Finally received some footage of our beautiful wedding day and I can’t wait to share it with you! I love how this video instantly takes me right back there.
In other news, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our place…AND I LOVE IT!
Category Archives: Marriage
wedding pictures!
The wedding pictures instantly transport me to the day that culminated the most wonderful fairytale ever told in which I played Cinderella. A week of rain and yet the clouds parted for our special day; and I couldn’t help believing that God was shining His blessings down upon us like the sun lit up the eyes of each of our guests. It was a day I will never forget.
I can still remember the details; the way the sand dollars chimed as they swung in the wind, the smile on Jeff’s face, how I forgot to spit out my gum; a certain woman in a red bikini, and the way I felt every single word I said while repeating the vows. Together, we made a covenant to one another before the Almighty. A covenant that will not be broken.
I described the wedding to my father-in-law as perfect.
But, as reality hits, the expensive clothing comes off, the beach fades away and we are left with real life. And that’s when love (commitment) really starts. However, I get to fall asleep every night next to the greatest man of all. It won’t always be easy, but he continually puts a smile on my face and simply put – I will love him; today and for the rest of my life.
Here’s our love story, in case you missed it… (courtesy of Marlon Photography)
If you made it this far – thanks for checking out our wedding pictures! It’s been a wild ride, but God has been faithful and I can’t wait to see what He does next 🙂
I’m just along for the ride.
-Jen
honey-to-the-moon
Thanks to my wonderful in-laws, Jeff and I were able to spend an incredible week on the Royal Caribbean Oasis. We had such a great time.
the big day
I’m getting married TOMORROW! Words cannot express how BLESSED and OVERJOYED I am. What an incredible year this has been for me. No would could look at my life – how so many pieces have fit together – and say there is no God. Only He could do what has been done.
I just gave Jeff the gift I spoke of in my last post and it was one of the best moments of my life.
So – tomorrow I wear the pretty white dress, walk down the aisle and pledge myself to the greatest man of all. THANK YOU God for giving me this joy.
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow…
You’re only a day away.
solomon’s song
Maybe it’s in the spirit of love. Or maybe it’s because I never have actually read it. Regardless, in lieu of my pending nuptials, I decided to read Song of Solomon for my daily devotions this week.
This book is legit and it’s quite funny:
“I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.”
“an apple tree among the trees of the forest”
“his fruit was sweet to my taste”
It’s hard to keep a straight face reading this book. I’ve even burst out with a few chuckles here and there. Especially when Solomon compliments his bride for her teeth each having their own “twin”. Apparently, dentists were not plentiful in Solomon’s time and it was quite rare to find a woman without a toothless grin. (Am I the only one that thinks that is funny?)
But what I love about Solomon is the way in which he creatively expresses affection for his beloved:
“Your eyes are like doves…your teeth are as white as sheep…your smile is flawless…your breasts are like two fawns…you are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.”
I imagine the young couple – after months of aching desire for one another – they are finally alone in the bridal chamber. And as Solomon slowly and gently un-dresses his young bride, he uses every picturesque word to describe her body; literally from head to toe. She naturally responds with blushing cheeks, but what woman’s heart wouldn’t melt after hearing the musical words he has used?
I hate it when couples talk about how they used to write letters to one another. They used to hold hands. They used to bring flowers, and used to slow dance. Why is it that we work so hard to make our love feel adored and desired in the beginning only to get lazy and apathetic over time? Yes, loving another person eventually takes work, like all of the best things in life. But, it’s work that is well worth it.
When I pledge my life to my man in two days, I will be pledging to love him not only with a faithful, sincere love, but to love him creatively for my entire life. I will not stop after the ring is on his finger. It means I will spend a bit more time on his birthday. And to write him love notes for no particular reason. I will promise to never stop persuing him. It will take work…but he’s worth it.
