…I married someone I had known since we were in the nursery together in church.
Happy Anniversary, Honey!
I wish I could get my hands on some photographs. They were once in this post, but have since disappeared (when I moved from Blogger to WordPress). My husband wore a hot pink bowtie and I had gorgeous dark pink and red flowers in my bouquet. And, yes, I wore a black dress!
When Prince Charming and I started talking about becoming engaged 4 1/2 years ago, I became completely wrapped up in planning what would be the big event as I saw it: my wedding! Prince Charming had long said he would just be happy eloping, or simply getting married with our family there. I was appalled: there was no way I was doing that, I thought. This is my one shot at my big wedding day! I want everyone to be there! Go all out!
But you know what happened? After we’d been tentatively talking about our wedding for around a month, and were thinking of getting married three months from then, in January, my vision suddenly changed. I could hardly believe myself, but I found I became willing, and even eager, to give up on my dream “wedding,” as my focus was shifting.
It finally hit me: What are we waiting for?!?! We want to be together, I longed for him, we were saving ourselves, counting the days until could live together, be man and wife..,..and we were just waiting for that planned day in January for this big wedding so then we could be together?!?! I said to Prince Charming one night, “You know, I really don’t care about this wedding as much as I care about just being with YOU. The details are taking a life of their own, and I would totally just marry you now, alone or with our family there, I wouldn’t care, if you still wanted to, too.” I truly figured that, by this point, he’d just as soon keep with our January plans that were already rolling, although we were not “officially” engaged.
But the next day, on the streets of the big downtown area we live near, he gave me a ring and proposed to me for all to hear. So, exactly two weeks later, on a warm Thursday in October, we were married! My mom planned a most marvelous wedding in my parents’ home, with our families present; we were married by Prince Charming’s grandfather, who had been a pastor.
A number of weeks earlier, I had actually (eager, wanna-be-bride-to-be that I was) already ordered a white wedding dress and veil and the whole shebang for our tentative wedding date in January, but the dress wasn’t in yet. So, my sister and I went shopping and I picked out my floor-length black dress with white on top (after first buying a hot pink one, taking it home and reconsidering), hired a photographer, bought flowers for everyone, picked out music…and we just did it! It was so meaningful, so pure, so full for us to be married that way. Sure, there were plenty of fun things we “missed out on” by not being married the “traditional” way, but we were together and that was what mattered to us! Only later did I find out that teacher at the school I taught at figured we did a shotgun wedding because I was pregnant. Nope, but we sure did want each other! Five months after getting married, we did get pregnant with Big Mac.
We did keep our original “wedding” day plans and had a wedding celebration three months after our wedding, in January on the date we’d planned all along. We reserved an old art gallery and theater where we had an intimate reception and celebrated with our friends and other family who had not attended our ceremony. Little lights, candles, giant twigs and greenery suspended from the ceiling and Japanese paper lanterns hung in the theater lent their ambiance and I wore my “original” white wedding dress and veil for the first time that day. We looked at photographs of our actual ceremony in October (and re-hired our photographer for that day, too), danced, ate and celebrated our new marriage!
And that, my friends, is why I wore black on my wedding day!
That is awesome and beautiful:)
My husband and I got married in Las Vegas January 19th. After our wedding I took off my dress put on my jeans..put the garter over them, kept my vail on and walked around the city.
I do wish I coulda got the ceremony but it was still fun:)
I’m glad you linked this to today’s post…somehow, in reading your blog off and on for years, I’ve never read this story! Now all we need is some pics…;)
First time reader of this here too! And your story sounds similar to ours! We were engaged in September, “planned” a May wedding (for my mom, mostly), but then eloped in November…….and wound up pregnant 5 months later! Even more similar, I had a roommate who, I found out later, was sure we had eloped because I must have been pregnant. Ha! Wrong! Hard to get pregnant without having sex.
Anyway, great story! Thanks for sharing!
This is my first time to read this story and I just love it.
We’re doing it the same way! My husband proposed on Christmas Eve 2010 and we set our wedding date for this coming October. Two weeks ago on Easter we were prompted to consider becoming legally married now, so this past Saturday we were! We had an intimate ceremony in a park with just our parents and siblings (and their families, which equaled 20 people!). We are still planning our wedding for October so we can celebrate with ALL of our family and friends and we are so excited about it, but we are also SO excited to be married! And I’m still totally getting used to saying “my husband.”
aaawh, that is really sweet story
I never wanted a big wedding myself, but I think my mom would love to organize one (one day when I’ll meet the right One) …but now, I’m sure I don’t want anything big or traditional – just something as sweet as you had
thanks for sharing
Love this…and as far as my story…I have no significant other.
I did, in high school & college, and we were verbally engaged even though he couldn’t afford to buy me a ring, it was planned, no date, but after we both graduated from college. We were going to be husband and wife, missionaries to Africa where he would be a missionary pilot and I would be his wife, mother to his children (whom I had already thought about names)…and a music teacher.
