My Love Story in a Necklace

growing up I never would have thought it.

I always thought he was cute, but it a little brother kind of way.

he was always the goof ball on church trips.

the cute drummer boy at church.

my best friends little brother

but

something happens to little boys.

they become men.

men who open doors for pretty girls.

who tell them they are beautiful.

i reached a really hard part of my life.

down on my luck.

depressed.

given up on love.

told myself it didn't exist.

all men are scum.

my best friends turned their back on me.

people stabbed me in the back.

i couldn't help the person i'd become.

i was helpless

shallow.

depressed.

a liar.

i did something that i thought i'd never do.

on march 28th of 2009 i posted on facebook:

"Megan Wynn needs more men in her life. Accepting applications at 224-3110"

i immediately received a text from an unknown number:

"likes long walks on the beach and journey"

my response:

"name and date of birth"

unknown sender replied:

"ronald david volnoff, jr, march 12 1990"

my heart sank.

then it pitter pattered.

i smiled

i was glowing

i knew what God was up to.

the sender, better known as RJ, was called to be a worship leader.

i knew that i had been called to the ministry, somehow

we texted and called and talked and flirted for a few weeks.

we talked about marriage within the first week.

we knew we wanted to be united before God in marriage.

i'd never been so sure of anything. ever.

we spent our weekends together

i cried every Sunday when i headed back to my college.

i was incomplete without him in my world.

January 30th 2010

we walked around ASF

the place where we first held hands

i goofed off, giddy and happy. unknowingly...

he stumbled around nervously

next thing i know...

he's on his knee.

asking me to be his bride.

we were married on November 20, 2010 just a little over a year after i received that text from an unknown sender.

we have a love that makes us giddy with excitement. 

we have a bond that no one could understand.

we know each others secrets.

we are each others secrets ;)

it's that kind of love that makes you want to carve your initials into a tree.

today i'm sporting a necklace that captivates everything i just told you.

it's a beautiful piece by amanda lynne designs 

that i've been coveting since february.

do you have a love that makes you feel like a teenage girl? 

if so, you need this.

it brought me to tears opening the package

i'm in tears writing this post.

love does that to you.

here are a few of her lovey-dovey items that may interest you:

check her on facebook!

post inspired by little miss momma

Wedding Slideshow!!

Highlights from the wedding! Enjoy!

Anniversary

One month ago today I married my best friend.

This has been the best month of my life!

My life is a dream come true. Of course, life isn’t always a fairy-tale, but I wouldn’t rather travel the road of life with anyone but MY husband. I have so much fun with him, and everyday is unique in its own way. He are amazing: perfectly made for me from God. I look forward to all of our adventures together! I love you RJ!

11 Days Out...

Well here we are eleven days away from our wedding day!
We have been very busy lately nailing down details of our marriage and ceremony.
A few last minute crises have arisen, but everything is going well with plan B. We are
now having the reception in our home church, Millbrook Baptist, due to some unforeseen circumstances with our caterer/decorator. Bless his heart; his wife has gone home to be with the
Lord. RJ and I aren’t upset about this; honestly, we are just ready to start our journey together as
a married couple!
RJ has been in the apartment for about two months. It is slowly, but surely, coming together.
We love our quaint (one level) community! We have a new addition to our family. Her name is
Laila, and she is now ten and a half weeks old.
We have completed our pre-marriage counseling and are blessed to have been able to learn so
much from our pastor and his sweet wife.
I have had several showers (two that RJ attended), and have been blessed with beautiful gifts!
My lingerie shower was a blast, and very entertaining. I was (to my own surprise) uncomfortable
at first, but I ended up lightening up and making the party take an unexpected turn!


All of this wedding stuff has not been as stressful as everyone has told me it would be. My
mother and I got along great! The only thing that caused stress was the twist we had right here
at the end. Even so, we are all handling it well. I’m blessed to have a mother who is willing to
plan and organize while I simple “approve.” There hasn’t been much drama. There was certainly
some unnecessary attitude towards the very beginning, but overall my wedding planning has
been a pleasant experience.


