I laugh now about the madness with my wedding bouquet getting stolen, watching dear friends and family take away decorations from the pouring rain, cameras going on the fritz, everyone having to squeeze and stand inside the hall, and everything just darn going out of our control, but I tell you.... it was a most special day and Jesus I hope was indeed magnified.
The Rehearsal
Weather was perfect. Setup was quick and smooth. Cranes, paper decorations, and lanterns were hung. Music sounded lovely. Kitchen was prepared. Our pastor was helpful in preparing us for the ceremony outline. Helping hands were very much appreciated. Our wedding party was ready to go. My family and friends were running around doing last minute touches. We were a bit paranoid about the sprinklers going off to get the cranes wet, but little did we know that would be the least of our problems :p
Getting Ready
I made sure I slept early by midnight- but I still woke up at 5 am! I whispered- Im getting married today! But my sister told me to go back to sleep. When I knew others were awake a couple hours later- I shouted "IM GETTING MARRIED TODAY!!" I checked my phone and saw that it would be 70% rain... and I just thought... ITS OKAY! Two of my bridesmaids got us all coffee and breakfast. My friend Sarah did my hair impeccably and my friend natalie did my makeup beautifully! I could feel it getting more real when the camera crew came in- our friend Louie and Jon did videography and Reese did photography. Our friend Jason came in with a laptop and it was a compilation of videos from dearest girlfriends, family, and jose. It made me cry all hard!!!! We left in stealth to hide me from jose (my bouquet got stolen in the mean time haha) and we headed towards the venue!! I was a bit quiet but on the way there, there were girls handing out sunflowers if you honked just for the fun of it! It was darling. We arrived at the venue and it was GORGEOUS. Friends and family arrived earlier that day and set everything up. It was bright and sunny and I got to see everything as we envisioned it, and it was just darn lovely. My heart was overwhelmed with thanksgiving for the helping hands that were behind the scenes. The tables, the decorations, the signs and seating chart. It was perfect. As we continued to take pictures at the venue, it slowly began to pour down. I was taking pictures with my bridesmaids and I could see from the corner of my eye other friends and family run outside to take all the decorations back in so it wouldn't get soaked. Secretly I had hoped it would just stop raining before the ceremony so things could be brought back out. But God had other plans! It rained and we had a decision to make whether to bring the ceremony into a sanctuary. I still hadnt seen Jose at this point and we held hands talking with a door between us and I just said you know what, lets just do it outside! If everyone is here and is willing in their ponchos and umbrellas, lets get married in the rain! Everyone had kept me in a happy bubble and there were moving parts without my knowledge to just make things happen! Bridesmaids and family and guests were just so warm and joyful for this day. It was great! We prayed together and continued on with our day!
The Ceremony
I was most blessed by this hour. What a special hour. I walked down the aisle which was absolutely a treat for me to be so close to my daddy. Knowing he was giving me away to Jose whom he would have to trust his daughter with was so sentimental. We walked down in the rain, and I tried to smile and glance at as many people as I could, I didnt look at Jose until the very end of the aisle, and there my beautiful husband to be stood. We were called to worship our God and PJ declared the purpose of our marriage which was "to join together jose and i in holy matrimony... commended in God's word to be honorable among all.... not entered into hastily but reverntly, carefully, thoughtfully, soberly, and in the FEAR of GOD". PJ then asked the question of intent that we would live together in Christian marriage. Jose would love me, give himself up for me, comfort me, honor me in sickness and health, keeping only unto me. I would in return submit to him, serve him, honor him, and keep only unto him. We then continued to sing to the Lord for his goodness and I think a lot of guests especially liked the lyrics from the song Cornerstone... "through the storm, He is Lord... Lord of all!" We sang as it rained on us and the speakers were going in and out of tune. We sang loudly and with great thanks because He continued to be gracious in the rain. We read two different scriptures to remind us all of the meaning of marriage. We continued to listen carefully to PJ as he spoke to us from God's word. His main points:
1. what you must do in your marriage is- get on the same page, dont act in rivalry (manipulators or negotiators), consider the other more important, transform your interests to be fully integrated with your spouse.
2. Why We Cant Do It- We live in a cursed world where there is mass confusion on what marriage is today. Divorce, Porn. Intimacy outside marriage. Dissolution of meaningful marriage against us. Our spouse is sinful. Im sinful. Were selfish. We havent received our resurrected body yet.
3. There's someone who did!!!!- Jesus humbled himself, united to his people, didnt act in rivalry. An encouragement to Jose- Jesus loved his wife and did everything for his good. He sacrificed himself for her and washed her with the Word for her holiness. An encouragement to me- Jesus submitted himself to the headship and leadership of the Father even when he really desired another way. He trusted the Father. Submission is not a death sentence, it is an opportunity that leads to God himself.
4. Now you can- because Jesus forgives you of your failure and promises to empower you by His holy spirit to grow as husband and wife.
The gospel was then shared- reminding us that we are all slaves of SOMETHING- whether thats money, power, approval, healthy, physical appearance, family, physical intimacy. We are restricted by our priorities. Christians have Jesus. The kindest master who gave his life for His people and saves them from God's judgement.
We then proceeded to exchange vows. We would take each other for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and serve til death. We exchanged rings and did the sand ceremony which was hilarious. We didnt have enough sand so we just poured it as slowly as possible which filled the frame half way. We fake signed our marriage certificate as it was previously signed :p We were then pronounced husband and wife and we kissed. It was so sweet. HOORAY AND CHEERS!!!!
The Reception
The biggest blur of all. We had trouble taking pictures because people were scattered. Cameras were on the fritz from the rain. Chaos resumed. Seating chart was of no use because guests could no longer sit outside. 300 people were standing in a hall. I felt bad because people wouldnt be able to have seats and enjoy eating in a calmer environment. People would leave Im sure because it was just madness! We were taking pictures. I sent our MC to start serving dinner. We entered. We did our first dance. We ate our food all fast. We split up to say hi to as many people as we could. We danced with our parents. We had awesome speeches. Joses mama was so so sweet. She gave me a ring and bracelet. My mom continued to embarrass of me of how much trouble I was for 5 minutes. It was grande. I could see Marks love for Jose as he recalled their friendship. My sisters speech was my FAV. She is such a great speaker capturing our relationship, humor, and boldness all at once. Then a flash mob dance proceeded to an earth wind and fire song! It was so fun!!!!! We cut cake, I tossed my bouquet and it was hilarious seeing Jose throw a basketball to the single men. We danced. We took pictures in the photobooth with the brilliant and fun props my sister and her friends made. It was just a bunch of fun in the chaos. I was thankful for everyone who celebrated that night with us.
Sure there were lots of things that didnt go accordingly to plan. I spent lots of time and honestly money on things that ended up being left behind. But for reals, GOD IS SO GOOD. I cant imagine doing it again, or remaining bitter that I didnt have a dream wedding. God saving me from my sin and my depravity is what is glorious. The gospel being told to others that is the backbone of our marriage is what matters. Me being able to enter into covenant with a man I never deserved is a dream!!! God is always good, and that day is fleeting. The marriage is until one of us dies, and our time with God is FOREVER and ETERNAL. Gods name being proclaimed matters. Us making much of Christ is all that I could have ever hoped for. Thank you Jesus for an amazing day celebrated with people we love so dearly. <3
