The day after we landed we celebrated Andrew's 32nd birthday with a few close friends and our families. After that there was one day to get all of our ducks in a row before we headed to the coast for my best friend Stacey's wedding. Stacey and her fiancee' Jared (who got engaged in December in Chicago) decided to get married at a beautiful winery in Paso Robles on Saturday June 12th (they are quite the travelers apparently!). On Friday Andrew, Jonah and I headed to the coast for the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. (We stopped at the James Dean Memorial site along the way. Hey...why not?) I got to meet Stacey's new in-laws for the first time at the rehearsal and found that they were just as sweet and lovely as Stacey always said they were. I am sooooo happy for her since loving your in-laws makes a WORLD of difference in the long run as well as the short! We met the other members of the wedding party, practiced walking the aisle, and then shared some Mexican food together. After a little girl talk back at the house we rested up for the big day.
My mom and dad came along with us to help with child care for the weekend since I was all over the place with wedding stuff. They got a lot of face time with Jonah which was great and Andrew didn't have to act as a single parent for the entire trip! It was incredibly nice to be able to spend really focused time on Stace as we took care of all the little "getting ready" details. She was absolutely gorgeous, as I knew she would be. The hair, the dress, and the jewelry all worked together perfectly. The location was awesome too. Sunshine falling across the vineyard, rolling hills in shadowy pastels, and a classically modern winery set the scene.
The coolest part of the the whole day, as I anticipated it would be, was the time seeing Stace and her fiancee'/new husband together. I cried countless times between the prayers, vows, speeches, and slide show. I was/am so over the moon about this man that she has chosen. I love the way that she is with him; the new domestic side of her that has emerged, her desire to serve him, and her tenderness when he is with her. I love that he is so smitten with her and that you can see in his eyes how cool he thinks she is. (I always thought that "seeing her through his eyes" was kind of a cliche' thing to say but it is really true with Jared.) I love that he is gentle with her and takes her heart into consideration with all of his decisions. His desire is to protect her and be sure that she is treated right by everyone. Seeing them communicate amidst everything in this hectic weekend gave me a new appreciation of their relationship.
I feel so blessed that I was able to be in Stacey's inner circle for her wedding. I am overwhelmed by the faithfulness of God in her life and in their union. I love her intensely and love her even more and more as time goes on. Some people are your friends just for a season, but some are friends for life. There is such security in knowing that Stacey will be in my life forever, and now so will Jared. I could not be more excited about that.
1 comments:
It was a beautiful wedding and I, too, feel blessed to have witnessed their union. I look forward to hearing about all the ways God is working in their lives.
Lots of face time with the Little Man was great too! :)
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