Moments and details from our wedding I want to remember always:
Spending the whole wedding day at the church where we met, a place so significant to both mine and Eric’s stories, now even more significant to OUR story.
My mom’s and sister’s watercolor art on the invitations.
The intimate rehearsal dinner hosted by Eric’s parents the night before with heartfelt speeches from our loved ones.
Looking out the window that wedding morning to see my family and friends working hard to transform the random lot next door into the city garden party of my dreams.
The sudden, summer-like rain shower (Greenville’s first rain since Hurricane Helene!) that happened right during our “coffee hour” and threatened to wipe out that garden party of my dreams – but instead left us with damp tablecloths, perfect weather, golden hour, AND a rainbow.
My sister/maid-of-honor doing my hair and makeup to highlight my natural features.
Putting on my wedding dress – the dress my grandma knew was mine before I did.
Wearing my mom’s opal necklace – her October birthstone for my October wedding.
Doing a first look with my dad, who whispered “it’s perfect” through unexpected tears.
Having monochromatic bouquets for my bridesmaids and choosing a specific color/flower bouquet to give to each of them along with an individual dedication of what each friend means to me.
My mom’s and mother-in-law’s wedding dresses hanging in one of the church windows, violin and piano music filling the sanctuary, candles and vases of dried flowers arranged on the windowsills.
Singing “Chapel of Love” with my bridesmaids outside the church right before walking down the aisle.
Worshipping with our guests.
Feeling confident, happy, and PRESENT while speaking in front of people for possibly the first time in my life.
Taking time after the ceremony for Eric and me to process everything together in the empty sanctuary in the same exact spot where we met almost six years ago.
Having a coffee cart and beating Eric at our latte art throw down!
Dedicating my bouquet to my mom and another to my mother-in-law.
All of my nine siblings standing beside me for the ceremony, and my shy little siblings breaking it down on the dance floor.
When we opened the dance floor in the middle of our father/daughter dance to “Don’t Stop Believin’” and turned the dance floor into a mosh pit.
Having a family reunion for the first time in a long time!
The chance to be creative again while planning my wedding (from writing to decor to digital art to logistics!)
From my point of view, the day was simple, elegant, intentional, full of love, and could not have happened without our community.
My Vows
Eric Alexander Addison,
I think I fell in love with you the first time you made me laugh by dancing to Michael Jackson in your car – I know I loved you when you prayed over me as I cried in your kitchen. For better or for worse – through dancing and through tears – our love and our faith have already carried us this far, giving me confidence as I promise to choose and cherish you into our future together.
Thank you for waiting for me, for always reminding me of my worth, and for making me the happiest I’ve ever been.
You are patient, you are kind, you do not envy, you do tend to boast – but about the incredible coffee and food you make, so I can’t complain there.
You are intentional, you are a friend to everyone, you are forgiving, quick to erase all record of wrong – you are creative, you are loud, you are constant, wise, trustworthy; you are willing to learn and always looking to be better, and you make me better.
You lead me and you listen to me.
Your faith in Christ inspires me.
I love the way you love me
And I love all you are with all I am.
I love the way you tell stories about your day, making even the most commonplace event sound entertaining.
I love when you tell your story, unashamedly proclaiming the gospel of Jesus.
I love how you tell our story, your love for me evident in every word.
I promise to love, treasure, and respect you for the rest of my life. I promise to make you laugh at inappropriate times. I promise to always say I love you back. I promise to remember in adversity that it is never us against each other but us together against adversity.
I promise to follow your lead and be by your side for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part, as we support each other and lead together, whether in ministry or in our own family, whether we are dancing in our car or crying in our kitchen – from now on it will be OUR car and OUR kitchen, our story and our life together as one before Christ, and I can’t wait to share it all with you. I love you with all my heart and all I am.
My Thank You Speech
In planning our wedding, I struggled because I wanted to make sure it was my dream wedding, but at the same time I had no idea what my dream wedding looked like. Finally being here tonight I have realized my dream is really to create something beautiful and share it with those we love, so thank you all for traveling the distance and making the effort to be here and helping make this my dream wedding.
We didn’t exactly choose this to be our venue based on its beautiful views but because of its significance to us and our community. This church has been a symbol of unity for this neighborhood since the 1940s. Eric and I have a history here too both individually and together – I was baptized here when I was 16, this was one of Eric’s first mission trips, we both worked in ministry here, and we met right there in the sanctuary. It has consistently been a safe place and a second home to both of us for almost a decade, and now it’s even more special.
Thank you to my bridesmaids: one lives in the Middle East, one lives in France, one in Tennessee; a couple of you are mothers, students, etc. – My point is, thank you for putting so much effort into making me feel loved and proving our friendship over and over in this process. Thank you to my GCC people who have helped me so much from decorating to talking everything through. Thank you to my many siblings for always being by my side and being my besties. Thank you to my grandparents for showing me such examples of love.
To my parents – Dad, thank you for making this wedding possible; thank you for supporting me and Eric even when you’ve wanted to tear his Alabama merch to shreds; thank you for the memories we share, from watching entire football games together since I was a baby to eating street-food seahorses in China. I dedicate our father/daughter dance to you, the city boy, born and raised in south Detroit (or close enough) who always taught me to don’t stop believing.
I won’t be doing a bouquet toss tonight. Instead, I want to dedicate my bouquet to my mom. Mom, I loved growing up with you; I love that we’ve been having deep, philosophical conversations since I was 2 years old; I love art and learning because of you. I hope you know how loved and appreciated you are by not just our family, but by so many people who are better for knowing you.
I also wanted to dedicate a bouquet to my mother-in-law, Liana – thank you for raising and loving Eric so well and thank you to your family for welcoming me into your family.
Now, it’s time to cut some sweet potato cake!
Mastering the Mastermind 