Show and Tell: Marriage!

I'm linking up with Becky of From Mrs. to Mama again for Show & Tell! Last week was the home edition. This week is all about marriage! Since I've never talked about that, I decided to join in and let you know that I'm married. (HA)

Most of you probably already know that besides my salvation and relationship with the Lord, my marriage is my #1. Jordan is my priority. Even if and when we have kids he will still be my priority. We are one in Christ. :) 

But this may give you a little more insight. I'll try to keep it short and not overwhelm you!

Here are Becky's questions and my answers:

1. Are you married? If so, when did you get married, and tell us about your special day. If not? How would you describe your dream wedding?

YES. We got married on March 19, 2011 - about a year and a half ago.

My special day was more than I could have hoped for. This is where I need to take a moment to give my parents a shout-out - THEY ARE AWESOME and gave their only girl the BEST. Probably because they knew she was marrying the best. :)

Since there's no way I could really describe it - I'll just let you see for yourself. Here are our highlight videos!

Jordan & Ashley Highlights from Josh Sliffe on Vimeo.
Jordan & Ashley Reception Highlights from Josh Sliffe on Vimeo.

2. Show us some wedding pictures. Either yours or of some that you love.

3. How about the engagement? Tell us your story. If not engaged, what's your dream proposal?

Jordan completely shocked me during my first visit to Fenway Park in Boston. (I'm a Red Sox fanatic.) I thought he was in NC. He showed up during the 7th inning stretch. I about fainted/got sick/fell down. It was crazy awesome. We had been together for about 4 months so I had no idea it was coming anytime soon. But I DEFINITELY knew I wanted to marry him. :) You can read more about our proposal here!

4. Show us your wedding rings or an engagement photo! If not engaged/married ... show us your "dream" ring.

5. Tell us why you think marriage doesn't work out for so many? What can we do to make things last?

I think marriage doesn't work out for so many because to be married you have to be selfless. We are naturally selfish, therefore putting another person's interests completely above our own is not something that just happens. It involves true commitment, work, and most importantly - God. He is our example of love. Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church. It is meant for HIS GLORY. It is a beautiful gift that we too often take for granted. 

I'm learning more about being a wife every day, and the best way I can do that is to be in His Word and growing in my relationship with God. I could write about this all night, but I'll try to sum it up. :) I'll just say that I can't look to my marriage for complete satisfaction in this life. Yes, I ADORE my wonderful husband, but he's human. He will disappoint me sometimes. (Not as much as I disappoint him!) God will never, ever fail me. Living for Him is my purpose, and being a godly wife falls under that purpose. I am nothing without Him. If I put my marriage on a pedestal to have all of these lofty expectations fulfilled, it's not going to perfect, and I'm going to be let down. But  when our goal is honoring Christ NO MATTER WHAT, we can do it through His strength.

That's it for this week's Show & Tell! 

Let me know if you link up. My blogger pal Amanda from The Brandon and Amanda Story did. Are you following her blog? She's awesome. And they are CUTE.

Thank you to Becky for hosting this!

Hope everyone is having a great start to your week! 

 

Beach, Birthday, Bridesmaid.

So what have we been up to these days?
Besides work....
North Myrtle Beach - Cherry Grove.  One of my most favorite places.
I wish I was reliving this picture right now.

Me and my mother at Duffy's seafood. Yum.

Jordan's hole in one pose. 

The annual cousin couch picture. (Minus my brother who was in Germany!)

Me, my mom, Morgan, Aunt Shirley, and Kelley. Being our normal selves.

We've been celebrating my birthday. I'm 24 now by the way. :)

We always have a cake at the beach for my birthday.

One of my bestest friends Brittany got married! 

We got our nails done the day before the wedding. 

This was at the rehearsal dinner. I am SO blessed to be best friends with these ladies. They are all on fire for the Lord and inspire me so much. :)

Getting ready for the big day with our favorite snack - Goldfish of course!

We surprised the bride & groom with a bridal party dance. Two of the groomsmen were named Bobby and one was Ricky, so we performed "The Ricky Bobby" dance. Quite interesting.

 The beautiful bride and me!

And we've been doing lots and lots of HOUSE hunting! That's why I've been so absent these days...house hunting has taken every spare minute. 

But more to come on that later! For now I'm off to catch up on my favorite blogs and find out what everyone else has been up to lately. :)

best year of my life.

One year ago I married my hero.

One year ago I vowed to be his helpmate for the rest of my life.

One year ago we became one in Christ.

One year ago I started life as Mrs. Jordan Shelley.

