boy best friend is getting MARRIED!

It's true, I have a lot of best friends. I think it's because I don't have just good friends. You're either in the inner circle or you're an acquaintance. I do have good friends but most of the time I'd just say they're one of my best friends. Is there a rule? Does best friend have be to singular?
 

Anyway....

My male best friend is getting married this weekend and I couldn't be more excited. I'm so thankful for this relationship because it's different and special from any of my others. Guys are so much more real with you at times. No bullshit, just facts with maybe a little softening in the delivery because they're afraid you'll cry. I love Aaron because he's the brother I never had-so much so he protected me and warned me about stupid idiot guys using me (for my car people-not this awesome bod. haha). We met in high school in Germany when we were both the new kids and developed a friendship and have remained close since then. He gets along with my husband and I get along with his fiancé. There's an understanding there too with our spouses that this is a thing, and you have to embrace it. Nothing romantic ever happened between us and I think that's what makes it easy for our spouses to embrace this friendship. We've helped each other through a million things: college, lack of faith in God, heartbreaks, deployments, coming back to God, etc. It's a special friendship and I'm a lucky girl to have so many great men in my life.

I'm so happy that he found the love of his life in an amazing and adventurous woman. I can't wait for their big day on Saturday.

Wedding Speech Tips

I've been the Matron of Honor in two weddings (my sister's and my best friend Megan's) and have  given speeches at both receptions. As someone that hates to speak in public and as wedding season is in full swing I thought I'd give some helpful tips for those of you preparing a speech of your own.

 

Write your speech beforehand. Take the time for your loved one to do this. This is a special day and they asked you to be a part of it. Respect that and prepare for your speech. If you're nervous, go a head and read from your note cards. They'll appreciate the time you took to prepare and I can guarantee your speech will be better than blabbering off the cuff.
 

Nothing is worse than a speech of all inside jokes, or when you don't introduce yourself. Their entire family may know you but be sure there are people out there that have no idea what your name is or how you know the bride. Take a moment to introduce yourself and explain how you know one another.

One of them may be your friend, but this it THEIR big day. Include him in your speech. Tell him how lucky he is or how much he makes your friend happy. Just don't forget him-it's rude.

My favorite speeches are the ones that have me laughing AND tearing up. Try to be emotional and funny, if possible.
 

Be tasteful, don't use any curse words or words that people would find offensive. Also, watch out for large words that people may need a dictionary for. We know you're smart but you don't need to confuse people in the process. Keep it simple, people have been drinking!

Keep the speech short so that you don't lose people's interest. Also, they want to get back to dancing their butts off. About two minutes is perfect. You should practice your speech (ya know that whole be prepared thing) so you should know how long it runs.

The perfect wedding speech set up:

introduction

how you know the bride

personal/funny story of you two

how you're happy for the couple (including the groom) or why they're a perfect match

well wishes or prayers for the newlyweds

cheers!

Check out this article for more tips.

wedding fun

 I'm back from Arizona for my friend Tera's wedding. While I'm sucking down caffeine to keep me awake it was totally worth it. It was such a fun weekend and I'm so honored to have been a part of their big day. My iphone pictures don't do this beautiful bride justice, she looked so breathtaking in her dress that more people than just me got teary eyed.

I was glad for the group of girls I shared the weekend with too-these silly bridesmaids. We all meshed really well together and knew the main reason we were together-to love on and support Tera!

 I'm glad to be home with my boys (and Bella pup for a few days) though. Arizona was beautiful and I'm hoping Dave and I can go back there to visit sometime.

How was your weekend? Do you like our poses?

marriage advice

With so many of my friends planning weddings and getting engaged (yay love!) I was thinking about what advice I would give them if they asked. Because you know- I'm an expert on love and marriage since Dave and I are coming up on 3 years this summer. ha-I wish. If I could only share three things they would be:

It was hard to come up with only three pieces of advice since I think you need to do a lot to keep a marriage strong and healthy-not in a bad way. I find that my advice changes through our marriage too, but as of this moment in time this is what I would say.

Did you get good marriage advice before you were married?
What advice would you give?

tanked

I ordered the bridal party matching tank tops for the cruise and they were a hit! My obsession with Etsy is never ending-I can always find a print, a necklace, or a card that I just have to have. So I knew that I'd find something amazing for Tera's bachelorette cruise. We saved the shirts for our full day at sea and had a blast taking pictures all day long in them.

 I shopped Eventees on Etsy and was extremely happy with the product and service. She worked with me on a tight turn around, and even added an anchor to the back at my request. The tanks are American Apparel and were extremely comfortable to wear. I'm excited to have a little souvenir from our trip together and I know that I'll wear this tank top to the beach or around the house. The other girls can wear it working out and running and since I'm the lazy one I won't be participating in those ridiculous things.

{cute butts}

cruisin

It's so hard being back in the office after 5 days away. The Bachelorette Cruise Weekend was a blast though. All the girls got along, we relaxed, we ate (we really just centered everything around eating), we got quality time with da bride (a cruise inside joke), and just enjoyed not being connected to our phones.

 

{Freeport, Bahamas}

Our cruise took off Thursday afternoon and we got back to Jacksonville on Monday morning. Our first stop was Freeport Harbor. When we disembarked we walked around for a little and then decided to take a jam packed cab to Junkanoo beach. We enjoyed the day there before heading back to the ship for dinner.

{Nassau, Bahamas-one hat}

The following day we were in Nassau and decided that we just wanted to walk around the city. We walked the main strip where the stores, open market, and Starbucks was. We walked for a bit before ending up at the gorgeous beach where some of the girls got in the water. I was too freaked out by the mini jellyfish to go in. My plan was to lay out on the ship once we got back which worked out perfectly.

