Tag: 10.10.10

The Anniversary of Triple Tens

On By AngeliaIn A Ten Wedding 10.10.10, In my heart forever & ever11 Comments

One year ago, I married the most amazing man in the world.

I remember how excited I was. It surprised me. I was convinced I’d be a bundle of nerves, or a crying hot mess (tears of joy, but sooo not pretty!).

Instead, I walked to that doorway and I was happy, no, thrilled. The day was finally here. And we fought hard for it. We made it happen despite many unpredictable heartbreaks.

My future mom lay in ICU.

My mother was MIA somewhere in the city of Dallas.

But despite it all, I looked at my four beautiful flower girls, and one handsome ring bearer, and I knew, I would never have this moment again.

My daughter, me, my childhood friend, & my sister

I think my sister was more nervous than me. Her eyes were full of tears and I wanted to smack her with my bouquet and say, “Do NOT make me cry!”

I laughed instead.

And then I walked down the aisle. I did not stumble on my dress. I did not fall, or slip. I didn’t walk too fast, or too slow. I looked straight ahead at the man I was to marry. And he looked sooooo good.

Our wedding ceremony began at about 3:10 (for the three ten’s).

I spoke my vows to him in front of God, our family, and our wonderful guests in the beautiful St. Matthews United Methodist Church.

It was more incredible than I could have imagined.

Then, we played Westside Music Ministry’s – Have a Little Faith in Me – as we poured three tubes of sand into one heart-shaped vase. Pink for the three girls, peach for Jason, and beige for me. We mixed them together symbolizing our new blended family. No matter what, these sands can never be separated. And knowing the difficult future we face, we vowed to have faith, no matter what. Faith in our life together.

In a blink, the ceremony was over and we were man and wife.

Then we played,It Takes Two, an 80’s hit, (also played on The Proposal movie) and did our cool exit.

We purposely did something fun to celebrate this last part of the wedding. I don’t think anyone will forget it, at least I won’t.

Our new family.

Our gorgeous wedding.

Our amazing family and friends.

And the most angelic girls in the world.

Our perfect 10 wedding.

A day I will remember forever.

We had a quite a first year.

These precious moments helped us through them.

Love…

Joy….

And marriage.

Now….it’s one year later.

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!

Special thanks to Bella Lucia Photography for traveling from Oregon to Texas to photograph our wedding.

Best Film of 2010

On By AngeliaIn A Ten Wedding 10.10.10, In my heart forever & ever18 Comments

Coming soon to a theater near you….

Or your YouTube, Facebook, or mobile device.

However you want to view it, it’s a coming attraction! And we have a trailer! Because?

We got our wedding clips on DVD. We are in the process of converting them to Mac iMovie. Okay, JASON is in the process of converting them. I secretly think he wants to be a producer/director. He is really into it (and he’s good!).

The story goes…there was not going to be a videographer at the wedding. I didn’t feel it was necessary. We were too broke. But when disaster struck, when we knew Jason’s mom, and my future mom-in-law, would not be at the wedding. Friends (lifelong friends) came to our rescue and had their son film from the choir pit on a tripod. We could capture the event, and she could see the entire wedding when she was better. We did not know, at that time, my mom would also miss the wedding (but that’s another story!).

So we have the wedding on film in pieces and are arranging it into one long film.

The few segments I’ve seen, I ADORE. My favorite part is all the friends in the Church pews with cell phones snapping away. You all are such a treasure. I’ve said before, it was a FUN day. We had many rough days before (and after), but that DAY, October 10, 2010 at 3:10pm (for the three 10’s) was the happiest day of my life. I was not nervous. I was not stressed. I was just full of joy and everything worked perfectly.

Is our life going to be perfect? Far from it! But I will do what it takes to keep our joy alive.

Live, Love, Laugh – Our First Dance

On By AngeliaIn 10.10.10, Timeless Treasures19 Comments

“Dance as though no one is watching. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing as though no one is listening. Live like it’s heaven on earth.”