What advice might I offer to brides?
1. Don’t choose your bridesmaids too soon. I chose mostly family because I know they will
always be there no matter what. The reason I suggest not to choose to soon is because 1)
everyone is always so excited for you upon engagement, but their true colors do not show
until about a few months in, and 2) I had a bridesmaid get pregnant and had to step down
after the dress had been ordered. Obviously, there was nothing I could do about this, and
the chances of your BMs due date being the week after your wedding are slim to none.
(Note – I’m not upset about Rachel not being IN my wedding, I just hope she can just BE
THERE!)
2. Just think of the gift. RJ’s sister gave me this piece of advice. When people are rude to
you, make odd suggestions, offend you, ask inappropriate questions… just think about
the gift they’ll give you. Do not react with haste. Think about your response and ensure
that it is classy; you do not have to answer any questions you do not want to.
3. Remember what’s REALLY important. Your Groom. Don’t let his needs get put to the
side simply because you are busy or want different things. There is always room for
compromise (it’s helpful to learn this BEFORE marriage). Ensure that you spend plenty
of time together. Planning your MARRIAGE is more important than planning your
WEDDING.
4. It’s not worth it to fight with your mother. If you have a good relationship with her, don’t
let your Big Day ruin it. This is her day, too, ya know? (see tip #5) I was blessed to have
a mother who wanted to help plan. My laid back attitude let her do what she wanted. I
couldn’t stress over it… especially when I saw that glow come over her once she had a
good idea.


5. It’s not really YOUR day. Your time comes during the honeymoon! This celebration is
really for your family and friends. The sooner you realize that, the better. Yes, stand firm
for the things that are important to you, but be sure to weigh the importance of every
decision before you freak. Again, your fun will be later ;)
6. I recommend short engagements….(short being like 6-10 months)
7. Know that things will go wrong as you get closer to the big day. (See above ;) )
8. HAVE FUN!! You only (or should only) get to do this once!


My next post will probably after the wedding ;)

Wedding Shower Number One

This past weekend I had the joy of going down to Mobile, AL with my fiancé and his family. We got to go to a nice southern wedding on Saturday and a reception afterwards. The reception was beautiful on the countryside of Lucedale, MS.

The following day RJ’s lovely aunts threw us our first shower. It was such an amazing experience. I got to meet more of RJ’s family, and connect on a deeper level with those that I already knew. One of my dad’s cousins was also there, Julia Ellen, and it was a JOY to see her and catch up. I’m so excited to be a part of this family, and I could not ask for a more beautiful extended family. I'm also so proud of my lovely fiancé who decided to go to the shower with me. I told him it was 100%  his decision, and he chose to stay. I did not take any pictures, but I hope to receive digital copies from those who did.

We got some great gifts: three place settings, kitchen utensils, sheets, “V” stuff, “Mr. V” and “Mrs. V” towels, cleaning supplies, frames, décor items, and so much more! I’m so overwhelmed at the generosity of this family! Now… for the thank you notes :)

A Random and Unorganized Update.....

The Group at Chewacla

The Stream

We recently got  to revisit a new favorite spot of ours: Chewacla State Park in Auburn. It was so much fun! We got to climb on the rocks and pilfer through the outdoors. It made me feel like a character from “The Boxcar Children,” one of my favorite childhood books. I’ve always loved to be outside and to “explore.”  Sometimes I miss being a child. I miss the ability to ignore the sleepiness or the heat (although it wasn’t the slightest bit hot… I was very comfortable). We stumbled, climbed, and fell our way down a creek as far as we thought was safe. I’d love to go back down the stream when it cools off and the snakes are gone. We turned around when we saw a snake skin. It was great to be in the outdoors with some of my closest friends. We just kind of took it easy and did a little climbing and swimming. Morgan and I hung back while the guys went exploring a little further. It was great to sit with my sisser and reconnect with her after a long summer of worldsong.

