Your Story will Stand the Test of Time
Not all moments are valued the same. Its something we always talk about with our brides who struggle with their bridal journey and feeling worthy of even being a bride for any number of reasons. We hear situations like, “It’s just for one night so I don’t care about it too much…or I don’t want to spend a fortune on it…” quite often! While it’s understandable to feel this way and there isn’t a set value on a wedding in order for it to be valuable, the moment you get married and that moment you have bowl of cereal every morning are not valued the same. Whatever your bridal journey looks like is unique to you and that in itself is EVERYTHING you could ever ask for. This past winter was the ultimate validation that you cannot put a monetary value no matter how big or small, on a memory worth living a million times over again.
Your wedding journey is uniquely you…
No matter how big or small, make memories worth living a million times over again.
This past winter, my parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. My sister and I, had the honor of SURPRISING them with a vow renewal on the Sunny Beach of Galveston, TX. By them… I really mean my Mom, shockingly my Dad was able to keep this whole thing a secret for MONTHS. And when I say he can’t keep a secret to save his life….. he truly CAN’T. He loves sharing any and all life updates to basically anyone that will listen. My sister and I have always joked that he makes friends where ever we would go and if rocks could talk, he’d makes friends with them too!
On December 10th, 30 years ago, my parents exchanged their vows in the living room of my Grandma’s house. As kids, Dad used to drive us past that house and the image of the peaceful willow tree outfront and the brown bricks of a two story home is a place of comfort ingrained in our minds. My Great Aunt Clo had a custom dress whipped up for my Mom a week or two before Mom and Dad got married! It was a simple knee length satin dress with pretty little off-the-shoulder sleeves, perfect for my Mom and perfect for the moment! There’s exactly ONE picture from that night that I’ve ever seen and even that picture is kind of a blurry memory. Just trying to throw these spoken memories and this one picture together, Dads wearing a black tux with a red cummerbund (the little thing men wear around their waist area) and Mom wearing her wedding dress holding red roses in by Grandma’s house by the window! After their intimate ceremony, they met with friends and family at J. Gilligans in downtown Arlington, TX to celebrate!
As small and intimate as this ceremony was, the way my Dad talks about seeing my Mom for the first time walking down my Grandma’s stairs is EVERYTHING. You can feel everything he felt in that moment with such depth it feels as if you are there with him in the moment living it. He described being speechless in the moment, which if you remember from earlier is a hard thing for him to do.
“As small and intimate as the ceremony was, the way my Dad talks about seeing my Mom for the first time walking down my Grandma’s stairs is EVERYTHING.”
Fast forward 30 years to the day we surprised my Mom with their vow renewal, getting to relive those feelings surrounded by family was more than can be expressed in words. We convinced my Mom that we were just going down to Galveston for a weekend at Papa’s house so she TRULY had no idea we had anything up our sleeves. For us, going down the Galveston for a weekend trip to Papa’s house is a very normal thing. Once we arrived in Galveston, we secretly coordinated plans with the family at our favorite sandwich shop and spice company, Macoe’s. Mom was obviously a little confused why more and more family kept showing up so Dad FINALLY got the chance to break the news to her, WE’RE GETTING MARRIED…AGAIN! True tears of joy ran down Mom’s face and the rest of the weekend could finally begin!
After lunch we got settled into our beach house! Through many conversations and many failed attempts, we FINALLY got all the family under the same roof and on a vacation together. This was truly a huge feat considering life is busy and all the grandkids are grown up and settling into their grown up lives. The beach house was PERFECT. Two huge balconies to watch the sun set and rise, just steps away from the beach, and windows on windows to have a perfect view of the ocean from anywhere in the house. The first night consisted of reminiscing on embarrassing stories from the past, a few too many adult beverages, and a complete sense of joy and happiness in everyone’s energy.
One of the greatest memories I have from this weekend is when I got the chance to throw some dresses on my Mom. She never had her special moment when finding her first dress. This doesn’t make that dress any less special, it was just different. With everything being so quick with their original wedding, getting the chance to slow down and give her these pivotal moments meant the absolute world. I can still picture the moment we put on THE dress and the way she looked at herself in the mirror. You could just tell she felt BEAUTIFUL. Purely grateful for the memories we were creating and in complete awe of just how stunning she truly looked and felt! I will NEVER forget this moment.
The next morning we nursed our hangovers with fresh baked cinnamon rolls and enough coffee to energize a whole army. We were ready to hit the beach (I know the beach in December?!?!?! What the hey?! Y’all….the weather was warm and PERFECT.) with little Blaisey and splashed in the waves. Blaise is the beachiest beach baby EVER. His happy place is either with his pups at home or on the beach! That afternoon we started to get ready for the big (little) ceremony. We, being my sister and I, jammed to some 90’s country tunes and dolled up Mom. We are not makeup and hair artists by any stretch of the imagination but we did a fine job on Mom and will gladly pat our own backs for pulling out all the youtube and tiktok makeup hacks!
Once the amazing Amanda B Photography arrived, it was game time! The feeling was indescribable. Everyone was full of joy. Full of happiness. Truly grateful to be present in the moment! The SWEETEST moment of the ceremony was when Papa walked Mom down the aisle (beach). The look in Papa’s eyes is a look no one will ever forget and was captured beautifully by our amazing photographer. You best believe I wasn’t going to NOT have a photographer for this moment. Mom and Dad deserve to have these memories captured to look back on forever. Take a look at the pictures for yourself…. you can see and feel every sweet moment.
Mom and Dad’s journey was completely unique to them. Both ceremonies were small and intimate and both meant everything to them! Getting the honor of sharing these moments with them will forever hold a special place in all our hearts. Regardless of how your wedding journey looks, you are worthy of these amazing memories and deserve to have these memories you want to relive time and time again. Your love is WORTH celebrating. Your story… will stand the test of time!
