A different path?

Tonight at worship team practice, one of our ice breakers was the following question:

“If you could do over your life again, what would you do differently? It doesn’t have to be God related, could be vocation, behaviour etc…”

What a great question! My answer…

01. I would have spent a year studying abroad. I have seen how enriching it has been in my brother’s life, the people he has met and how it has opened his eyes to the world. He has matured so much and it has definitely been a positive experience.

02. I would chose a different career path. Over the last few years, my skills set has developed and I am now much clearer as to where my true vocation lies.

03. I would not care about the opinions of others or try to seek approval from people before making decisions. Life is not about people pleasing.

04. I would listen to the advice of those people who have been there, done that. They are placed in your life for a reason.

Only God knows where my life would be if I had taken a different path or made different decisions. But what I do know is that I am where He wants me to be right now and I am going to make the most of every opportunity that presents itself. My path led me to Mr E and I would never ever want to change that.

Life isn’t about regrets or about dwelling on the past because everything happens for a reason to make you into the person that God wants you to be.

If you could do over life again, what would you do differently?

Happy Monday! Progress…

Thank you for all your lovely comments of support in response to last Monday's post.

Drum roll please...we have a venue!

Stats:

Available on the 26th June: CHECK!

Capacity: 600 - CHECK!

Location: Manchester {parents are happy} - CHECK!

Outside catering allowed: CHECK!

On site parking: CHECK!

Within budget: CHECK!, CHECK!, CHECK!

To good to be true?

Maybe so, but like I've said in previous posts, no venue is perfect but this place ticks a lot of boxes and given the fact that we're 9 weeks away, we're lucky to have found somewhere this suitable.

Bit of background:

The place we have chosen is a 20th century, Grade II listed building which is going through restoration and renovation to be converted into an events venue. Parts of it have been modernised while still retaining its original features.

A lot of the work has been done already but it is not fully 'complete', which is where its 'non-perfectness' comes in.

On viewing last Saturday {my parents saw it earlier in the week}, I spoke to the owner who advised that what was left to do was mainly painting, laying new flooring in some areas, completing the kitchen and generally cleaning up the place, post renovation. I won't lie, this did give us cause for concern but he has assured us that everything will be completed before June.

My mum and Aunty have said that they will be on their case throughout to ensure that everything is done to our satisfaction and it will be in the contract as well. The good thing is that the owner recognises that if they do this event well, more bookings are sure to follow from people in our community, as there are not a lot of big venues in Manchester.

So where is this place you ask?

For fear of wedding crashers all I can say for now is that it is in Manchester. I will provide full disclosure and pictures AFTER the wedding. Of course our guests will know very soon!

In other news, mum and I picked out the ankara for the ase-obi {traditional 'uniform' – for an idea of what ase-obi looks like, see pics below}. I’m looking forward to all the new traditional outfits that Mr E and I will acquire over the next couple of months. I can see it now, we’re going to be one of those coordinated outfit  couples!

Anyway it’s good to know that we’re finally making progress….60 days to go.

Picture credits: (1) Facebook, (2 & 3) Unknown

Weekend Wedding Love - Family

Love this picture. ..

Weddings are about family and I am thankful that all my immediate family will be able to be there, by God’s grace. Even my brother who is at college, will be back from the States – yay!

There will also be some distant relatives who I haven’t seen in ages, who will be present.

Will be like a little family reunion!

Photo {Abi Yeni-Rotimi}

Choosing your battles...

Often in life there are things that we want, but can let go of, if needs be. Then there are things that we really want, that no amount of reasoning or substitutes would justify not having it, because they are important to who we are as a core.

This is how I feel this way about our wedding.

I am a fairly reasonable and flexible person, as is Mr E but there are certain parts of the day, which are non negotiable with us.

Things like our ceremony, which for us is the most important aspect. There are certain elements we want to include and certain people we would like to have involved. This is important to us and a reflection of who we are as a couple.

Then there are other things which we're not overly concerned about:
- location {Birmingham or Manchester}, we will go where the best venue is.
- outfits for our traditional wedding - we won't even see them until 3 days before the wedding as they are coming from Nigeria.
- non-uniformity amongst the bridesmaids. They won't be looking like clones, but will be able to reflect their individual styles.

At the end of the day, for the sake of peace you just choose your battles and only fight for the things that are really important to you as a couple and you really want.

Anybody who tells you it's 'your day' is not being realistic. Yes its your day as you are getting married, but it is your day with a whole lot of consideration for other people. Parents have their own ideas and expectations of how their child's wedding will be. As a couple you have your own. Respectfully over time you work together to marry them into one.

So...what are your non-negotiables?

p.s. went to do the gift registry yesterday. Not as fun as I thought it would be. Walking up and down a hot department store {in heels}, was not enjoyable. I much preferred doing it online!

p.p.s. ‘Great venue search’ update coming next week.

Have a great weekend all and look out for 'Wedding Weekend Love' tomorrow!

Not pretty enough

The wedding industry has a lot to answer for.

Besides the incessant pressure it places on you to have that wedding, you know the one I mean, straight out of The Knot or Martha Stewart Weddings. It also shows unrealistic images of how a typical bride should look or be.

Liene over at Think Splendid wrote a great post about Online Marketing and the Plus Size Bride

What are your views? I know Dawn over at Happy Nappy Bride continues to vent about the lack of black representation in wedding magazines. I couldn’t agree more.

What are your views on the blogs/magazines of vendors, photographers in particular who only show their most ‘beautiful’ work? Would that make you want to work with them?

I would love to see weddings of people from all races, all sizes because that is a true representation.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?