Wedding Wednesday: Are you ready?

Let's face it, being twenty-one and engaged I get a lot of questions like the one mentioned above. How will you make money? Aren't you in school? Don't you want to have fun before you settle down? Don't you want to travel? Why not just wait until Tyler is done with dental school? You get the picture.

Getting engaged at an early age I knew right away that I would face these questions; I just did not know how I would handle them. When I began writing this post, I began to list questions and answer them one by one, in a way trying to "justify" our marriage decision. "Well, I will have a degree by then", "We are okay with living without for a while", and similar statements filled the post-to-be. NO. I wanted to throw up reading back over it. Since when did marriage become about money? Since when did marriage become about maturity? Since when did marriage become this thing that WE chose when to begin, and when to end, for that matter?

While, I am not saying EVERYONE should get married at twenty and that if you are not married by twenty-two then you are doing it wrong, I am saying the reasoning behind people's questioning of me is the part that's a little skewed. We will never be ready for marriage. We can prepare all we want but we can never fully prepare ourselves to be one flesh with another human. We can never fully prepare to be an "we" and not an I, daily, forever. Waiting for your career to be just right? Well, there will always be another promotion. Waiting for your financials to be just right? Well, when exactly is that- there is always "more" money to be had. Waiting to be completely content in singleness? It's not going to happen. Waiting until you and your significant other stop arguing about which restaurant at which you are going to eat? Probably not going to happen, either.

It is not because marriage is the magic fixing potion that will heal our desire for more and our desire for all of our ducks to be in perfectly lined rows before making any sort of commitment. Marriage is the union of two people in two one- not just our happy moments or our Instagrams, but our entire lives. I mean, I've never been married but I have heard it's hard work. All the junk surrounding marriage just comes from who we are. We are sinners who fall short of the glory of God daily. We will never be completely content until we are in the presence of Jesus. There is not true contentment this side of Heaven. Life isn't easy- marriage isn't easy, but it can be a lot more fun with the one you love by your side and I am READY for that!

I totally see the world's point in saying that Tyler and I have limited finials, lack maturity, and may be a little naive on the ways of the word- all of those things are valid. Not reasons for us not to get married, but completely valid. The one that really gets to me is this whole "settling down" business. Why is marriage referred to as settling down?! Marriage is the ultimate adventure. We will still get to do all of the fun things we can do now, but what is even better is that we get to do them together!! Trips to new places, white water rafting, spontaneous weekends away, nights out, races, kayaking, doing LIFE together....these are just some of the adventures I see in our near future. Truthfully, I do not think we will ever "settle down".

So, you be asking..then why?? I've given you a laundry list of things that do not refute this desire, but no reasons why. It's simple. I love Tyler. I know Tyler and I can further the kingdom better together than apart. I know Tyler and I can love Jesus and others with our whole lives better together. There is no one else I want by my side in life and ministry than my sweet, loving, caring, crazy, determined, hard-working, Tyler. I could fill books with all by reasons why I said "YES!" but I cannot find one reason why I should have said "Yes...when" or "eventually". Ya know? It's just right.

I wrote on my post for Two Belles that I never expected to be twenty(one) and engaged, and that is SO true. It was not in Taylor's plan for this to happen, but it is and I know God's plans are always gloriously more life-giving than mine. Oh, and to answer the question, no we are not ready for marriage. But ready or not....March 7th we're coming for ya!

I am not trying to change anyone's mind with this. I really have not said anything profound. I am just rambling ,as usual, with a little bit of what I've been going through.

eShakti Review

Recently I was contacted by a rep from the brand eShakti, which is a clothing company that designs (super cute!) affordable pieces that you are then able to customize online to your liking! You can do things like put in measurements, lengthen or shorten items, change sleeve lengths, and so on! It is such a neat idea and unlike anything I've seen! eShakti offered to allow me to try any piece of clothing on them, and let me tell you- the brand did not disappoint!

After perusing the site for hours, I finally chose a blue top with ruffles on the shoulders and a small tie. It was a tough choice because everything is so cute, but I just could not resist the Kentucky blue and the feminine ruffle details.  I lengthened it to be "hip length", put in my measurements, and kept the sleeve length. I cannot find the exact one that I ordered on the website, but this one is very similar.

I loved it so much I wore it while filming Say Yes to the Dress!!

I love this top! Being 5'10" and having an extremely long torso, I struggle to find tops that are long enough so that I do not feel like I am wearing a crop top every time I raise my arms or bend over! (This will be especially true when I am teaching and constantly bending down!) Since I added extra length to this top it is just perfect! I love the fabric of these tops, but find on me they usually just "hang" there and need a bold necklace or scarf to jazz them up. Due to all the detail on this top, it is so easy to wear! I can wear it with jeans, shorts, or tucked into a skirt! So versatile! The quality is great- similar to something you might buy in Macy's or Loft.

Overall, I love the quality, color, and design of this top and the whole ordering process is great! I know I will definitely order from eShakti again!

Find eShakti here: Pinterest/Twitter/Facebook

Wedding Wednesday: Pinspiration

I won't lie, after beginning to plan a wedding I dreaded getting on Pinterest. Instead of a fun way to procrastinate, it became work. I stayed off of it for weeks, while I worked to nail down a venue, photographer, and some more of the basics. Now that all of the BIG things are done (ahhh!) I have once again started wasting using time to peruse the endless amounts of wedding pins that fill the site we all love! I even have some sweet friends able to pin on some of the boards and sending me pins and that is so fun, too! Here is some of m current "pinspiration" for March 7! Enjoy!

