Were you, like Nicole, dying to see Kristal + Johnny’s pig Hamilton in action after witnessing his wedding blog debut on Wednesday? If so, you’re in luck! Nashville videographers Eugene + Heather sent over their film from this Cedarwood wedding, and we think you’ll love taking a peek. Enjoy!
Make sure to check out all the images and vendor credits on the original blog post!
Today is designated field trip day for me and Lara. We’re out and about finding Fab Finds for V5 and getting inspired by all the South has to offer. While we both LOVE this, we’re also looking forward to the weekend so we can let our brains rest and dream up ideas for Monday.
This week, we rewinded to the past and looked back at our favorite highlights from June’s Real Weddings.
Summer in the South isn’t quite the same without a beach trip! Grab your bridesmaids and get away with Marissa’s essentials.
This bride’s beachy sandals stole the show on Wednesday! Are you bold enough to rock these?
Emily’s wedding day details and timeline has been on her mind for months! Take a look at how she worked logistics and priorities here.
Since we’re in the middle of V5 amazing, we knew we had to share a little behind the scenes sneak peek with y’all! Check it out here.
Real Weddings take the cake!
Claire + Nathan’s nuptials made us want to be a part of their bridal party! See their outdoor wedding here.
Elizabeth + Michael’s darling wedding was full of colorful and meaningful details. See it all here.
Whitney + Layne’s wedding was a ballroom reception done right! We love the pale blue details! See it here.
Good News!
We’re sending out giant hugs to Shannon Smith who just launched her brand new (gorgeous) site this week! Shannon was the photo genius behind this beautiful photo from this shoot. See more from her at Vine and Light’s site here.
MORE giant hugs go out to the lovely belles and beaus who are saying “I do” this weekend, including our Southern Bride Bloggers, Melinda and Anne Marie!
Have a fun weekend, my dears!
Are y’all doing any sort of pre-marital counseling? John and I are – our pastor calls it a series of “conversations” :) We’ve had the first one, which was fairly casual. We already know our pastor pretty well, but we chatted a bit more about our families, where we were in the planning process, and our thoughts about the wedding ceremony in general. Our second meeting will actually be two meetings – we’re going in separately!! I’m a little nervous, as I’m guessing this is where we’ll have a more in-depth conversation. I’m not nervous about the conversation, but more about accurately expressing my feelings on the spot – you know? Our third conversation will be in August, and we’ll be wrapping up and confirming ceremony details at that point.
Of course, John and I spend a lot of time chatting about our marriage and marriage in general outside of these meetings. In fact, it’s one of our favorite topics of conversation :) We’ve also done a fair amount of reading on the subject – I just finished “This Momentary Marriage” by John Piper, and y’all know one of our favorites is “Mere Christianity,” which is not a book only on marriage, but which I think has lots of things to say about marriage. Any other suggestions, feel free to send them my way!
Because this sort of stuff was right up my alley, I was excited to learn more about this week’s sponsored post – the Engaged Couples’ Bible and the Couples’ Devotional Bible from Zondervan!
The Engaged Couples’ Bible is an awesome resource for those of you who aren’t doing any sort of pre-marital counseling. In addition to the full text of the NIV translation of the Bible, it has 52 devotions on all sorts of topics, which could serve as great points of entry for difficult but vital conversations. Think communication, in-laws, careers, finances, and children, among other things. There are also lots of discussion questions for couples who are interested in further exploring their faith together.
Newlyweds, we’ve got you covered, too! The Couples’ Devotional Bible also contains the full text of the NIV, along with weekday and weekend devotions. Topics include communication, work and career, money, sex, fears, setting goals, and forgiveness, among other things. There are also quizzes, activities, and “let’s talk” sections to stimulate conversation.
So tell me: Did you and your fiance(e) do any sort of pre-marital counseling? If so, was it a positive experience? I’d love to hear!
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We also did pre-martial counseling with our Pastor, such a great and special time! Thanks for sharing about the Couples’ Devotional Bible, I will have to pick one up! (:
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We did pre-marriage counseling, and found it very helpful because we learned a lot of great tips and had great conversations that we still talk about. However, we had to do double! My fiance is Catholic and I’m Lutheran, so we did classes at both churches although we’re going to be married at my church. I think doing the classes kept us grounded in what was important and that we’re getting married, not wedding-ed.
We met with his priest and an “interfaith mentor couple” from his church and then we had a class and some meetings with my pastor. Each clergyman had important things to share with us, both practical and spiritual, especially since we have chosen to continue to support each other’s Christian faith although we didn’t grow up in the same church.
My pastor gave us a workbook that he compiled and encouraged us to do some of the exercises together as we got closer to our wedding date (in two weeks!). The communication tips were especially helpful when dealing with stress. He also suggested that we find devotionals and gave us a couple’s study Bible. The devotion book is “Quiet Times for Couples” http://online.nph.net/p-9592-quiet-times-for-couples.aspx. It turns out that the devotion on our wedding day focuses on 1 Corinthians 13. How perfect?
Thanks for the great post! I will have to hit my local bookstore and check these out!
Jen
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We have not done any pre-marital counseling yet, but we will because it will be required by the church. I’m excited, but I don’t know that Ryan is…. Haha
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We are in the middle of our pre-marital counseling now, too. I was so nervous about it to begin with, but we certainly love our pastor and he is very easy to talk to. We haven’t had any issues to work out…in fact I think it has made me fall even MORE head over high heels in love with my fiance. Love the book recommendations…need to check some out!
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The best part of this whole video was the way that groom looks at his bride. Gives me goosebumps! What a lovely couple