These past few months have been pretty busy! Chris and I got engaged, and we are both in the midst of starting new jobs. Adding in the start of a new semester, one could imagine how busy we have been. And although I’m bummed that we had to cancel youth group tonight due to the weather, I am grateful for the opportunity to rest and to share a little of my life lately with all of you. So, I’ve officially been engaged to my best friend for a month! *cue squealing* That being said, I’ve been doing a lot of pinning and dreaming. So here is a roundup of my favorite links that I’ve come across on the internet lately in preparation for planning our wedding.
Katie Prejean McGrady’s post NFP: Not Freaking Practical
This, just like every other blog we’ve shared, is a small snapshot into the difficulties of learning an entirely new rhythm to life, while also trying to figure out how to balance a budget together, live together, cook together, and share the covers on our bed (a constant, nightly battle). We took on the practice of NFP because we believe it’s what is best, and we quickly discovered it to be a cross that can be pretty heavy to carry.
I first heard Katie Prejean speak at the New York Catholic Youth Day this past Spring. I was there manning a booth for CYFM and gave a reflection during adoration. Katie was a keynote speaker and I was so engaged by her talk! At the time she was preparing for marriage and added tidbits of her love story into her keynote. Since then I have followed along on her journey through instagram, and more recently through her blog. I love this post because she didn’t sugarcoat NFP. Being that we’re recently engaged, I have been looking into different resources to get an idea and begin to plan for our marriage. Katie’s post made me laugh but was also one of first that I’ve read to explain that NFP a beautiful thing yes, but also a cross to bear.
Spoken Bride’s Not For The Perfect: How I Came To Accept and Value NFP
Though my body is my own, my temple was built by God. And even while sometimes I’d love to change some things about my body, it is beautifully designed. The fact that God gifted me with fertility and breaks from fertility is something I no longer take for granted. It turned out all the Church needed was that running start and open mind.
Spoken Bride has been a favorite resources over the past month or so. This post, like Katie Prejean’s, was insightful. I’m grateful for these resources during the very beginning stages of our sacramental prep.
Spoken Bride’s Getting Real About Wedding-Day Beauty
Fake? Like any other bride, I’d wanted to look my best on our wedding day. But I hadn’t given much thought to any reasoning beyond that, and certainly hadn’t set out to intentionally deceive anyone into believing I had a born-with-it blinding smile. Where, then, to draw the line on bridal beauty treatments, and how?
I’m so grateful for all of the resources on the internet to help us out in our planning and preparing. While the Knot and different instagram accounts are super practical, Spoken Bride is focused on the Catholic Bride. That means sacramental prep, with a few pretty things thrown in too. While we still have a year and a half until the big day, I’m grateful for this site and its emphasis on the sacrament of marriage. Also, I’m not super into makeup as it is, so the fact that this post focuses on our natural beauty makes me so happy.
This post on The Marriage Crucifix
When they interchange the marital vows, the bride puts her right hand on this Crucifix and the groom puts his right hand over hers. Both are bound together and united to the Cross. The priest covers their hands with his stole while they pronounce their promises to love one other in good times and in bad, proclaiming their vows to be faithful according to the rites of the Church.
I first heard about this tradition in this Fountains of Carrots Podcast and nearly started crying in the student lounge because of how beautiful it is. While Chris and I technically weren’t engaged as of yet, we had been talking about marriage for quite some time, so I was sure to store this beautiful little ritual in the back of my mind. I love the idea of searching for a crucifix for this ritual, that will later hang in our home. We’re getting married in June, so the idea of incorporating the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary into the crucifix sounds ideal to me.
Spoken Bride also features the photos and stories of real weddings. I love this. Here are two of their features that I absolutley love:
I pray you make every moment with your beloved and those around you extraordinary, because Becca is right. We are called to heroic love. Becca and Kyle’s relationship shows that overcoming challenges and trusting Christ with our life’s steps is what we’ve been made for in our call to love.
Flowers. Lace. And so many pretty things.
We look back with such gratitude on our wedding day, because what stands out to us isn’t the details we had spent the majority of our time planning–it was that we gave each other a sacrament in marriage, which has been a comfort and a stronghold for us during our first year as newlyweds.
Summer. Roses. And simple beauty.
As Chris and I continue our venue search, I hope to keep some of these pearls of wisdom from my research in mind. Please pray for us as we continue this journey!
A Lovely Little Flower 