There were times when I felt my head would explode from the monstrous planning of all the little details in the wedding and at the reception. A good chunk of it during the weeks prior when my future mom-in-law got admitted to ICU. The stress, the worry, and the hurt; a huge ball of strain. It zapped our joy. Brought us to our knees. And frankly, I had no idea if our wedding day could be joyful through the hardships we were facing.

Every detail fraught with blood, sweat, and tears. Even as much as we loved each other, and were happy to be joining in marriage. I had concerns of being happy on our ten-ten-ten day. I had concerns of even having a wedding at all. I didn’t know if we could pull it off, and if we did, I didn’t know what it would be like. Everything tainted by the stress. Emotions raw.

Part of me didn’t want to finish on my own without Jason’s mom. Didn’t want to face the family married knowing she wouldn’t be there; couldn’t be there. I wondered if the details were even worth fulfilling. If they had value. If the cost was worthy. The time. The effort. The heartache.

But when I think back to the memories of that precious day, those details, and the glimpses of them in frozen seconds. I know. I know. Each and every one was truly worth all the planning.

The words ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ were hung on the wall by the cake table for the reception. I found them at Hobby Lobby the weekend before the wedding. Just a few words, but what a difference they made. It truly represented our union and how we live our lives. It is a reminder that through the good times and the bad, to keep loving, keep laughing, and never stop living. It reminds me of my blog which is so completely us and our family.

We didn’t have a first dance choreographed like we had hoped. That detail didn’t pan out, but it didn’t seem to matter. It worked out beautifully just dancing and singing without thought or pre-step.

Yes, we sang *like no one was listening. We danced *like no one was watching. And we braved loved again *like we’d never been hurt. It took a lot more work to do that than any of the wedding planning.

The song, Smile by Uncle Kracker played for our first dance, because I knew our day was not a sad day. It was a day to remember. A day to rejoice. A day to forget our past mistakes. To give our future to God and leave our fears and worries at the cross. It was a day to smile and bring our love to others. Especially the families brought together in marriage.

The day to..

    LIVE…..
    LOVE…..
    LAUGH…..

    What a blessing those little details turned out to be.

    More to come….

    *Photos by step-brother Kevin*

Ohhh, You Make me Smile

On By AngeliaIn Beautiful Life, In my heart forever & ever19 Comments

I heard this song on a blog one day. I wish I could link back to it, but I don’t remember whose or when, but I humbly thank you. It was the song’s video by Uncle Kracker. As soon as I heard it, I knew two things.

Without a doubt, this song was the one I wanted to play for my first dance at the wedding. For two, it was so perfect, it brought tears to my eyes.

What I didn’t know is the two weeks leading up to the wedding…with my friend, my wedding planner, and my new future mom….getting terribly ill; unable to breathe or eat on her own. Recovering from not just a brain aneurysm, but a stroke, pneumonia, and surgery.

I didn’t know that love fights, love stands up, and it rallies side-by-side in this family. It does not abandon that loved one, until they go home. Pride, honor, loyalty – fierce and strong. She is the mom (and dad most of their lives) of three sons. She is the wife and step-mom to her husband, step-son, and step-daughter. She loves, and gives to everyone, and in turn everyone loves and gives back to her.

She made a request to her step-son before her aneurysm to take photographs at the wedding. She especially wanted all her grandchildren in a photo. She is so proud of her family and she has every right to be. I always tell her, I am so lucky to be part of this family, and even from her hospital bed, she answered the same, “We are lucky to have you”.

That is the kind of person she is. Full of heart and pride, it overflows.

So, for one day, we gathered in her support. To don our wedding clothes and shine our love for family, as we grew larger joining two-together in joy, love, and laughter. Although she wasn’t there, it wouldn’t have been possible without her. I think her step-son did a great job with her request. I think when she sees this, she will smile.

I hope you smile with us too, as you view our special 10-10-10 day.