I lost my veil. Sometime during preparations to combine households, packing boxes, temporarily moving in with a friend, it just disappeared. The dress, slip, jewelry were all accounted for…but my veil managed to find a very good hiding place. I wasn't as calm as I sound. How could it be that I lost what is to me the most important piece of a bride’s trousseau? For days it hurt just to think about it. I prayed for its reappearance with the fervor of an overwhelmed bride.
Even more than the dress, the veil to me is what makes one a bride. After all, how often does a woman have the opportunity to wear a veil? Numerous opportunities may arise for wearing a white dress, but the opportunity to wear a veil and not be in costume is pretty much once in a lifetime. I had a conversation with my sister-in-law about veils and we agreed that brides that choose a short veil are simply cheating themselves. This unique opportunity calls for as much drama as a veil allows!
Part of the reason that the veil is so special to me is that it is a physical reminder of a spiritual truth. You see, on this side of heaven, I will not truly see Jesus in all His glory. Just as I saw my groom through the film of my veil as I walked down the aisle, the veil of humanity limits my understanding of my heavenly Bridegroom even as I draw closer to Him. I can enjoy Jesus’ Presence in my life now, just as I enjoy the company of my groom. But there came the time that my father lifted my veil to present me to my future husband. As the veil rose and I clearly saw Garrett's handsome face, I looked forward to the day that my heavenly Father will lift the veil of humanity and bring me into a more intimate relationship with my heavenly Groom.
By the way, it all worked out. I was able to get a new veil and, wouldn’t you know it, a few weeks later the original veil reappeared. As the veil was placed on my head I was prepared for drama - I truly felt like a bride!
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”1 Corinthians 13:12
Friday, December 21, 2007
The Veil
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Graduate!
This past weekend my baby sister Diana graduated with her Master's as a Physician Assistant! We are all very proud of her for her dedication and all of the hard work that she's done over the last two and a half years. I'm sure that she will have great success in the future.
The Honeymoon
The day after the wedding we drove to San Antonio to stay at a resort called La Cantera. Since we were newlyweds they bumped us up to a junior suite, which was very nice. We spent the week shopping at San Marcos, watching movies, sleeping, and even had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner at the hotel. We really needed a restful week after the stress of planning a wedding. And it turned out that Garrett was a little sick, so he needed a couple of days of rest to recuperate.
Nice views...
Pointing to our room (directly to the left of my finger)...
One of the fine eating establishments that we visited. After paying for a wedding, we needed to save money somehow!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Wedding Night
If you think that I'm going to share details about the wedding night...think again! But I did want to post some (innocent) pics. We stayed at Hotel ZaZa in the museum district. It was crazy. Very interesting atmosphere. It was pricey, but my wonderful Sunday school class contributed to the cost of the room (thanks guys!).
The Wedding
Our wedding day was the happiest blur I've ever experienced. The months of detailed and often painful planning were all worth it. Most people I've talked to have shared one horror story or another about their wedding day, but I can honestly say that just about everything went as planned. Then again, Garrett and I were in our own little bubble most of the time. We truly lived in the moment.
I was so nervous walking down the aisle, knees shaking and glad that I had my daddy to hang on to, but determined to keep a smile on my face. Then I saw my man's happy face and everything was fun from then on. I'd imagined several possible disasters during the ceremony (tripping on the stairs, slaughtering the vows, dropping the ring), but the funny thing is that once it all began I was completely relaxed. Not even a little nervous. I'm sure it had a lot to do with Garrett's ease and Morris' (the minister) conversational style. I was standing in front of a room full of people and actually had fun! It was all so beautiful. The vows were perfect. The music was beautiful (thank you Nikki and Damon!). It was truly a dream come true.
After the ceremony we did the picture thing and drank champagne in the limo on the way to the reception. Things took a little longer than we expected, so I was concerned about the guests waiting for us. But before we even entered the building we needed to order another batch of margaritas since the two batches that we'd originally ordered were already gone! So I figured that everyone was feeling pretty good. ;=) I was so happy to walk into the reception and see how pretty the room turned out. I enjoyed sitting and watching our friends and family smiling and having fun. It was such a beautiful moment for me. There were some hilarious moments (Dad saying Garrett's not that funny, Diana glad to have a bigger brother) and some emotional moments (dancing with my dad). A little something for everyone. One thing that we were disappointed about was that we didn't get to spend as much time as we'd planned to talk to everyone. So if we missed you - we're so sorry! But know that your presence was felt and appreciated.
The photographer (Joe Heiliger - awesome!) posted pics of the wedding here. Look for us in the drop-down box. The password is maddox.
The Engagement
Garrett and I believe that we were intended for each other, but our introduction wasn't the norm. We initially met through an online website and set up a time to meet at Starbucks. After several months we realized that we were in love and began exploring the possibilities for our future. We date our engagement from the day that Garrett went to my father and asked for his blessing in asking for my hand in marriage. Dad heartily agreed and plans began in earnest. During the next several weeks Garrett asked me to marry him many times, and I always said yes. :-) But the actual proposal happened a couple of months later after Garrett had a ring made especially for me. He presented the ring to me in a Thomas Kinkaide music box. After I opened the box, he took the ring and got down on one knee (right there in the kitchen!) and asked me to marry him. And, once and for all, I said yes!