Monday night Mom, Morgan, Mamaw, Melinda (the florist), and myself went to Hobby Lobby to kind of get an idea of what kind of flowers I might want to use, and an idea about costs. We were in for a GREAT surprise. Hobby Lobby was having a 50% off sale on gorgeous wedding stuff and florals! We got so much stuff for a wonderful price. I’m really excited about using artificial flowers because I can KEEP THEM! They are also very inexpensive and you are guaranteed the right color. We got….. my bouquet, MOH bouquet, toss bouquet, all 15 boutonnieres, the corsages for the mothers and grandmothers, flowers for the colonnade,  stuff for two pew bows, and ribbons for the bouquets. We had to order the flowers for the bridesmaids because they simply did not have enough. A few of the flowers used will be hydrangeas, day lilies, mums, and some cascading flower I don’t know the name of. :)

Morgan and I returned to Hobby Lobby on Tuesday night (can you tell I love this store?) to look at some other things included in the 50% off sale. One of the MAJOR bonuses of having a fall wedding is that you can buy stuff AFTER wedding season on sale. Anyways… we got a beautiful guest book and matching pen. We also bought my two garters that night!


After Hobby Lobby, Morgan and I met Jenn Ingram to talk about some new exciting ACT teen stuff. I’m very excited about starting this new ministry with Jenn. It’s going to be great for the Jr High/High School girls to have a core group of Christian girls they can turn to during distress and just be themselves and have tons of fun! www.acteens.com

BM shoes

My bridesmaids’ shoes came in yesterday. They aren’t a PERFECT match in color, but they are WONDERFUL!  The colors of the wedding aren’t a specific color green, or a specific color pink; I’m using all shades of both, so the bouquet will pick up the satin from the shoes. I hope everyone’s fit so that we can keep them!

Beads for BM jewelry

My Mamaw has been gracious enough to offer to make my bridesmaids’ jewelry! I bought stuff for two necklaces, five bracelets, and five sets of earrings. I have to wait for them to restock to buy the rest for the necklaces! Yay pearls!

Quick Craft Update.

I've been doing a wee bit of "crafting lately... This here specimen is something I'm actually a little bit proud of. I bought an old doily at a garage sale a few weekends ago with the intentions of getting crafty with it. I pasted some scrapbook paper to the back of the 11x14 frame (from Hobby Lobby), scrunched up the doily, and put a 5x7 picture up front. What do you think? I'm definitely gonna do another, but this one's home is going to be in our Master BR :)

These buddies here are for our (future) guest bedroom that I am very excited about. It is going to be in reds and blues. I have picked out a sky blue comforter and red sheets for the room. If everything works out appropriately, we will be putting some LOVELY twin beds, that have been so graciously handed down to RJ, in this room for our many guests (Revision June 20, 2010: instead of the two twin beds, we will be taking the full size bed I am currently sleeping on from my parents house and will but a fancy red coat of paint on it).  I'm hoping to get cutesy and do a cool feature wall in this room with some bold blue and red stripes.
Like the example below (except proportionate =] )

Beautiful Textiles

I am really excited about all the fabrics we have purchased over the past few months for the ceremony and reception. Mom and I pulled them out today and "oohed and aahed" over them. We have been really blessed to pick most of these up at yardsales, thrift stores, or bargain stores such as Hobby Lobby and Old Time Pottery.

These fabrics are STUNNING! They will be used in the sanctuary!
Below is a close up of this fabric!

This is my FAVORITE fabric so far! Look how beautiful!











This picture has nothing to do with this blog, but it's a recent picture of us from the day we went to Tara and Payton's wedding. Love the PURPLE ;)

Justification for No Double Envelopes

As you may know, weddings are quite expensive. One way I have decided to cut back on costs is with the invitations. It is certainly an important aspect of the ceremony because it sets the tone for the occasion. I have decided to use an eco-friendly company and cut back on costs by only using one envelope. I was really worried about this because of the senior adults who might get offended by my "lack of etiquette." One of the blogs I follow posted on this matter... and it made me feel much better to learn the reasoning of the double envelopes and how irrelevant it is to this century. It has made me feel at peace about a tiny detail. I have posted the link below. Check it out....


Ditching the Double Envelopes