On the morning of our wedding, I will be giving him a gift that I’ve spent hours making. Literally. (And let’s get real, I almost wanted to quit near the end, just from pure exhaustion!) Starting at 50 days til the wedding day, I wrote him a letter or prayer or a special note each day describing my love for him. So now I have a beautiful scrapbook filled with 50 letters. I just want the world to stop for a few moments – the wedding vendors, the family and friends, the stresses and anxieties to pause, so that he can have a reminder of why I love him the way I do.
the countdown
“You can’t see anything properly while your eyes are blurred with tears.”
CS Lewis, A Grief Observed
Yesterday afternoon, I read this book at the pool, and was reminded yet again, how much I love CS Lewis’ writing. This particular book is his journal after losing the love of his life to cancer. It’s so raw and real.
I love the honesty of this quote. In the depths of sadness and hurt it’s impossible to see. It’s impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel, things coming together for good, or the blessing in disguise.
Because all of the truth and logic and encouragement is blinded by tears and deceptive, controlling feelings.
However, if I can promise anything over time (hate that word), the tears dry and you may find out, like I did, that the blessing may have been standing right before you the entire time.
*********************************************************************
As the numbers on the countdown get smaller and smaller, I have become consumed by last minute wedding plans. So here’s a sneak peek…
The venue
the bling
the digs
(sorry, no pics of my dress!)
the sweets
(I’m getting really, really excited!)
Jen
hope
I have this vision of my wedding day.
Rose petals part the white, wooden chairs which have made fresh craters in the warm sand. My ivory veil blows softly in the ocean breeze. French manicured toes contrast sharply against tanned feet as I take each step towards my awaiting future. Friends and family squint in the glare from the sun while hosting soft smiles and several tear streaked cheeks.
I gently put my hand on Dad’s arm to slow his pace as we walk. Raising my head, I catch the gaze from the tie-dyed green and yellow eyes of my handsome groom. Far more beautiful than the aqua, ocean foam horizon, is his gorgeous smile and the story his eyes tell without ever uttering a word, much less a syllable. Fingers interlock tightly, while our smiles threaten to explode. With choked back emotion, we will promise each other faithfulness and unconditional love.
After this day, life will continue to throw its curve balls…but for this moment we will experience an unfamiliar feeling. Time will stand still as God bestows absolute perfect peace. And joy.
*****************************************************************************
I remember, last January, flying home while staring out the little, foggy window to the twinkling colored lights below. I had just finished reading this book. As the plane descended an interesting thing happened. Just as those multicolored miniature lights grew larger and larger, in the deepest part of my heart something began to grow. It started out small, but soon its light threatened to take over my whole being. Hope. If I could go back to Creation Day, as the Potter set out to mold His human clay, I would ask God for a double dosage of this powerful drug. Because it’s true – hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.
Yes, my first round of “til death due us part” had eroded. Yes, I felt like I was living in a pitch-black dark room. But there, in that dark room, God held out His hand of hope and promised to give me every “desire of my heart”. After tragedy, I believe the most pivotal point, is teaching your heart to hope once again.
“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heaven…” James 1:17
before we were…engaged.
My fiance wrote this poem in college. It’s about the first time we held hands as teenagers. Eat your hearts out ladies.
Pinky Scout
A theater packed like a brand new crayon box,
Opportunity so perfect,
As if my pulse was volcanic, my body heat rises,
Envisions of a future together.
Movie reels expose each frame,
My heart pounding inside my cage.
The Pinky Scout starts his adventure,
Sliding his way towards your grasp.
Sweat fills my palm.
Beads drip down my forehead,
My Pinky Scout has touched down,
Grazing your soft skin.
Like an avalanche, your grip surrounds my hand.
Floating through the air,
Your smile illuminates me with each look I take.
More than anyone can realize,
Better than any love story,
More perfect than any equation,
The uniting of our fingers,
Interlocking so tight.
I love you.
