Category: Gratitude

Wedding Reflections – Andrea and Sean

Gratitude // 18th January 2016

Andrea and Sean were married on May 9, 2015 at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club. Here are a few of their reflections from the beginning of their lives together!

1. When reflecting on your wedding, what is it that you remember most?

The feeling of having everyone we love in the world in one place was magical. It was one of the most surreal feelings I have ever experienced. From our rehearsal dinner Friday evening to brunch on Sunday, I was consumed by the most overwhelming sense of happiness. It surpassed anything I could have imagined and helped to keep me calm during a time that could have been stressful. Also, seeing Sean for the first time on our wedding day. I was starting to come undone a little due to all of the craziness surrounding the accident [there was an accident on the Bay Bridge that shut down the bridge and caused major delays for the guests], and I remember thinking that I knew if I saw him, it would all be okay. As I walked up to him on the sunset deck and he turned around, his face said it all. I will never forget that feeling. It was a mix of excitement, relief, happiness, love. After that moment, I knew everything was going to be perfect…and it was!

2. If you could plan your wedding again, would you do anything differently?

Hang a sign on the bay bridge Saturday morning telling everyone to “please drive safely.” Kidding. I’ve thought about this so much following our wedding, especially in the wake of everything that happened. But honestly, there is nothing I would have changed. I had this little mantra I repeated to myself on our wedding day, “remember why you’re here.” Which was to marry the love of my life and make a promise of forever in front of our friends and family. There was nothing that could have happened (within reason) that could have made that moment any less special or perfect. And despite our wedding timeline getting completely rearranged, remembering why I was there helped me keep perspective.

3. What, if anything, did you do before your wedding that helped prepare you most for life after saying “I Do.”

Our AMAZING cantor that married us had us meet with her about four or five times before we walked down the aisle. During these meetings we not only planned out our ceremony (arguably the most important part of the day), but we also talked about our future and discussed some of the more serious topics – such as finances, children, religion, communication, etc. It was incredibly beneficial and helped us feel that much more secure about our decision and our future.

4. What is it that you LOVE most about being married that all of those engaged couples can look forward to?

It’s so nice once the wedding is over to finally get to just focus on each other. While weddings are amazing and exciting, they also can be stressful. Once the wedding is over, then you get to really start your lives together, plan for your future, become a family. It’s a feeling of comfort and love and togetherness.

5. What advice would you give to an engaged couple who is currently planning their own wedding?

Focus more on the ceremony than the reception. Ask for help if you need it. Take frequent breaks from planning to remember why you’re planning a wedding in the first place. Have deep and frequent conversations about important and potentially unpleasant topics (finances, religion, family, etc). Practice your first dance several times. Talk to other couples who have been married for a long time. ENJOY THIS TIME. It goes by SO fast (everyone says this, but it is so true).

6. Is there anything else that you would like to share with other engaged/newly married couples?

People always tell you to “enjoy this time” but they never tell you how. I don’t necessarily have the answer, but I would recommend trying to do things throughout your engagement that allow you to take time and reflect on the significance of the journey you’re about to embark on.

—

We are so excited to start this year off with a Wedding Reflections Series on our blog from our 2015 Liz and Ryan couples! We understand that wedding planning can be hard and overwhelming… but we hope you never forget that all that really matters is that you are getting MARRIED! ;) That is so exciting! When wedding planning becomes stressful, please know that you are not alone and there are a lot of people out there (including us and our 2015 couples ;) ) who are cheering you on and want your marriage to start off on the right track! Please let us know how we can help make the start of your marriage AMAZING! ;)

Wedding Reflections – Sarah and Seth

Gratitude // 11th January 2016

Sarah and Seth were married at the Miller Chapel at the United States Naval Academy and their reception was at the Governor Calvert House in Annapolis, MD. Here are a few of their reflections from the beginning of their lives together!

