8-7-10

I was really bad about getting our thank you notes out after the wedding and I feel really guilty about it; our friends and family were so, so generous with their gifts, both of time and money. Bad bride! But they got done and went out two weeks ago, finally. People were amazingly creative and thoughtful (I'll have to write about my flower girls' present to us one day- it was precious), but one of my favorite gifts, hands down, was from one of my former coworkers Nina and her husband. Nina is one of my favorite people in the whole world- her heart is so full of love, she'd do anything for you, and is always a shoulder to cry (or laugh) on if you need it. She's still in Lexington, and I miss her so much! Her sweet face got me through many a shift at Big Corporate Bookstore until she (understandably) left for a different job. She writes amazing thank you notes that make you cry, and her and her husband are the cutest couple. They're great role models! Anyway, this was Nina and Clint's present to us:




Our wedding date: 8-7-10! I was blown away by it, not going to lie. It's so simple and yet it represents the most meaningful day of my and AC's lives and it definintely deserves to be represented in our home. It's currently in our bedroom, and it's the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see before I fall asleep at night. I love that it's black and white, because I have an affinity for b/w pictures and it matches any color scheme you throw at it! Nina is a smart one like that. Plus you don't have to worry about the numbers matching each other because it's all greyscale. Makes a great Christmas gift for any newlyweds you have in your life, just saying.

I asked her about it via Facebook message, just because I wanted to know where she came up with the idea, and this is what she wrote back:

“I'm glad you liked the present! I've been doing that for weddings for a year or so now... I think I found the idea online somewhere but the site was charging an arm and a leg for photographs, so I said, "I have a camera. I can take pictures." So I set out on an epic quest around Lexington and beyond to find awesome numbers (I believe 2/3 of your numbers came from Anthropologie). I have a huge folder on my computer devoted to numbers and when I hear of someone getting married I find the best arrangement of their wedding date. I try to make the numbers fit the character of the bride/groom. For example my best friend who LOVES the outdoors (and registered at REI) I found all her numbers when Clint and I were camping. I can't not look at house numbers now. It's become quite the little hobby!”

It reminds me of our wedding day (and Clint and Nina, whom I love dearly if you couldn't guess already), but it's really more than that. Our wedding was a representation of our decision to get married. We made that public declaration on August 7th, but I believe that it's a decision we have to make every day in order for our marriage to be successful and happy. We made that decision together for a reason, and we said “for as long as we both shall live”. Staying true to that commitment requires and demands of us to renew that decision every day, especially if things get really, really hard. We can't ever lose sight of the fact that we love each other so much and the only thing that will change that is if we stop paying attention to eachother and that promise. The fact that we have a daily reminder to that commitment is all the better.

I went to a movie a couple afternoons ago, and we're lucky enough to be within walking distance of a movie theater. Granted, it's a super long walk, about 2 miles, but it gave me a chance to take some picture of my own since I pass a ton of buildings! Here's what I came up with (with my point and shoot):



Not a bad start! Not that I have anyone to give one to, but it'll be fun once someone else does get married!

Another idea would be to use a Silhouette cutter and cut cute numbers out! Thrift Decor Chick is hosting a giveaway to give a whole package away: http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2010/11/silhouette-craft-cutter-giveaway.html