Then about a year before that (after dating 3.5 years), we broke up and I now know that was the best thing…but I have not truly loved another man (though I have fallen in love with the idea of being in love!)…since…and sad to say, that’s been 15 years ago.
My life with physical limitations prevents me from really interacting with any “potentials”…I have done the online thing, and may try it again, but not ready to “go there” again yet.
I have longed, with everything in me, to be a wife and a mother MY ENTIRE LIFE. Growing up I assumed that; everyone did, that’s just what WAS DONE. “Old maids” like I guess I am now, single at 37, were the rarity, not the norm, and it was generally considered something was wrong with them, there was a REASON they were still single…perhaps that’s what people think about me.
I think that the Lord’s one for me is not, in His perfect timing, ready for me. Fast forward now and I am 37, nearly 38 and had a total hyst at 27 .I haven’t seriously dated anyone in many years and have no (as far as I now) interested prospects…and yet, I hold onto my dream.
I have envisioned adopting by myself (don’t have the income to support a child even if I could get financial aid for the adoption itself; not to mention I think it best the child have a father figure) – and have also envisioned becoming a wife to a widower with young children…instant family. I know someone that happened to and she was slightly older than I am now.
I have the daughter I would adopt’s name already – Hannah Hope. Hannah because I will have waited so long for her, and Hope because she gives me a reason for hope. In the meantime, the Lord has been gracious to fill the baby/child void by me serving in the nursery at church, being a biological aunt to 2 and having 2 what I call “nieces of the heart.”
I know, as Eph 3:16-21 says, that nothing is impossible with our God and is able to do even more than this vividily-imaging girl can come up with. And if I have the “gift of singleness” (hate that phrase!!!)…then what?
Then I’ll continue to wait for my Prince, my bridegroom with Whom I will spend all of eternity with. He will be enough, is enough…though at times I am lonely, He never leaves. And there is a lot of comfort in that.
Love your love story (that’s still going on) and your family and what you’ve been through and how you’re using it to glorify and honor the Lord and encourage people. Thank you for sharing with us.
Sara your story sounds a lot like mine. I met my now husband when i was 37 and we married when I was 41. I always believed in God’s timing and sure it wasn’t when I thought it should be, but then we all think that now and then about something! God will provide that person to you in his timing!
this sounds magical and almost like our story, we had a church wedding but it was really i just wanted to be married.
i had to giggle when i noticed there were only 13 comments on this post. do you remember when a post only got 13 comments. I would love to see one of your wedding pictures
We were classmates in kindergarten, hung out with siblings and friends forever, started dating at 14, waited through four years at a military academy and were married 10 days after graduation. Had three children, moved 14 times before retirement, and have been married for 48 years. Couldn’t have planned it better.
What a beautiful story!! I love how you guys kept the January date and did a post celebration ~ perfect!
Thanks for sharing some of your life with all of us, it’s a beautiful story to come and read… not to mention the beautiful photos too.
Many blessings!
Well, that splains it then – how romantic!
My first marriage I wore a black dress and when I finally met my second husband I knew that I wanted to wear white. My second marriage was also a quickly planned wedding like yours and Prince Charming. We were scheduled to be married in 2006, but decided why wait and moved the date up to 2005. We planned our wedding in 2 weeks and would not change a thing (except I wish my grandma could have been there).
Your dress looks beautiful. I also married my husband twice. We got married at the courthouse first and I wore jeans and a casual cute pink shirt. Then our second wedding (for our family) I wore the” traditional white” wedding dress. I was already pregnant with our first son (a boy) though. I guess we have somewhat similar stories except that I was already pregnant.
Huh. Very very cool pictures. Is your veil black too? that’s amazing. I love it!
It wasn’t a veil per se, but a sheer wrap thing. It was my photographer’s idea to put it on my head for that photo!
We became engaged in October and had to fit our wedding into the school calendar, since I was teaching second grade and he was in seminary. After considering Spring Break and Summer, we ended up having a small wedding on December 16th, 1967, with family, and friends from church. Oh, and my second grade class was also invited! Refreshments were cake and punch and coffee. Very simple. When God leads in a relationship, we follow HIs leading! He has blessed us these more than 42 years with 2 children, their spouses, and 9 grandchildren! God is good!
I would do the exact same thing. … As long as my family was present, and his family, that is all I’d need. And then have a big ol’ shebang of a party with everyone. But we’ll see how things go. I’m still not even engaged yet. UGH! haha.
wow, you guys look completely different!! love it!
P.S. My maiden name is Mack so my sister and I grew up as Lil Mack and Big Mack so I LOVE your names!
I am a new blog reader and am LOVING yours!! You and your prince charming were married the same day that I was to my prince charming! Hy hubby asked the same thing of me, "let's just get married, just the two of us and we'll celebrate with a wedding later!" I said no and wish that we had!! I am finding countless similarities to our life and home as I read your blog and know that I came to read it today for a purpose!
We have been struggling with infertility and I love to read about people's precious children and your 4 are absolutely amazing!! May God's richest blessings be upon you and your family always and may His healing hand touch Stellan's heart in ways you mever dreamed possible!
Love from Minnesota –
Rachel