There are so many things I still have to blog about my wedding. The dresses, the flowers, the DIY’s- oh my! But I think there is something more important to talk about first. For example, the story that changed my view on our wedding day entirely.
It was three days into our engagement and the seemingly worst thing possible happened.
I was walking our dog Jackson along the beach. Most of the past three days had been spent starring at this beautiful ring on my finger. I had imagined it there for so long that finally wearing an engagement ring felt surreal. Then, towards the end of our walk, I glance at my hand and see something is MISSING. This is what I saw:
My heart broke into a million pieces as I spent the next two hours with my eyes glued to the ground, looking for my missing ring. So many thoughts were running through my mind… Was it my fault? Could we even afford a replacement? How will I tell Sam? Where in the world could it be?!
After that never-ending search I decided to call Sam with the news. (He still gives me grief for not calling the moment it happened! Sorry Sam!) It was hard to explain, and I felt guilty. I sent him the above photo & he jumped into his car to come meet me. Within minutes we were at the family jeweler where my ring was purchased, which happened to be down the street. I couldn’t stop crying and that made Sam feel even more fired up about making everything right again. He wasn’t going to leave that jeweler without a ring… And that is exactly what happened. They apologized profusely and promised to make things right. We will always be so thankful that Sam purchased my ring at a small business. AND thanks to Sam’s “fire” they even gave us a better quality stone.
In that moment I was completely consumed with the worry that this missing thing would ruin the beginning of my engagement. I had to remember who I am, what I believe, and what I even tell all of my JMWP brides. While the details may seem important, the purpose of a wedding is the resulting marriage. For years I have told Sam that he could propose to me with a ring pop and I would be happy. I just wanted to be his wife- thats the truth!!!
I am completely guilty of becoming obsessed with wedding blogs and the little details of my wedding day. Let’s be honest, I’m a wedding photographer, I LOVE THE DETAILS! And I’m definitely not saying you can’t have a beautiful wedding and a beautiful marriage. But at the end of the day the flowers I’ve “Pinned” will wilt, the invites I’ve spent months dreaming up will be thrown away, and the food we stressed over will be eaten. I will be going home with two things: the memories and a husband. A wedding is simply the beautiful party a couple throws to celebrate their new life together. Sam and I want a day that reflects us as a couple and that can hopefully express our gratitude to our friends and family for their participation in our relationship. A day that will be incredibly love-filled, and sets us up to fall more in love with each other every day following.
A marriage is more than a wedding. An engagement ring is more than a diamond.
With all the stress of wedding planning I think everyone should remember that planning your wedding is only planning for the first day of your marriage. There will be thousands of days after that, so don’t forget to plan for those too. Let’s not let things backwards; a wedding is only the beginning of a lifetime.
