Happy New Year, belles! Those of y’all who are familiar with Southern Weddings and particularly our Editor-in-Chief, Lara Casey, can imagine that goals and resolutions are a big deal around here. We’ve been in a month-long process of setting company goals for the year, and we each set individual professional goals, too!
While it’s very important to us all that SW continue to grow and improve, we also all agree that in the end, the very best thing we could say at the end of 2015 is that our relationships with our significant others are stronger. A belief in the importance of strong marriage is at the very bedrock of the Sweet Tea Society and Southern Weddings, and it’s something we all try to live out every day. On that note, here’s a taste of the things we’ll be doing in the new year to cultivate truly beautiful relationships!
Lisa: This is it–the year Dave and I get married!! With just four months to go till the big day, my relationship goal is to keep our marriage at the forefront of our minds as we finish planning our wedding, and then to intentionally celebrate the little things once we settle into newlywed life. I never want to forget our first few days of living together, the first time I sign my new name, and the first traditions we create as husband and wife, and I want to soak in and appreciate everything I can about finally being married to my best friend!
Emily: This year, John and I have decided to tackle a year-long reading plan for the Bible together. I’m looking forward to hearing his insights, growing in our faith, and just spending more intentional time together!
Nicole: This year, Taylor and I are resolving to be more intentional with our time together and to create everyday adventures. The nature of Taylor’s job requires that he works seven days a week, often making it difficult for us to work in the activities we’d love to take part in (or even find a date night). Also, in looking back at the past year, we realized that we had no memorable moments from the first few months of the year, and that we often hit the New Year with a sense of working with our heads down, instead of celebrating each day. Time to change all of that, slowly but surely!
Kristin: As we turn the page into 2015, we look forward to a fresh start and a year that promises to bring exciting adventures and new challenges for #TeamKyleandKristin. We will be focusing on family and faith as we plan for the year ahead. First, we will be making a concerted effort to love on family and friends through thoughtful and regular communication and intentional quality time. Through our first few years of marriage, we have learned just how valuable our family and friends are and how these relationships help nurture and deepen our love for one another. Second, we have been challenged by our small group to focus on praying bold prayers and expanding our prayer life. We want to start keeping a documented list of these bold prayers as part of our family legacy. And for fun, we want to find a cooking class or two to take together–to enhance our skills, further our education and expand our culturalization!
Marissa: 2014 proved to be quite a crazy year for our little family, and I’m sure 2015 will bring its own adventures. This year, BDK and I plan to carve out some time to go on more dates (even family dates – we love taking our girl to the park or walking around the outside shopping center we have near our home). We plan to pray with EKK more, and teach her just how loved she is through our actions toward her, and toward each other. And, we plan to celebrate more. (KNW will love this one!) With a new baby, our own birthdays and our anniversary slipped through the cracks a bit. This year, we’ll be celebrating those, and many more big and small events!
Lara: 2015 is likely going to be a big year for us as our family grows, so our priority is keeping our marriage as number 1! Ari and I both have busy work schedules and a busy three-year-old, so making time just for us is really important. This means pre-planning and blocking off intentional time on our calendars for date nights. If we are strong together, we can be better parents, friends, and do better work each day. Another relationship priority for us it to go to God before we vent to each other about challenges. This helps so much to make our time together meaningful!
Ready to make your own? Go for it! Yours could be something concrete, like doing the dishes, or something more general, like cultivating gratitude daily for your husband/fiance. Leave a note in the comments so we can cheer you on! Whatever you choose, know we are proud of you for taking the small step!!
P.S. These beautiful engagement photos are by Blue Ribbon Vendor Sarah Joelle! See the rest in our Facebook Friday series.
Love this! Such a great idea- ready to work on mine today :) Emily- do you know what reading plan yall are doing yet? I’ve started one but don’t love the format. Looking for what others have found and like! Great seeing you last week!