Two Colors, One Team

So I wanted an antique and neutral theme, and he wanted a modern and classy theme. Many would would think I would be the one to opt for the bright colors and he would opt for the neutrals, right? Well, let's just say we're loving the little surprises that we're discovering throughout this wedding planning process!

He spotted the "perfect color" while shopping for suits for his Best Man's wedding (yeah, I know, right?! Double blessings!) that is just about a month before ours. They were in the form of dress shirts, and the moment he saw them, he knew that the color would bring the best out of his men... weird, but thoughtful, right? Haha. I never knew men could even look at things in that manner!

Finally, after many failed attempts of trying to describe the color to me, he took me to the store to take a look for myself. An was always a black & white kind of guy, so to find a LIGHT TURQUOISE as his choice of color was a bit of a shock to me -- a PLEASANT shock, of course! It was beautiful. And coming from me, that's saying a lot because I'm definitely not a blue kind of girl. It had this free-spirited feeling about it, kind of like our relationship. He asked if I accepted, and I said yes... again. :)

Like I said, I'm not a blue kind of girl, and as beautiful as this light turquoise was, I didn't want to dress my bridesmaids in it. So I've decided to search for silver/grey dresses for them. And as a finishing touch, our bouquets will have some sort of light yellow flowers to complement the blues. PERFECT! (At least that's how I'm envisioning it!)

I'm very pleased with our progress... it's coming together so naturally. Now I can sort out my dress choices and pick out the one most suitable for our color theme. :) So thank you, Lord, for this experience. Thank you, Lord, for this man. And thank you, Lord, for this season where you are most present!

Our WEDsite!

Knowing myself, making our "wedsite" would be one of the first things I'd jump on! Well here it is, folks! Entering this new season of my life, my next few blogs will probably wedding-planning-related, so I hope you'll enjoy sharing this experience with me. After that, I'm sure I'll have MUCH to share as a newlywed, so I will continue to give God the glory through this blog.

Actually, who knows what ministry God will call me to in the future? I just thank Him for creating me with this passion and providing outlets for my writing.

So if you're interested or just curious, you are more than welcome to tag along with us on this new journey... who knows what life-saving lessons and glorious blessings we'll run into!

Our WEDsite!

Engaged

For His anger is but for a moment,

His favor is for life; 

Weeping may endure for a night, 

But joy comes in the morning.

- Psalm 30:5

It has been over a week since I have officially gone from being a girlfriend to a fiancée... and yet I still find myself still absorbing the fact and floating on Cloud 9! But that's not even the best part...

The most ironic thing about this is that we knew all along that this day would come. We met a year ago in August and started courting six months ago in March. To the world, this may be "fast," but if it's on God's terms, then it's PERFECT. We entered into our relationship clear on our intentions and purpose, and with intense prayer. Our primary confidant for the relationship was God, and slowly, with time, our parents, spiritual parents, pastors, and accountability partners became sources of guidance throughout our relationship. Also, in my singleness with God, He allowed me to become aware and confident of my identity in Christ. I knew that publicly sharing our relationship too early would influence me in artificial ways, pressuring me to do things that may be unaligned with what God had already planned for me. Looking back in retrospect, it was a wise decision on our part.

Anyway, back to the best part... Obviously, I HAD to have known that during a successful six months of courtship, marriage was just around the corner. I always [unintentionally] had it in the back of my mind every time he planned a trip for us. I asked God to help me to stop thinking about it because I really wanted to be surprised, but of course, it's just normal for a woman to have an intense desire for such a thing. And here's the best part... We serve a God who is so faithful to His word, keeps His promises, and KNOWS our hearts, inside and out. So regardless of how much my heart was expecting, He gave me the most PERFECT proposal any girl could ever ask for...

An was aware of my expectations, so he was always one step AHEAD (which I believe is by the grace of God, because honestly, I really didn't think he had it in him! Haha!). He carefully planned to "NOT plan." In fact, I think he even tested my patience and stirred up a fight on purpose! He knew that in just a few hours, I would be looking back and laughing. In fact, I realized he knew me much, much more than I expected him to know me... in the end, I think that's what made me fall in love with him all over again. Oh, and it doesn't stop there... a couple mornings later, I woke up to a video on my computer of a makeshift documentary of the proposal. And yes, I cried many happy tears (again). You can indulge yourself as well with the link provided below. This just goes to show how truly abundant our god is!

We stand here today praising God for helping and leading us through our times of singleness AND courtship (note, I mentioned BOTH, because there is no such thing as a successful courtship without a successful singleness with God), for giving us patience, and teaching us obedience. We know that because we committed to placing God at the top of our lives, allowing Him to call the shots, direct our moves, and convict us for our sins, we are now experiencing this overwhelming joy. I know that one of An's favorite things to claim is God's FAVOR. He's so confident in the love God has for him, that whatever storm the enemy may try to stir up, he is always ready to stand confidently in His favor.

We declare that we would never trade our God for the world. Would you?

The Proposal
Our Courtship

Please Vote for Us!

Praise God! We made it in the Top 3 Finalists for the Photoshoot Giveaway Contest sponsored by MFL Photography and Precious Nuptials! We would love it if you all could vote for our story through as many of the following three ways listed below:

1. "Like" our posted story on the Precious Nuptials fan page (Note: You must "Like" the hosting pages first before you can see the "Like" button on our post!).
2. "Like" our posted story on the MFL Photography fan page.
3. Email dionne@preciousnuptials.com with the subject line saying:

MY VOTE IS FOR YVONNE & AN.

You can view our entry and instructions here.

You have until Sunday, September 12th at midnight to vote. We really appreciate it! :)