The Ceremony

     Decorations- check. Flowers- check. Hair and makeup- check. The first few piano notes hit the air and I felt the first bit of real nervousness run through me. Luckily, my father was holding onto me as we stood at the back of the processional line. I felt my heart begin to race and felt for a moment that I might faint. I could see mothers and grandmothers proceeding down the aisle ahead of me. The beautiful arrangement of "Begin Again" by The Piano Guys, carried them to the from row and was about to beckon my bridesmaids and ultimately myself down the aisle, delivering me to my groom. 

     What Aaron did not know and what we had not practiced with at the rehearsal the night before was the large frames the bridesmaids and I would be carrying down the aisle. Aaron and I had a history much like the one told in the song "Begin Again" by Taylor Swift. We spent much of our early relationship in a coffee shop, watching two wounded hearts unexpectedly begin to love again.

     The first bridesmaid, Abby, Aaron's petite younger sister, carried a message much like the first lyrics from the song, "They never liked it when she wore high heels, but you do." (Being 5'9", my 6'4" Aaron is really the only person in the world to appreciate when I wear heels). The second, Cierra, carried her sign reading, "No one else is gonna get this song, but you do." (Aaron and I had sung this song to one another in the car countless times on long drives with my head resting on his shoulder as he drove). The third sign carried by Kate read, "We've never made her smile quite like the way that you do." (Which is impressive because Kate is one of the funniest ladies I've ever known). Kalya, my maid of honor and best friend, then carried her sign, "No one is ever going to love her like you do." With the tears on edge, Morgan, my little sister, carries in her sign, "No one was ever going to be good enough for my sister, but you are." (You have to understand how close she and I are to grasp just how important this message was for Aaron to see). 

     Finally, Junior Groomsman and Bridesmaid enter with their sign, "You thought no one could ever love you purely, truly, and passionately, just as you are..." (Aaron had confided in me early in our friendship that he felt so many relationships in his life were based on a need to help him or change him instead of for actually enjoying him, I desperately wanted him to know that our relationship was different). With a deep breath, and the climax of the song, our guests stand and my father leads me down the aisle presenting the sign I held up to Aaron and all our witnesses to see, "I do." I watched Aaron gasp and cover his mouth as I walked toward him with this promise. We were both wiping tears as I met him at the altar, though I'm not sure there were enough tissues in the world for some of our lighthearted guests. None of this mattered though, because I was about to become Mrs. Aaron Batdorf, and we were about to become one flesh in the presence of God.

       

   

   

             

 Kate, the person who knows me better than anyone else shared the love story between Aaron and I as it was from her perspective watching it unfold over the past few years.

 Pastor Tim, pastor of our home church, shared a few words of encouragement about marriage.

Jason led us in communion as our first act as a new flesh.

"This is the start of something amazing, a moment when heaven touches earth."

 It was a long kiss- it was greatly anticipated ;)

 My sister captured the first picture with Mr. & Mrs. Aaron Batdorf on our way to take our portraits outside. As I mentioned earlier, God had held back the storm clouds that were covering all the surrounding towns. If you looked at the radar that day, we had a 70% chance of rain, but for some reason there was a tiny little gap in the clouds right over Potters Mills, just big enough to let in a few beautiful rays of sunshine that allowed for some beautiful portraits. Stay tuned, "Portraits" are coming next. They really capture the atmosphere of the bridal party and all the madness that Aaron and I call our friends and family. Prepare yourself for a lot of love!! Comments that Aaron and I got from our family and friends about the ceremony were very encouraging and uplifting, we were told it was "the most Christian wedding" they'd ever been to; believers and non believers both stated that they very much enjoyed it, and other said that it was obvious that we were dedicating our married life to the Lord. It was so encouraging to know that our wedding could serve as a Gospel presentation and an encouragement to our loved ones. #SoliDeoGloria

Photography by Auston Tkaczuk: https://www.facebook.com/tkaczuk?fref=ts