WEDDING PLANNING vs. MARRIAGE PLANNING

Saying yes to the love of your life should be the most important decision of your engagement, not just the first of many on a preliminary checklist.
This or that? White or black? Who’s on the list? Where will they sit? Countless hours of thought go into organizing what is arguably the most significant day of your life, and rightfully so! It takes time to plan a wedding, just in the details alone. But planning for your wedding is much different than pouring into your marriage.

We’ve been married almost five years now and still remember this season well. As soon as we came down from our mountain top experience on bended-knee, our engagement immediately turned from a blissful float to boots on the ground. So many of our conversations were about the details of our wedding, that sometimes our relationship would end up taking the back burner. We loved each other deeply but the pull of meeting expectations weighed heavy in the months leading up to our wedding day. But it doesn’t have to be this way for those of you that may be feeling the pull of day-of demands.

As deep believers in the true meaning of marriage, we decided to make a brief, non-extensive sum of things we wished we had been practicing during our season of engagement. This list could go far beyond these three simple pursuits, but we’re confident they would have helped us shape our perspective pre-wedding and marriage.

1. Fighting for unity.
   Unifying on your values and beliefs together as one is so foundational for your marriage to come, trust us! You are a team now, but each of you are bringing baggage to the game and when you fight to unify, it really strengthens your relationship. Hashing out the details takes years of humble effort, but you’ll be thankful later that you started now.

2. Forgiving with practice.
   Don’t let pride or your own expectations come between your relationship no matter the situation. Practice forgiveness both quickly and often… wear it like a crown upon your head.

3. Fixing your eyes on the end game.

   Your wedding is just the very beginning. Don’t miss the forest for the trees, as they say. Be intentional with one another and remember that your wedding day will come and quickly go… your marriage however is designed to last a lifetime. Take advantage of the time together everyday. What you have is a gift, cherish it as so.

Mariah and Chase were incredible examples of a couple well-unified during their engagement. They showed grace to one another through all the planning of their wedding while still remaining steadfast in building their marriage throughout the process. We saw them fight to be of the same mind in tough times and their marriage now shines from it as beloved newly-weds. We are so honored to have captured their special wedding and even more to continue our friendship with them into the beyond… learning and growing alongside them with the end game in mind.