This probably isn’t late breaking news to many of you, but this past weekend I proposed to my (then) girlfriend, Angela. The most popular question we have been asked since is, “What did she say.” The answer to that question is yes. A lot of you are probably wanting to know what I did to propose. I have been told it was a “very good story” by a very reputable source (*cough* Zeph *cough*). Well I am sorry to disappoint but that is not what this blog will be about. You will be able to hear the story, but that will be released when we launch our website (which will hopefully be sometime this week). The big day is September 15, 2012. Angela told me she would only need six months to plan, so we aren’t going to waste any time.
Before any of this happened, Angela and I were both determined to make this whole process fun. We both know plenty of couples who fought over their wedding planning and let it tear their relationship down. We have decided that this will not be the case for us. To be honest neither of us care that much about the small details of the wedding. Right now you are probably thinking, “Yeah, sure Angela doesn’t.” Well she did say it would be OK for me to wear a hot pink tux just to give you an idea of how much things wouldn’t bother her. I am not going to wear a hot pink tux so you can pick your jaw up off the ground. She has also agreed that having a twitter hashtag for our wedding would be fun so people could live tweet about it during the service. If you want to go ahead starting using it just tag your tweets with #N&AWedding. I’ve even been told that fighting about the planning is just inevitable. I told those people that I was willing to bet them $50 each that Angela and I wouldn’t let this be something we fought constantly over. We are determined to have this fun experience. There are a couple reasons we are determined and know we can do it.
1. It’s just not that big of a deal.
A wedding ceremony happens on one day. It usually lasts 30-60 minutes. That’s it. Then it is over, never to be revisited. All that planning for such a short amount of time. I’ve seen so many people stress so much about the planning that they forget the point of a wedding. It is a celebration. It is about making a commitment before God. To us, those things matter more than which colors, or what flowers, or what order the bridesmaids are going to stand in. The big deal is the start of a lifelong journey. The big deal is the commitment we will be making to love each other no matter what. That is what we want to focus on. Not what we will get printed on our napkins for the reception (which will be nothing, we will probably be buying them in bulk from Sam’s Club, it’s so much cheaper).
2. Ultimately this isn’t about us.
I don’t think Angela is going to complete me. Angela doesn’t think that I am going to complete her. Yes, we love each other very much, but we both realize we are nothing without Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” No matter how Angela and I feel about each other, without Jesus we can do nothing. If we want our lives to have meaning, if we want our marriage to have meaning, Jesus Christ has to be the focus of it. This is how we plan to approach our wedding planning and the ceremony. It is all to bring glory to God. A wedding is a worship service where we get to see the awesome act of God bringing to people together as one. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says,
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
So as we start this journey, it is our goal to make it as fun as possible. Am I saying there will not be any disagreements through the process? No. I am saying that we are determined to work though them in a loving, peaceful way. What is my biggest plan to do this? Humility. I have already made up my mind that if anything comes up that we can not agree on and we start to get heated about that I am just going to concede. I am going to lay down what I want, and just go with what Angela wants. Like I said earlier, the small details of the ceremony don’t really matter. What matters is learning to love Angela like Jesus loves His church. When I look at the example He set, I see Him laying down everything He desired for her.
We are super excited about the path we are heading. We anxiously await September 15. It is going to be a lot of fun and we are going to have the time of our lives planning it. To all you naysayers, I say go away haha. If you’re ready to stand beside us, then hop on the bandwagon and let’s get going!
until next time…