(click HERE to go to my Pinterest page, although all of my wedding boards are private..there have to be some surprises, people!!)

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Hope that gives a (little) glimpse into our theme!

xoxo

Taylor

My Weekend Jam.

This weekend was just pretty much my jam. Every moment was just filled to the brim with sweetness, but it wasn't busy, get what I 'm saying? Ever have weekends like that? I hope you do! I am ready to take on this week thanks to all the fun and realizing that took place over the past few days!

Friday night Tyler and I got to hang out with some of his friends from dental school- eating dinner and playing Catchphrase! It is so crazy to think that we (him, especially) are going to spend the next four years doing life together so closely with these people that we barely know right now! These will be our people for the next four years, and for life. So thankful that there are some really fun people and some really strong Christians in that group! It's going to be a great four years- I am determined to make it so!

Saturday I got to hang out with two of my Lexington roommates all day (TREAT!) and then attended the engagement party of my best friend that evening! It was a super detail oriented gathering that screamed Hayley, which I loved. Her future sister-in-law was too sweet to throw such an elaborate affair! It was the perfect summer night celebrating ones we love so much!

The Bride-to-Be!

Some of our roommates with the soon to be Mrs.!

Sunday was spent trying out a new church with Tyler and then going to lunch with the same dental school friends! It is so important to us to find a church home we love and feel welcomed in, because we know it will be a vital part of our lives forever! After being involved with YoungLife, we both crave community and know we need it. While I plan on being involved with YL here in Louisville, Tyler does not (due to time), so finding a church home is so, so important to us! No sunday would be complete without an afternoon nap, and then my mom and I headed to a bridal show to indulge in free food, cake, and champagne meet vendors, then headed to my great aunts home to begin sorting through my great grandma's possessions. I got some really sweet things of hers and I cannot wait to share!!

Whirlwind.

I am linking up with Helene for Total Social: Favorites! I am posting about my (second) favorite weekend ever! (Read about my favorite weekend HERE and part 1 of this weekend HERE!)

This weekend was an absolute whirlwind! I drove six hours to Atlanta Thursday night, filmed all day Friday, drove six hours back on Friday, then headed to Nashville on Saturday to celebrate my twenty first! (read more about Friday here!). Then we drove back Sunday, rested, and my family took me out for my birthday Monday! I felt SO loved and celebrated this weekend- it was the BEST! Exhausting, but the BEST!!

Here are some quick (iPhone) pictures from my sweet birthday weekend in Nashville:

Wedding Wednesday: Say Yes to the Dress

So, I have tried on a lot of dresses. When I say a lot, I am talking about 60-80 a lot. I came close to purchasing one- put it all over social media and then changed my mind. Who knew I would have so much trouble picking ONE dress!? My main problem is that I literally love them all! After the first day, I was seriously considering a career path change! Trying on wedding dresses has been SO much fun!

Rewind to early May. I am sitting at Starbucks one night and decide to apply for a few bridal television shows thinking maybe something will come from it, or maybe nothing will! About two weeks later I heard that I was going to be called for a phone interview! It was a big shock to me, since I had basically forgot I had applied! The phone interview went great, and the next step was the Skype interview! After a few mishaps, I made it to the Skype interview in late June and my video was "cut-up" and sent to TLC for casting! Somehow I made it and was given a few dates to choose from! I chose Friday July 11, got my "entourage" on board, and the rest is history!


My entourage from left to right:
My mom
My Godmother Debbie
My aunt Kim
My maid of honor, Hayley
My matron of honor, Andrea (also Tyler's sister!)
My future mother-in-law, Cindy
I am still so thankful everyone was able to make it! Such a special shared experience!! 

The morning of the show, the seven of us ate brunch and prepared for a long day of filming! I had a pre-show interview that lasted about an hour, and my mom and aunt had one as well that lasted about half as long. They shot us chatting in the waiting room and then it was time to go upstairs and look at gowns!! (by this time we had already been there for three hours!!) Looking at dresses was pretty genuine. We had to "open up" (turn towards the camera)and repeat some things, but all opinions and likes/dislikes were all genuine.

Believe it or not, I only tried on three gowns. After I changed my mind about the "almost" dress, my mom and I perused the Bridals by Lori website and found a brand that we LOVED and a dress that we were OBSESSED with! Seriously, that night I  said "that's the dress!". The only problem was that it was no where to be found in Louisville! As soon as I put on the dress at BbL, I just knew!!

After I got "jacked up" and said YES to the dress we had a few post interviews and we were out the door! In total, we were there for SEVEN hours! It was a tiring process! Overall though, it was GREAT! The producers and camera men, as well as the BbL staff, were incredibly nice, welcoming, and just as warm as they appear on television! The show is not fake whatsoever! It may be a little dramatized and embellished, but not once did I ever feel forced to say anything but my own thoughts! The dressing room experience was just like that of any other bridal salon (besides the camera woman and the award "touching" of the dress while speaking about parts I liked!), which I appreciated! My consultant was great and I loved working with her!! The whole thing was very real, which, as a big fan of the show, I was glad to experience! I just cannot say enough about how nice everyone was! Yes, the day was long, but it was fun!! I am so glad I was given the opportunity to do this! The episode will air Spring 2015, thankfully after March 7! I am excited to see what the show uses, since they have 7 hours of footage for a 10 minute story line ;)

xoxo
taylor

Featured!

I promise I will get to a life update soon (!!), but for now you can read my featured post over at Two Belles & a Bride! Two of my friends started this blog, all about love, marriage, and faith and I just love reading it, and I know you will, too!

xoxo
T