Kelsie and Cody

What it means to "make" Love....

"Some things just happen", they say...like Love at First Sight....but I don't believe it.   Attraction.  Yes.  Infatuation.  Definitely.  Chemistry.  You know it.  I've experienced all those things.

But Love....I believe you have to make it, build it, nurture it and choose it.  I say that, because Love is not one of those things that just happens to me.  And I'm a "Lovey" kind of person...not really a poofy rainbows and butterflies kind of person, but I am one of those huggy, kiss you on the cheek types (even if we just met) and I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable but it's true about me:)

Elle&R Photography

Elle&R Photography

Love....the real kind...from my experience...comes from sacrifice and sometimes pain...and most definitely putting the one that you love before yourself.  It's about reaching beyond what comes naturally to you and showing your love to someone else in a tangible way that they can understand.  Sometimes for me, that's really hard.

Elle&R Photography

I've loved the same man, the one that chose me-- for 24 years.  He's the one that still makes my heart jump inside me when he looks at me a certain way.  I love his laugh,  it warms me and seriously....he has the most beautiful eyes.
He is creative.  He knows how to fix things and build things and he works hard.  He is generous-- and I LOVE that about him.  He is incredibly strong and I respect his strength because it is balanced with kindness, tenderness and compassion.  Together, he and I, have made two beautiful babies that have grown into amazing teenagers.  We've built a life....we've made Love.

But hear this....you incredibly adorable Brides to Be....You precious things that I LOVE to meet with and talk flowers.  As I listen to your plans, and we talk about colour themes and Pinterest pins and envision the most beautiful and romantic of days....

Elle&R Photography

In all the years of sweetness with my man...we have also shared in the hard part of Loving.

Elle&R Photography

Love is built, formed on a foundation of truth and twice as much grace.   Love is alive and living-- and to survive, it has to be nurtured and fed and cared for with every intention of keeping it growing and healthy.  You are going to have to "choose" to love when you don't feel like it more times than you can ever count.  And sometimes, you are going to have to choose to love...and I'm not talking about just your man here, I'm talking about with your family, his family, your kids or a dear friend.  You are going to have to choose to love when it feels like your heart is being ripped out of you and the pain of loss, or whatever circumstances have been thrown at you are threatening to tear down all that you hold dear.  To love when it hurts, to love when it's hard--that is the making of a woman.  You choose to Love.  Because you are strong.  And you know that Love is worth it.  Real love...the kind you want...the kind you choose to live out in the day to day...is just that...a choice.

Human Love-- it's conditional.  But Spiritual Love... there's nothing human about it, and this is the kind of love I'm talking about here.  It is when God gives you his own love so that you can give it out to others in some crazy supernatural strength that is beyond yourself.  That kind of love is unconditional and able to stand in the storms of life.  And that kind of love, and the choosing to make it, for all the ones close to your heart...is the kind I want.  The kind I need.  The kind I'm just lost without.

Elle&R Photography

Elle&R Photography

Elle&R Photography

So I think on these words..."Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

 And to a young Bride that inspired me with her grasp of this kind of love...keep making it, building it, nurturing it and choosing it.  You are truly beautiful.

Elle&R Photography

Thank you for these gorgeous pictures by Elle&R Photography and for sharing them with me!

Nicole and Kerry

This wedding could have been named after a song I love from my movie namesake! That's right...maybe not what you were expecting to hear, but there was a whole different name picked out for me until my parents went to see a movie on that fateful night and saw The Sound of Music!  It was to be Julie Ann after that, and its a good thing I was a girl.

                                         Succulents...Dahlias...and darling details... Oh, Yes....

                              "These are a few of my Favorite Things!"

What makes these little boutonnieres even sweeter is what you can't see...Yep, that's right...no pins.
                     Extra strong magnets make putting these on-- easy as pie.

And these pictures....the ones I'm getting ready to show you...sent to me by this lovely bride and taken by Ashley Martens Photography made me just want to keel over I was so excited...

 

And This! I Loved This.
   A barn board flower box made by the father of the bride and hand painted by the sister of the bride.          I couldn't hardly wait to put flowers in it!
   I'd be in love with this-- even if it wasn't totally adorable because... I'm sentimental like that.

                                                     And this cake...is so one of my favorites!