On June 22 from July 22

Reflecting on my dream-come-true wedding

Jul 23, 2024

Today marks exactly one month since our beautiful wedding day, on June 22nd.

We were married in Savannah, Georgia. Where my husband’s family lives and where he grew up. Today, I am in Savannah again, visiting for a week. It is funny how I am back in the same city, seeing many of the same people that were celebrating with us a month ago, in the same phase of my cycle. A culmination and a nice chance to look back and return to our dreamy wedding.

I will be honest, the month of June (and so far July!) has felt like a whirlwind. I am picking up from friends and other relations and the news that perhaps everyone is feeling A LOT going on this summer. But yes, it seems like a lot is happening this summer. It’s been an active time and it will continue to be for a bit longer.

This summer has felt like a quantum leap forward for me and I welcome it, despite the growing pains I have experienced in it. Many changes in many sectors of my life - married, new home, new state, making new friends, and new work (more on this soon!). Many mountaintops and milestones.

While part of me has been looking to catch up and post here immediately after the wedding, the other part of me recognized that I did not really have the time for it. I am finding that there is a time to create and there’s a time to just be in it. I chose to JUST BE for the month of June. Just be present, enjoy, and try to rest, amongst all the things happening and all the things I have been doing and all the progress I’ve made.

Grace, not guilt

So, no guilt. I know that I have not posted on here in over a month and I have felt it calling to me for weeks, but now I am ready. I am ready to return to my publishing schedule here and I am ready to share about the wedding, my other writing, follow my creative whims, and document my life in my artistic manner.

Sometimes there is so much that it feels hard to know where to start

In June, there was SO MUCH. With the wedding alone, I have so much to say that I am sometimes at a loss of where to start.

But today I can start here. A month ago today, we were married. Today, my husband did me a favor that meant the world to me. Because he is a sweetheart and he knew I was exhausted. I left my wedding dresses in Savannah last month, knowing that we would return this month. Today, he took all my things that needed to be shipped and took care of that for me on the condition that “you actually take a nap.” And it was a deal. Because he is a sweetheart and we love each other, I am so happy because I know this will not be the only occurrence of such a favor. I know that I can rely on him. I know that we can check in with each other on our energy levels and we can help balance the scales. I know that where I am weak, he is strong 💗 and vice versa. 💗

j'arrive à toi mon ange

This weekend, I visited with my family a few hours south of Savannah. Yesterday, I returned to Savannah so that Hanno and I can celebrate one month together. And our version of celebrating today was resting at home. I wrote, I took a nap which is nearly unheard of for me, we went out for dinner, and visited with my brother and sister in-law, my niece, and my 12-day-old nephew!

It really is an exciting time.

To wrap up this miscellaneous post, I do have to tell you about this image, which is one of my favorites from our wedding photographer, Summer Schantz.

About this image and about our wedding ceremony

I love this photo because for me, it captures the essence of our wedding. I wanted a calm, intimate, romantic, beautiful wedding with our dear friends and family. And that is exactly what we had. The dress code was black and white semi-formal, formal-optional and everyone looked beautiful. I gave all the children responsibilities as ushers, flower girls and one ring bearer, and everyone behaved well and got along very well.

I knew that the wedding was really during the last week of spring and the first days of summer, but to most of the south, the summer heat was already there. My mother in law and I prayed for ‘last-week-of-spring weather, breezy and 75 degrees’. When we went on walks in the months prior, when the weather was perfect, we’d say, ‘this, this is what we want. This is perfect.” And then we had great weather. It was raining off and on, but it was breezy and cooler than days prior. We also had a rain tent, thank goodness, because it did rain for a brief time during the reception. But I did not hear any complaints of heat from our guests, which was a relief for us.

I wanted a venue with a chapel and an outdoor reception space. I found and fell in love with a historic site here that was perfect for us and it all went beautifully. I love the historic old red brick buildings and the old live oak trees with their romantic Spanish moss and resurrection ferns. Live oaks are significant to me, as I have written here before.

I chose the full moon and the summer solstice as our wedding days for my reasons: it is an auspicious time and I wanted most to celebrate our initiation into this next chapter of our lives surrounded by the love, care, and affection of our family and friends. And under such a lucky moon! Such a happy time!

For the wedding ceremony, I wanted to include some key traditional aspects that I find lovely and significant. I was able to plan with my pastor, Pastor Sean, and we were able to work in special readings that I had asked for, he gave a wonderful and meaningful sermon, and we were able to serve communion to all of our guests. It was a beautiful ceremony and it meant a lot to me. We also had a unity candle, which is a nice signifier of our union. For the unity candle, my mother lit a candle for me as she processed in, and my mother-in-law lit a candle for Hanno. Near the end of our ceremony, after communion was served, Hanno and I took our candles and lit the third candle together, signifying the start of our married relationship, then we blew out our individual candles.

This photo is of Hanno and I tucked away on the pulpit after we had received communion, seated as we watch our guests come up to the altar to receive communion. The string duo played “Ave Maria” in the background. It was nice for us to have a moment to sit together and whisper to each other and smile. We were with our guests, but a bit separate. Our guests are the witnesses of our wedding and in this moment we were able to witness them, and that was a nice switch for a moment. This moment felt like a brief pause for us to connect in the middle of our ceremony. I was so happy. We held hands and I focused on catching my breath.

For me, this photo captures the essence of our wedding ceremony - the color scheme, the romance, the church tradition, and it even calls to mind the black and white yin and yang energy of the full moon and the sun. 🤍🖤

Moon and Sun

Complete love, whole love, entire love. 🖤🤍

Thanks to everyone for the wedding love this summer. We are still accepting gifts for our honeymoon fund. We will be visiting South Africa to meet the rest of his family and I am so looking forward to it. Thanks to everyone who has already given gifts, and thank you cards that I designed are coming soon!

Thanks to everyone for reading.

Sincerely,