Time for my weekly Pinterest roundup! Every Sunday, I share with you a few of my favorite finds from the previous week.
If you follow me on Pinterest, you'll notice I went on a bit of a pinning craze this week. I've been finding lots of great things I want to save and remember.
We tend to pile the mail up on the nearest surface after bringing it in, so I'm always trying to find a way to keep it organized. I'm sure I could find an old shutter at the flea market or a local antique shop. The Habitat ReStore might even have some. This would fit perfectly right next to our front door.
I'm still on the lookout for cute short hairstyles and this one caught my eye. I'm close to cutting my hair off and I'll have to make a decision soon, but with all the great styles I've found, it's going to be hard!
I have a thing for wedding cakes and can resist pinning pretty ones that I love. I just love the colors and simplicity of this one. The piping is just wonderful.
I know the fall collection was just released and I already previewed the winter colors, but who's ready to think about spring? Head over to Oh My Vera for a sneak peek of Spring 2012! These will be released January 19, 2012. I think I'm most excited about Island Blooms. What do you think?
Speaking of the fall 2011 colors, I finally got to see them in person over the weekend during a trip to the mall. I do like Plum Petals and Safari Sunset, but I don't have the desire to own a purse in either of those patterns. Perhaps an accessory or two, but nothing major. Happy Snails wasn't quite so circus-y in person as I thought it would be. The colors do work well together, they're just not my style. And Mocha Rouge was actually a little too brown for my tastes.
And I do promise that a Wedding Wednesday post is coming. Took a nap after work today that turned into a 4 hour nap instead of just 2 hours.
Now that we had listened to the Liturgy of the Word, it was time for the Rite of Marriage!
For this important moment, our bridal party joined us at the front of the church.
My lovely girls taking their job seriously. Notice MOH L holding both my heavy bouquet and hers like a champ.
M's guys looking serious for once.
First, we had to state our intentions:
Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage? I have.
Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?
I will.
Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?
I will.
Now it was time to exchange vows!
Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church.
We chose to do the repeat after me style of vows. Our priest told us what to say and we repeated it to each other. I wanted to do it this was because I wanted to actually say the vows instead of just "I do."
I, Matthew, take you, Jennifer, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.
I, Jennifer, take you, Matthew to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.
I look goofy in this picture because I am trying very hard not to lose it. I was so good up until the vows and then it just hit me! Half way through my vows my voice started cracking and I could feel the tears coming. I was staring at M willing myself to not start crying. My mom later told me that when she heard me start to lose it, she lost it and started crying. Good thing I couldn't see her then or I for sure would have been crying.
You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings.
What God has joined, men must not divide.
Amen.
With the vows over, it was time to bless the rings.
Lord, bless and consecrate Jennifer and Matthew in their love for each other.
May these rings be a symbol of true faith in each other, and always remind them of their love.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen
Jennifer, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Since we were now officially married, it was time to do the paperwork. Our priest had our witnesses and us sign the license right then and there. Handy because we didn't have to remember to do it later, but confusing because I wasn't actually sure what name to sign! I ended up signing my maiden name as it was the one on the paper and I hadn't legally changed my name yet, so it seemed like the way to go.
I shudder to think how terrible my signature looks since I had to lean across and sign on that little rail.
The final part of the Rite of Marriage is the General Intercessions. These are prayers for various people and groups. The intention is read by a reader who then says "We pray to the Lord." The congregation then replies "Lord, hear our prayer."
M's sister read ours, which were written by our priest. This was one of the things I intended to do, but it slipped my mind until the rehearsal and by then I just didn't care anymore. Our priest did ask us for the names of any deceased family members to include, so they were personalized. I can't even remember what the intentions were, but suffice to say they were the usual ones and I had no problem with them.
I finally reached the end of the aisle and it was time for my dad to hand me off to M.
M told me that I looked great and we took our places in front of the alter. It was about this time that I started to forget what we were supposed to do. Luckily, a Nuptial Mass is pretty much just a regular Mass with some extra bits thrown in, so once the Mass started, I was able to get back into the groove of what we do every week.
After the greeting and Sign of the Cross, we sang the Gloria. There are many different verisions of the Gloria and each parish decides which one they use. The words are always the same, but the melody and arrangement vary. Here's a clip to give you an idea of our version of the Gloria.
After a prayer, it was time to sit and listen to the Word.
M's sister S gave our first reading. We chose a reading from Genesis.
A reading from the Book of Genesis
The Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a suitable partner for him.”
So the Lord God formed out of the ground
various wild animals and various birds of the air,
and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle,
all the birds of the air, and all wild animals;
but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.
