping for a wedding dress.  I had this fear that I wouldn't fit into anything and nothing would look good on me and no one would have anything that fit my style.  All of these fears came to rest when I tried on dress #3.  I felt so beautiful and special and I seriously did not want to take the dress off!! The biggest surprise to me was how comfortable the dress was to wear! I love it, Love It, LOVE IT!! But make no mistake, I wasn't about to be silly and stop after 3 dresses.  I ended up going to two places and trying on 15 dresses.  But none compared to dress #3.  And dress #3 it was!!! Now moving on to the cake...