1. When reflecting on your wedding, what is it that you remember most?

We remember all the dancing and making of merry! We remember the joy and fun of new and old friends and family celebrating together. When we think back (and when we look back at the beautiful pictures taken by Liz and Ryan) it brings us back to what a joyous time it was.

2. If you could plan your wedding again, would you do anything differently?

In the end, we wouldn’t have changed any of our decisions, but it would have been a lot easier if we had done it once before.

3. What, if anything, did you do before your wedding that helped prepare you most for life after saying “I Do.”

We were together for more than three years before we got married, and that time together prepared us to form a life together. Supporting each other through the good and bad times cemented our commitment to each other and to our marriage.

4. What is it that you LOVE most about being married that all of those engaged couples can look forward to?

Easy answer. Being done with all of the stress of planning a huge event and getting to just have fun with each other. For us, the honeymoon period has had the excitement of when we were newly dating, with the love we have built over the past few years.

5. What advice would you give to an engaged couple who is currently planning their own wedding?

Everything will work out and everyone will have a good time. Try to figure out what you can compromise on, and what you cannot. You can find a way to be true to your vision, while working with the variables that are out of your control (budget, guest count, other family considerations).

6. Is there anything else that you would like to share with other engaged/newly married couples?

Many people have said that planning a wedding can be the toughest thing a couple can do together, and at times it did feel that way for us. However, when we were having a tough or frustrating conversation, we tried to hold hands or otherwise be physically affectionate with each other as a reminder that we were in this together no matter what.

—

Wedding Reflections – Lauren and David

Gratitude // 4th January 2016

Lauren and David were married at St. Johns College in Annapolis, MD on March 7, 2015. Here are a few of their reflections from the beginning of their lives together!

1. When reflecting on your wedding, what is it that you remember most?

We can still clearly remember reciting our wedding vows. David cried and Lauren laughed and it was just perfect! A close second favorite memory from our wedding day is dancing for hours with all our closest family members and friends. Our band was awesome and they really inspired everyone to get out on the dance floor.

2. If you could plan your wedding again, would you do anything differently?

Ignore the person bringing the drama! Every wedding has some family member or wedding party attendant or guest that has a poor attitude. DO NOT let them get you down! If they don’t want to attend something, or help with something, or even say something nice, it is truly THEIR LOSS! Soak up all the love, words of wisdom, and AMAZING things that 99.9% of your loved ones have to say/share/give. :)

3. What, if anything, did you do before your wedding that helped prepare you most for life after saying “I Do.”

We bought a house together one month after we got engaged…home ownership is the ULTIMATE TEST! Especially if you buy a fixer-upper like we did! Every new obstacle that we encountered while making our house a home was just confirmation after confirmation that we can make it through anything together. If you choose not to live together before marriage, then make sure you go on vacations where you have to share bathrooms! ;)

4. What is it that you LOVE most about being married that all of those engaged couples can look forward to?

David’s answer: Hearing someone call you my wife/introducing you as my wife and introducing myself as your husband! I don’t think it will ever get old!

Lauren’s answer: The comfort of knowing we have made the ultimate commitment and that we will put one another first for eternity!

5. What advice would you give to an engaged couple who is currently planning their own wedding?

Don’t spend time on things that cause you too much stress. If it is really that stressful, then it simply isn’t worth it! Also, save money where you can. Decide on your top three splurges (ours were food, band, and custom invitations) and then force yourself to save money on the rest of your wedding items. We saved on flowers (we used a lot of greenery instead of flowers), alcohol (we offered only wine and two custom cocktails), and dessert (Amish market donuts and a grocery store cake!).

6. Is there anything else that you would like to share with other engaged/newly married couples?

Advice to engaged couples:

Remember, this is YOUR wedding, so do not compare yourself to others!
Also, most of the time wedding favors aren’t worth the money.

Advice to newly married couples:

Don’t stop dating, ever.
Read your vows together sometimes, the feelings come rushing back.

—

We are Thankful for YOU! | Thanksgiving Print Sale!

