Domesticated Dutch-ish: Am I Still Talking About Weddings?: Part 2

Sometimes hard weeks become a string of hard weeks and hard months. This is just the season I am in right now. |And is also one of the main reasons the blog has been silent for a while.|

But I think one of the joys that comes with that statement above is the word "season". Because do you know what is encouraging about "seasons"? They never last forever |Your summer tan can attest to that, am I right ladies?|. The snow always is greeted by the sun and the frustration, disappointment and tears are always met with renewal, encouragement, and laughter.

And thankfully my season of "hard" has been met by the best form of renewal, encouragement, and laughter that exists... Spring Break!! PRAISE THE LORD!

Spring Break gives me, and teachers everywhere, the time to do the things that bring us joy that we don't always have time to do during the school year - like shower, and get a haircut, and watch the Today show, and write blog posts.

All things I can proudly say I did today! |High Five, self!|

Yay! Showered and freshly cut - I call Spring Break 2015 a success!

I can also proudly say they only two things Kim Kardashian and I now have in common is the fact that we both are currently rocking the "Lob" (long bob) and we both had a wedding a while back.

Oh yeah.. weddings. I posted about mine and Brady's wedding a few weeks ago and I promised you the second half to come in the week to follow.

Welp, posting about it the next week didn't happen. Or the next week. Or even the week after that or that. Life and "hard seasons" unfortunately stood in the way of lace, and champagne, and my handsome groom. How rude!

But, finally, here is the second half of the Van Dyke Vows |Yes, that was our wedding hashtag- don't judge|. If you missed the first half of wedding central, check it out here!

The Ceremony:
As a child I remember the ceremony being the part I dreaded when it came to weddings - stuffy old men in stuffy old suits reading some stuffy old statement about love. I just wanted the cake.

But then, at some point during my wedding planning journey I was given the most helpful, yet basic, advice that served as my beacon of guidance and truth. A wise friend challenged me: "Imagine the venue at the end of the wedding night, completely empty. All of the guests have gone home, the food is all packed up, and the decorations torn down. It is just you and him standing in the middle of the dance floor. Are you happy with who is standing across from you?"

Wow. It made it so clear to me. The most important aspect of the wedding isn't the decorations and the hoopla. It is the life partner standing directly across from you. It was in that moment I realized that the ceremony was the single most important thing that was to happen that day. I wanted it to stand as a symbol and to reflect who we are as a couple and the magnificent God who brought us to that day; it needed to strike the balance of personal touches and traditional values.

Pastor Rob Kelly from Northern Hills Community Church did exactly that. He stood there as we made the single most profound promise we would ever make: I will love you forever even after all of the centerpieces are gone.

The Details:
Ok, I hate these words, because they have become so cliche in the wedding world. But, my wedding was a "shabby chic" theme. It was the only way I could think to properly explain my vision to the vendors and, after a year and a half of planning, I think Brady finally knows what shabby chic means |and, how to spell chic, too|. Oddly enough, I think the biggest compliment I received on wedding day was a guest telling me it looked like a Pinterest board threw up all over my wedding... who would have ever thought a comment with the words "threw up" and "my wedding" in the same breath would ever make me feel so giddy?!

If I could sum up the reception portion of our wedding in a few simple words they would be: great food |oh hey, Black Eyed Pea|, great people, and awful dancers. Haha! We had a blast, and by the looks of the pictures below, so did our guests.