So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep,
he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib
that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said:
“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.”
That is why a man leaves his father and mother
and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one body.
The word of the Lord.
The Responsorial Psalm was then sung by the cantor we hired from our parish. Even though we had no choice of cantor, I really liked ours. She's one of the best in our parish and she was the cantor at the Easter Vigil Mass when I was baptized and confirmed into the Church. I remember she sang a really beautiful Alleluia chorus at the end and I really hoped then that I could get her for my wedding.
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the Lord;
the lowly will hear me and be glad Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the Lord with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the Lord heard,
and from all his distress he saved him. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the Lord is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Next, M's great aunt G gave our second reading. As soon as I saw the choices for the second reading, there was no doubt which one I would pick.
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians.
Brothers and sisters: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
The word of the Lord.
This reading is one of my favorite passages in the Bible and I have always wanted it to be read at my wedding. We chose to ask G to read because she is one of M's favorite relatives and she and her husband have been married for over 50 years!
We then had the Gospel Acclamation. There were only 4 choices for this and I just picked the one I liked the best. M had no opinion and they were all equally plain.
Alleluia Whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him
Alleluia
Our priest then read the Gospel. I swear I didn't purposely pick the shortest choice, it just happened that way. I liked this one because it referred back to our first reading.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark.
From the beginning of creation,
God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate.
The Gospel of the Lord.
I won't bore you with the homily. Just know that it was probably the most disappointing part of our Mass. Our priest didn't really know us and so he didn't really bother to try personalizing the homily to us. He talked a bit about marriage and threw our names in there, but he then gave a homily that he had already given in a regular Sunday Mass. As soon as I realized I had already heard everything he was saying, I just tuned him out and focused my attention on the alter and the flowers and admiring our church. Luckily, the only person who could see my face was our priest, so nobody could tell I had stopped listening! This was the reason I really wish we had tried to get our previous priest to perform our wedding. He would have given an entertaining and personalized homily.
Up next: The Rite of Marriage - time for vows and rings!
I promise that a Wedding Wednesday post will be here some time on Wednesday! I uploaded pictures and everything! My schedule got switched a bit and I have to work early, so I must head to bed, but I will write & post after work! If you don't see it by 5 pm ET, somebody give me a heads up and ask me where it is!
Now that the Fall 2011 colors have been officially released, I've started thinking about Winter 2011. I know it seems early, but it turns out that the winter colors have already been previewed. So, I did some digging and found some information and pictures!
Oh My Vera! is a great blog all about Vera Bradley and she was lucky enough to see the winter preview in person. She put together this video and it was my first peek at these new patterns.
It appears that the new patterns are called: Floral Nightingale, Rhythm and Blues, Tea Garden, and Suzani.
I did some more digging and found some pictures to share.
This is Tea Garden. I like floral patterns and the colors look interesting on this one. I think this is one I'm going to have to see in person to really decide if I like it.
Floral Nightingale - I like purples and I think the animal prints can be cute. I like that it's floral and birds just like my former favorite pattern. (Yellow Bird, anyone?) Definitely want to see this one! Even my husband thought it looked interesting and I think his mother would like this one.
Suzani on top and Rhythm & Blues on the bottom. Not sure about Suzani. It is a black background with a colorful pattern.
In with the new, out with the old, right? With 4 new patterns coming, what patterns are going? With a little detective work, I discovered the most likely candidates:
Slate Blooms
Barcelona
Twirly Birds Navy
Hello Dahlia
I do remember seeing quite a few things in these patterns at the Outlet Sale this year, which is always a good indication that these colors are on the chopping block. Plus, the new Fall styles are not made in these colors, which is a sure sign that these colors are next to be retired. Which is good news for me, because I would really like a Stephanie in Hello Dahlia and with both the style and the pattern being retired, I bet I'll have a good chance of getting one.
And along with retiring patterns, we'll also have some styles retiring. With a little more detective work, I've narrowed down the contenders!
These styles are not being made in the 4 new Fall 2011 patterns, so we will probably say good bye to them shortly. Luckily, retired styles means new styles! I can't wait to see what they've come up with next.
What are your thoughts on the Winter 2011 patterns? Sad to see something retire? Leave a comment and let's discuss Vera Bradley!
Sorry, no Wedding Wednesday this week. I fully intended to write and post about part of our Mass yesterday after work, but instead I ended up sleeping for 5 hours. This week has worn me out! I've had lots of early days and now I can't even sleep in on my days off because I am helping my mom with a garage sale. Here's hoping I make some money for our vacation.
I do plan on having a special post tomorrow. I've been working on it for about a week and I'm excited to share it with you!