Us then (as in 2004, crazy 18 year-olds)
Us now (as in SEVEN years later)
One day I will post our (very crazy) love story. I promise that it has all the standard ingredients of an (animated) Disney movie, plus a few unique spices too: love, stolen kisses, heartbreak, tears, things we should have said (I may have wrote the Taylor Swift “Speak Now” CD with my life) reconciliation, forgiveness, friendship, laughter, encouragement, more tears, butterflies, a sparkly rock on on my finger…and Jesus Christ (the greatest romance author of them all – take a seat Shakespeare).
For now…how did you fall in love?
my engagement pictures
I remember the first time I spoke to him. Laying out at the pool, enjoying life as a recent high school graduate, my cell phone rang. Jeff Mullikin still claims he doesn’t remember quite how he got my phone number, but regardless, that phone call led to friendship which ushered quickly into teenage love. We had so much fun that summer, but August soon came and we headed our separate ways. Jeff to play baseball and study photography at SCAD in Savannah and I began school at Liberty University in Lynchburg. In September, the long distance took it’s toil and after a quick phone call, we split up and wouldn’t speak for six years.
In 2006 I married someone that Jeff once considered his best friend. Four years later, that marriage fell apart. I was left completely broken, hurt and down on myself, with absolutely no idea about my future. Out of no where, Jeff fell back into my life. He had heard about my situation and compassionately reached out to me. We met up for lunch, and then I just couldn’t seem to get him to stop texting me!
Jeff quickly became my best friend, walking me through the hardest experience of my life. Countless times he has let me cry on his shoulder when my situation became too overwhelming. He helped me clean and pack up my old house. And when my pipes busted in the winter and water ran for days, he was there beside me yet again, cleaning up my belongings and wiping my tears.
He has supported me in all of my passions and dreams, coming with me to the AIDS home and sitting through hours of youth band practice. He never forgets to remind me how much he loves me. In such a short time, he has built me back up. He is truly the greatest man that I know (the inspiration for my top ten list) and honestly makes me strive to be a better woman every single day. I trust him wholeheartedly and can tell him anything. He is my rock. Everything that Jesus Christ did to restore me spiritually, Jeff has done physically in my life. When I think of him, I think of Galatians 5:22, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindess, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Jeff is all of these things…and so much more.
It is an absolute blessing to spend the rest of my life loving him.
what love really means
1 Corinthians 13:7 “…love always hopes…”
I’ve obviously been through a lot this year – more than any 25 year-old girl should have to go through, and therefore, I have every “right” to give up on love; and yet, I am still a hopeless romantic! I believe in love so much more now than I ever did before. Movies like Romeo and Juliet, The Notebook, and Serendipity – Oh gosh, like all girls, I love that stuff and eat it up!
Below is a video that I think demonstrates love more than anything I’ve seen before. To me love is so much more than a feeling, but love is a commitment – it’s about sacrifice. The video is narrated by a man named Robertson McQuilkin. Robertson was the president of Columbia International University, a well-known theologian, a speaker in high demand and an author. At the very height of his ministry, he resigned to the chagrin of many. He left to take care of his wife, Muriel, who had been battling Alzheimer’s Disease. This video is Robertson’s resignation speech and it’s touching.
I can remember the countless times my mom has played this at FFC for various marriage retreats and I literally cry everytime I watch it. I heard it again while listening to Holly Furtick’s message from the Elevation Church podcast from their service this past Sunday:
My mom is one of my greatest role models and when I was twelve years old she challenged me to created a “Top Ten List” of the ten qualities I was looking for in my future spouse. She advised me not to settle for less. (I can’t wait to do this with my future daughter!) Well, I can tell you that after everything I’ve endured, my “Top Ten” list has changed quite a bit. With age and hardship comes maturity. But, I haven’t given up and without a doubt, my future husband posseses these ten qualities:
Okay – I’ll admit it. I cheated a bit. My list actually has fifteen things. Ha!
What’s on your Top Ten List?
jenileenicole.com 