Gratitude, Saying Thanks // 25th November 2015

This post is so full of LOVE! WOW! We are so incredibly blessed to have couples in our lives who are so willing to share their love and trust us to document this AMAZING time in their lives! We are so grateful for all of our AMAZING couples who have made this year extra special for us! (Both our Liz and Ryan couples and our Amazing Life Together couples!) What a year!As a small gesture of our thanks for all of our AMAZING couples and the support of all of you, we are having a special print sale! Now through Cyber Monday receive 20% off all prints ordered from our couple’s photo galleries! This is for our couples AND all of their family and friends too!!! You all mean so much to us!

Spread the word! We hope this provides an awesome opportunity for you to take some time to relive the AMAZING memories of these special moments! We are so beyond grateful for you! Thank you for touching our lives in a special way with your love and support!

Building a School in Malawi, Africa

Giving Back, Gratitude // 24th November 2015

So many emotions! I thought 1 year would have given us enough time to fully process and comprehend our experience in Malawi, Africa helping to build a school with BuildOn. However, after taking some time to reflect and look through these photos again, it is clear our time in this small community in rural Africa has had a life changing impact that we will always still be processing! That is the beauty of life changing experiences right?

As I mentioned yesterday, our friend Laura asked us to join her and a group of her family and friends to help build a school in Malawi! For over a year, we had been fundraising and preparing for this adventure. However, nothing truly can prepare you for an experience like this.

We met up with the rest of the group at the airport in Johannesburg, South Africa and then Lilongwe, Malawi. We were greeted by the local BuildOn staff and as soon as I tried to remember how to properly greet them in Chichewa (their local language), I knew I was in trouble! I am not good at learning other languages! It was a rough start! ;) We made our way to Kasungu, a small city on the way Jonasi, our village where we would be buildin. We stayed there for a night to “ease” our way into “life in the village.” Ohh goodness. This was the beginning of “out of our comfort zone.”

On our way to the village the next day, we made a stop at a school that was recently built by BuildOn. Wow. What an incredible glimpse into the lives of the students and the teachers in rural Malawi. We sat in on 3 different classes, one of which was an adult education class! As I look back on these photos, I am once again blown away by a few things:
1. Most of the children do not have shoes.
2. The children either sit on the floor or share a desk with at least 3 other kids!
3. The adults were learning how to write their names. Even though we witnessed this first hand, I still have a hard time comprehending this!

When we arrived to our village, we were greeted in a way we will never forget! The joy I felt in this exact moment is a joy I hope to relive every single day of my life! In fact, I hope we can bring this joy to people around us every single day! Wow! What a gift that has impacted us in big ways!

While we were in the local village, we stayed with a host family. These beautiful families opened up their homes. Our host family did not speak any English and we did not speak any Chichewa! What a crazy adventure.

The homes were about 300 square feet at the largest. Our home had a “couch” inside with dirt floors. However, most of the homes did not have any furniture. As guests, our host family asked us to sit on the couch while they sat on the floor while eating dinner.

The “bathroom” was outside. There was a bathing hut and a latrine. The latrine is a hole in the ground where you do your business. (We brought our own toilet paper.) The bathing area was a bucket of water (our family was so kind, they even warmed our water for us!). It was usually dark when it was time to bathe, so that often meant we were dodging scary looking bugs and unknown creatures (like frogs) that thought it would be fun to jump around and scare us while we try to get clean!