{beautiful Nassau-3 hats: w added some hats to our collection at this point}

{Me and the pretty bride to be}

{Fun group of girls}

{last night at dinner}

Every night we had fun dressing up for dinner. Dinner was by far my favorite meal of the day and we all took full advantage of ordering whatever we wanted. Oh 5 starters look good to you? By all means get them ALL! And we did!

{after the diva's show-a bunch of goofy girls}

The entertainment, when we could stay up for it, was really fun. We ended up seeing a Mo-Town show, comedy show, Diva show, and got cut off at Karaoke. It was such a fun trip and it was so good to get to know the other bridesmaids better. I can't wait for Tera's wedding in 18 days!!!!

More pictures of the cruise tomorrow, because let's face it I wish I was still there.

obsessed-my sisters wedding part II

It's midweek friends, just a few more days to get through before the weekend. So in order to inspire you, I'm adding some prettiness to your lives with another (and probably final) recap of my sisters wedding.

I think the reception at any wedding can make or break the entire affair. And this reception was so much fun. The pictures are a little out of order but enjoy anyway.

 

 This does not look like a good toss, however it did make it to one lucky girl in that crowd.

 She had an array of cakes which hopefully made everyone happy. I'm so thankful for Katie P and Nicole that went and ran to multiple bakeries to pick up all of the treats.

 The best DJ ever. He was so helpful throughout the entire planning process and really made the night so much fun!

 Umm I think the beautiful bride is jump rope dancing.....

 We're uber white....we shake each other's arms back and forth as a dance. Sorry America.

 

 I LOVE this picture. It's so fun. I love that my dad is making my sister swing like a pendulum.

 Father of the bride and father of the groom. I think they thought they were in the dance gang the Jets from West Side Story. If not, I'm not sure what the hell they were doing.

The best Matron of Honor speech (if I do say so myself). Just the right amount of shaming the bride, complimenting the couple, praying for their marriage, getting laughs, and choking up juuuuuust enough. Thank God my nerves stayed in check.

The end of the night for the newlyweds. This picture is hilarious, just look at Nate's face. Excitement for the night ahead (blush)? Or did he just realize he got my sister for life!?

a heart overfilled with love

I've been talking to my friend Tera lately about her upcoming wedding (47 days!!!!) and it's got me a little sentimental. I've also just been feeling overwhelmingly thankful for this man of mine lately. I love him so much more than I can even begin to describe or show him. With a little less than three months to go before our 3rd wedding anniversary (where did the time go?) I'm sharing part of our ceremony below. I've highlighted parts that really stick out to me this far into our marriage. This was written by our amazing Chaplain, Doug Carver, especially for us since our big ceremony was more than a year into our marriage. I'm so thankful for such a personalized ceremony and for his beautiful words.

"Dave and Lauren, today you stand before Almighty God and these witnesses seeking the Lord’s blessing on Your marriage, submitting to His authority over your lives, and vowing to establish a Christian home.  A Christian home is one where you love each other as Christ loved you. To love like Jesus means to give of yourself completely, unconditionally, holding back nothing, laying down your very life for the needs of your spouse… to empty yourself of all selfishness and the “me first” mentality in order to satisfy the desires of your life companion…to care for the welfare and happiness of your spouse as your very own…to look in the same direction together…to celebrate your differences and consolidate your efforts as a team…to place yourself in the role of giver…being willing to go the second mile…to turn the other cheek…to give sacrificially of your time, energy, and effort to please your spouse

 One of the best expressions of this kind of love that we are to exhibit in marriage is found in 1 Corinthians 13 where the Apostle Paul says, “If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, love doesn't have a swelled head, love doesn't force itself on others, Love isn't always "me first, love doesn't fly off the handle. Love doesn't keep score of the sins of others, love doesn't revel when others grovel, love takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, love puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end. Love never dies.” "

Lots to live up to and strive for each and ever day in our marriage but I think we do a good job and I can't imagine sharing this journey with anyone else.

obsessed-my sister's wedding

{The stunning bride-my sister}

Nothing like some beautiful images to start a Monday off. I'm not sure if it's typical for people to do a recap of their siblings wedding, but it's my blog so I can do what I want. Plus it was a special day and these photos are beyond GORGEOUS that I can't not share them. I've picked my favorites to share with you all today. I hope you enjoy!



Stay tuned for more pictures later on in the week of the fun reception.

All amazing images are by L.A Birdie.


My sisters wedding-The Bridesmaids

My sister has a great group of friends, so no wonder we had a blast at her wedding. The bridesmaids consisted of Me (the Matron of Honor), Tera (friend from high school-also in my bridal party), Katie H (friend from Young Life and VA beach and bridesmaid extraordinaire), and Grace (sister in law)

We all got along so well together and I feel like I left with a new friend in Katie H. We had been texting and calling each other for the past few months during the whole planning process so it was nice to finally meet her in person.

Friday morning we all went and got our nails done with the Mom's of the bride and groom , and Saturday morning we all went and got our hair done too. I loved this group of girls because the focus was solely Katie and her big day. We all did whatever we could to ensure that she was happy and taken care of. That even included taking bridal party pictures on the beach. Freezing doesn't even begin to describe it. The picture below is us hiding out in the car while waiting for Katie and Nate to be done with their pictures. 

{We are special girls!}

It was a great weekend, made better by the girls I was surrounded by who love my sister ALMOST as much as I do.