No gift registry!?

I've heard about this one a few times, so I thought I'd throw down our reasoning in 3 easy steps.

1. We're in our mid-twenties, not our late teens. Both of us have lived on our own for a little while now, and have accumulated necessities to "make home" as it were. We don't need towels, dish rags, rugs, chairs, tables, lamps, etc. because we already have them. The bulk of a wedding registry is already filled out by either myself or Beth, so it would be redundant to set one up.

2. We're not materialistic. Kind of pretentious to label ourselves as such, but it's true: what we don't already have we don't really need. Toys are nice but not necessary, and create a lot more clutter than they're worth. I personally have enough clutter as it is, and need to unload a lot of junk that I'll never use. I'd hate to add to that pile. Besides we have each other and that's really all we need.

3. Our ultimate goal is missions. This really is the clincher. We both are trying to order our lives such that we will be overseas in full-time ministry. Our personalities are such that we desire no attachment to any particular place: we won't be owning any land here, nor will this necessarily be "home" while we're "over there". We will be where we will be, and that is as far as we are willing to take it. It behooves us, then, not to fill a particular space (in, say, a rented storage unit) with belongings we can't take with us. Both of us have enough stuff to "make home" already, and we will probably be unloading a fair amount of it before we step into our calling. We would rather save money spent for junk for us, and give it to a local charity instead.

So there it is. I believe the only thing we will desperately need is a bed, and maybe a couch. We'll probably just be asking for gift cards to Ikea or what have you. Regardless, please don't be offended that you can't buy stuff for us. We love you and we do appreciate your thoughtfulness and sincerity of heart in giving us gifts. We would rather be blessed with your friendship and attendance at our celebration, and that really is all we need and want.

EDIT: We have a mini registry at Target.

We have a venue!!!!

That's all. :)

This thing is hard!

So finding a venue isn't quite as easy as I thought it was. I was probably a little deluded to think that we'd have the venue wrapped up and nailed down in no time. Of course I've left all of the venue searching to Beth, and therefore negated any possible credence to my own conclusions. Nevertheless, despite tireless searching on the behalf of future Mrs. Judd, we haven't come across a place to have the reception yet.

Bother.

Anyone have any ideas? Perhaps we could have an impromptu parade through downtown Kirkland. I'm sure the authorities would just LOVE that.

Planning

I'm helping Beth plan. A lot. Don't believe her when she says she's having fun. She's really going crazy.

Like, really really crazy.

(tee hee)

planning

Who knew a party could take so much organization? I guess I had an inkling what was ahead for us once Eric popped the question, but suddenly I turned into a planning/organizational freak. For those of you who know me well, I tend to be the opposite most of the time, a "things will just work themselves out" sort of laidback gal. Not anymore!

Nope, now I'm a "it's not too early to nail down the venue, the photographer, and the menu for the reception!" kind of girl. If I can be honest, I'm actually really enjoying it! I'm so excited to have a chance to throw an awesome party and to celebrate one of most important commitments of my life with friends and family. It's going to be a blast! (Make sure you bring your dancing shoes and a big appetite!)

Today, Eric and I checked out a couple of venues, and both were pretty promising. SO exciting to know that these details are actually going to fall into place! We're also very thankful for and blessed by our friends and family who have already volunteered their time and creative services to help us make this day so special. Because of YOU, this wedding is actually going to happen.

You guys rock, and we're looking forward to this summer with great anticipation!

Why we're doing what we're doing

This will be the most controversial part of our wedding, so we'll explain ourselves here. I'll start with the basics...

Marriage is a holy institution of the Church. It is often seen as a sacrament, and institution, a holy tradition, so on and so forth. Really it goes even further back than the start of the church: "for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" (Gen. 2:24). That is, God ordained that a man and a woman will be joined together in marriage, and through this union the two shall cease to be two individual autonomous people and instead shall become "one flesh," shall be united in such a way that only God can accomplish, and this union is a very personal holy accomplishment by the work of God's design and purpose.

As such, Bethany and I are very serious about this commitment we are entering into. Being one flesh with each other is something we never want to separate, and so we do not want to take the occasion lightly. A lot of tradition and ceremony have entered into the event, and a lot of that tradition has a good purpose, but Beth and I are not willing to enter anything into the moment of ceremony and union that do not represent our commitment to each other.

So, both she and I have carefully gone over all they "typical" wedding traditions and examined the "normal" way to do a wedding, and have given much thought into what we do and do not want at our wedding. This has not been taken lightly! Nor has it been a particularly easy thing to decide on, given our own respective family traditions. However, we have come to hold that a simple wedding ceremony with the immediate family only best represents our ideals in our marriage. That of course warrants some explaining.

A lot of tradition centers around the ceremony itself. The major issue we both have with the traditional ceremony is its separation of the gravity of the commitment itself and focus instead on a "show" of the bride and groom. Rather than put on a show of any sort, Bethany and I prefer to take a step away from the show and instead separate from tradition and make an intimate, personal commitment to each other with the people who will hold us to our commitment the most. We dearly love our extended families and friends, and have no desire to alienate or distance ourselves from out network of support. However, we do feel that the only people who really need to witness the union should be those who will hold us to that union, and the people who will best hold us together are our respective families.

As far as celebration of the event, we want to share our finalized commitment with absolutely everyone we know (and everyone our folks know as well). We certainly intend to have a party in celebration of us becoming one flesh! That, we feel, is most consistent with the heart of God in community. However, the union itself (and its symbolism in the sacrament of marriage, as well as its consummation in the wedding night) is something we want to keep between God and ourselves.

So please hear our hearts in this: we love all of our family and friends, and we absolutely love to share moments with everyone. We want to celebrate our union, and this will be accomplished through the reception in which you have been invited. Please don't be offended that you were not present at the ceremony! It is not that we don't love you, nor that we are trying to be antisocial, or break with tradition for rebellion's sake. Rather, we are fully intent on making a lasting commitment to each other and to God that we will become one flesh in accordance with God's ordination, and will hold ourselves to the standard of marriage God has set forth. We want the witnesses of this commitment to be those who will hold us to it, and we feel the people who will accomplish this purpose the best are our respective immediate families.