I could not be more blessed to be married to this amazing man of God.

He is my spiritual leader, supporter, provider.

My very best friend.

I never knew I could be so close to someone,

or admire someone so much.

I thank the Lord every day for this awesome gift of marriage. And for creating my handsome man.

This week I'll talk about some things I've learned in this first year, and also some things Jordan has learned. :) Tonight I'll be enjoying a night out with my man, and then this weekend we're taking a trip to the Outer Banks! So excited!

Thank you, readers, for following me through this journey and encouraging me along the way. I am truly thankful for you and your support. I hope I can share with you many more years of marriage to come!

wedding advice - photographer.

I think that photography is one of the main aspects of wedding planning that people obsess over, because of course they want their pictures to be perfect! They want to be able to look back on the memories that happened so fast - the look on the groom's face as he sees his bride, the kiss of all kisses, the beautiful dress as the bride is twirling, etc. This is understandably VERY important. 

Here are some things to consider when choosing a photographer:

• Taste/Desires: What is your taste when it comes to wedding photos? Do you like classically posed pictures, mostly candid shots, or does having an abstract/unique point of view take precedence? Take some time to visit wedding websites and look at different styles of photos. Figure out what you are drawn to and what is most important for you to have captured. Use Pinterest - I wish I had had that luxury when I was planning!
• Recommendations: Does the photographer come highly recommended from someone you trust? If you have a wedding planner, with whom has he/she enjoyed successful collaboration? Does the person making the recommendation understand your taste and what you want?
• Experience: The photographer MUST have wedding experience. Although it may be tempting to hire your friend's friend who likes to upload their "photography" on Facebook for cheap, it won't be worth the money saved. Think about everything that goes into it - getting into the right positions, knowing where to be to get the best shots, knowing what shots are the most crucial, being efficient and quick, blending into the surroundings, having a calm demeanor even when things get stressful, being able to shoot for the entire day, etc. Only an experienced photographer can know how to effectively do all of these things!
• Budget: Yes, photographers are pricey. If you do have a wedding planner, he/she can help you find some photographers in your price range. If not, you need to figure out a price range AFTER you see how much photographers actually cost. If you don't prepare yourself, you might be surprised. But remember that the pictures are what will last - what you will show your grandchildren! :)

Here are some things I personally considered when choosing our photographer:

• Comfort: Was I going to be comfortable around this person? Do our personalities clash or work well together? I knew I was going to be around the photographer a lot, so this was important! I wanted pictures of me and my girls getting ready, and knew I would be more comfortable if a fellow female was the one taking pictures of that. Which I'm now glad of, because I was basically naked as my dress was being put on, haha. She got to know me more than she wanted to, I'm sure!
• Team: I knew that I wanted more than one photographer at the wedding. And I didn't mean someone who barely knew what they were doing - another actual photographer. That way one could be shooting Jordan rubbing cake all over my face while the other could be shooting my little cousin with the garter on his head. 
• Experience with Location: This was huge for me - my location at the Grand Marquise Ballroom was a setting with all kinds of lighting - including lights that changed color every few seconds while we were dancing. It wasn't going to be constantly bright in there. But since my photographer had experience shooting weddings in that ballroom, she already knew how to handle the lighting or lack thereof. Someone who had only shot outside weddings would not have been a good fit for us. 
• Package: How long could we have the photographers? Were we going to get the edited photos on a disk? Were we allowed to put them online? Was an album included? Were prints included? These are all questions that were important when figuring out what package we went with. It all depends on what you want and how much you want to pay.
• Extra Sessions: In the package I knew I wanted an engagement photo shoot and a bridal portrait shoot. And the bridal portrait shoot needed to be in their studio since it was in February and there was no way I was going to look good in pictures if I was freezing in my dress!

Sooo what photographer did we use? Neil Boyd Photography from Raleigh, NC! 

Neil Boyd shot my bridal portrait session, while Bridget Daily (on their team of photographers) did the engagement shoot and the wedding. LOVED them!

And because of them, Jordan and I are going to be on the cover of The Bride's Book magazine - yay! :)

Here are some examples of the excellent job they did.

Engagement

This is the only bridal portrait I have on my computer for some reason - I'll try to find more later!

The Wedding

(warning - lots of pics!)

flowers by Expressions of Love

flowers by Expressions of Love

by Expressions of Love

by Expressions of Love

by Cinda's Creative Cakes

by Cinda's Creative Cakes

Please email me or comment if you have any specific questions, or anything else you want to know about choosing a wedding photographer - I'd love to help! :)