The water is another thing that is just so hard to comprehend! I saw people drink water out of these dirty buckets that were full of water from the river.The same water that is found here:

Our village had two water pumps close to town. (About a 10 minute walk). (And yes, these kiddos are about 5-10 years old and carry buckets on their heads heavier then I could lift myself. We would pump water, then filter the water using a special filter, and then add bleach to make sure we took care of all of the bacteria! As you can imagine, the water did not taste good. In fact, it tasted even worse once it warmed up with the sun! ☹ But we were drinking filtered water from the pump. Our families often drank unfiltered water from the river. ☹

In Malawi, the main food that they eat is called Nshima [seema]. Nshima is basically a blob of corn flour. It doesn’t have much taste, but the texture is… well, let’s just say it has a texture. ☹ The best way I can describe the consistency is raw biscuit dough. I did not like Nshima. In fact, by the end of our Trek, I was not sure I would have been able to eat any more of it! Our host family eats Nshima for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Well, they actually don’t really eat breakfast and lunch. A typical dinner consists of Nshima and cooked pumpkin leaves. Rice is a special treat for them that they rarely eat, and they typically only eat meat on special holidays or if they are celebrating something special!

Our family asked us what we typically ate… and when we said pizza, they looked at us like we are crazy! This is so hard to comprehend when we have so many options available to us all of the time, but they literally only eat Nshima and fruits and vegetables that they grow. Every time I thought I was going to gag over the Nshima, I had a gut check. We are beyond blessed not only to have enough food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, but we have so many options we could eat something different every single day of the year! THAT is truly the crazy thing!

Cooking Nshima is an art! These women are truly remarkable.

Helping to build the school in our village was one of the most AMAZING things we have ever been a part of. Seeing an entire community (both men and women) come together to do hard physical labor for long hours each day was absolutely incredible. The strength in the men and women was awe-inspiring. I will never forget struggling to try to carry 3 bricks on my head while the other women carried at least 4 or 5 bricks, balancing them on their head and in their hands, while carrying a baby on their back. They define strength to me.

Working on the school and doing physical labor was life giving! It fired me up to be able to put my hands to work. Having so many hands work together on a common project was incredible. At one point, Laura turned to me and said, “Ahh. I missed service Liz.” Laura and I’s friendship grew while fundraising and building homes together for Habitat for Humanity in college. Laura knows my passion for working hard for others and apparently that side of me came out again in Africa, and I am so grateful! I missed “service Liz” too!

It is so eye-opening to me that it has only been 12 months since our time in Africa, but we so quickly fall back into our crazy little sheltered world that we live in and so “easily” forget the reality of these families lives! :(

1. They do not have access to clean drinking water.
2. They do not own shoes.
3. They do not have electricity.
4. After 2nd grade, they might have to walk miles to school because they do not have a school building for the older grades. Or, they might not have access to school at all.
5. They eat the same “corn-based starch” food every day of their lives. (Eating rice and meat is a huge treat to them!)
6. They have about 1 outfit per person and zero “things.”
7. They do not have running water and they do not have toilet paper.
8. They make their own tools. They make their own bricks. They make their own concrete. (No machines. No trucks. No bulldozers or backhoes.)

This is still mind blowing to me. After working on the school for 4 days, I still somehow expected the concrete truck to come rolling up and pour the concrete! That never happened. This is their reality.

For all of these things they “do not have,” they certainly do have a ton of JOY. Smiles and laughter are more present than anywhere else we have ever been. They know how to have fun with rocks, dirt, and a handmade ball made out of trash they found on the ground. They dance and sing at every opportunity they have. Community living is so visible. They see the people they want to see regularly because they don’t have a daily planner that is filled to the max with business. They just show up in people’s lives. They do laundry together, garden together, and fill their water buckets together. For all of the things we would say they do not have, they would have just as many life lessons and more to fill our hearts with joy!

I am so grateful we are reflecting on this with Thanksgiving just a few days away. We are so thankful for the opportunity to travel to Malawi and have the Jonasi Community welcome us with such open arms. It is amazing how often we go into something hoping to touch the lives of others, when in fact it is our lives that are touched! We have forever been blessed by the Jonasi Community in Malawi and we can only pray that their new school forever blesses them!

This Thanksgiving, as we eat our big meals complete with turkey and about 20 sides to choose from, we hope you will join us in being extra grateful for those things we often take for granted… you know, those 20 sides to choose from, clean drinking water, education, shoes, running water, and a toilet to flush. We are certainly grateful!