adventures of c&k: wedding planning
I recently read an article in the June/July issue of Verily Magazine written by an engaged woman who has chosen to refrain from reading bridal magazines while planning her wedding. I totally understood where she was coming from, as I too am staying as far away from bridal magazines as possible, although I didn’t make the conscious resolve the author did. I’m staying away from them because it is too easy to get swept up in the latest must-haves and can’t-get-married-withouts and your-wedding-is-doomed-if-you-don’ts that fill their pages. I already have enough to worry about trying to plan a simple wedding; I don’t need the added pressure of the wedding industry’s idea of the perfect wedding. Karl and I know what we want for our wedding, and we know what we don’t want. And that is complicated enough.
How so, you ask? Well for one thing, we want a simple, small-ish wedding. That is all but impossible with extended families as large as ours (and I really mean mine). We have gone over the guest list countless times. And each time I sigh… We can only invite a small sampling of friends from our various circles, which means a large number of friends didn’t make the list. And I had to limit my own family invites to aunts, uncles, and some first cousins, even though I’m extremely close with many of my second and third cousins. I can’t stand leaving people out especially family, but we have to. As it is our limit is 200 guests (I know, I know… that is anything but small!). But we could easily reach 500+ if we invited everyone, so in reality… that is small-ish.
For another thing, I know things aren’t going to go as smoothly as I want them to, no matter how much I plan ahead. I’m trying to be detached from certain expectations, but I’m still doing everything in my power to eliminate hiccups and surprises (we all know how I am with surprises… ugh!).
We have so many little details to work out, but things are coming together. We’ve been (mostly) peaceful and extremely blessed throughout our wedding planning and preparation. Most of that is due to prayer, but I do believe part of that is due to the self-imposed bridal magazine ban. And a smidge of peacefulness is due to the fantastic sugar cookies my friend made. You know… a spoonful of sugar (cookies) and all of that…
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These certainly helped when it came to addressing envelopes!
first mass reception
Here are a few more photos of first blessings from the reception that followed Fr. Charles’ first mass, along with a few other photos from the reception, again courtesy of Tennille.
Fr. Charles blesses his godparents.
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Half of Tennille’s family receiving a blessing from Fr. Charles
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The other half of Tennille’s family receiving a blessing.
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Family friends receive a blessing.
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With the two women that prayed for him the most: his mother and godmother.
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Priest or not, he’s still my crazy brother!
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No comment, except I love those kids!
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I love my grandpa!
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With Tennille
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cecilia bedelia gets samrt
Well, technically I was/am already smart (bordering genius levels when wearing my ultra intelligent looking glasses), but I’m referring to my new phone. My beloved dumb phone had been on the fritz for a few months. I stubbornly resisted Karl’s suggestions of upgrading until I had no excuses left. Karl and I had discussed potentially combining our two plans into one, but I was already on a shared plan with Fr. Charles, which allowed me to drag my feet a little. Except Fr. Charles received a new phone for his birthday and took the opportunity to move into his own plan. No more excuses. I gave in.
I said farewell to my cell phone provider of twelve years and Karl added me to his plan. And that of course, meant a new phone. And I told myself that if I was going to get a new phone, I might as well upgrade… to an iPhone. Honestly the only reason I did was because the iPhone 4 was free with a new phone line, otherwise I would have gone with whatever option was least expensive. So… now I have a smartphone….
It’s been an adjustment of sorts… I miss my old trusty phone. That thing could slip out of my clumsy fingers countless times, the back would pop off along and the battery would fall out , but I could always put her back together again. Karl and I opted for the heavy-duty case, which promises it’s shatter-proof, rain-proof, snow-proof and dirt-proof. We’re praying that means it’s Cecilia-proof too…
My last phone was much simpler in some ways, but this complicated one is pretty darn handy. I’m totally in love with the reminder app. I have been so incredibly productive this week because of it! I still have my old fashioned notebook in my purse for my major to-do lists, but the little reminders that pop up are fantastic! Oh and the camera? I love that too! I’m not fully acclimated to the new phone, but I’m getting there…
first mass
I’ll be honest… there were several moments during my brother’s ordination and later at his first mass when I thought to myself “How the hell did we get here?”. It has been a long road not only for Fr. Charles but for all of us. I was (and am) so excited for Fr. Charles: after years of preparation and study he was finally able to live out his vocation fully. And I couldn’t help but think of how we had all made it to this point. The journey began even before Fr. Charles decided to enter seminary, with much prayer, encouragement, support, and even shin-kicking. His vocation affected all of our family members, and I was amazed, reflecting on how much each of us had grown during the ensuing years alongside Fr. Charles, with continued prayer, encouragement, support, and yes… shin-kicking (What can I say? Sometimes a brother needs a good kick in the shin. Who am I do deny my brother?).
Seven years in seminary seemed like forever when Fr. Charles first told us that was how long it would take before he was ordained a priest. And then before I knew it, I was sitting in the pew behind my parents at ordination and then at his first mass. At times it seemed surreal that my punk of a brother was going to be a priest, and yet there was something so right about it. This was confirmed when I saw Fr. Charles behind the alter for the first time as a priest, when I saw my brother doing what God created him to do. Reader, I only wish I could describe the intense joy that filled my soul! (Blast it, I just made myself cry again!) I need to go find a tissue, so I will leave you with some photos of Fr. Charles’ first mass, courtesy of my dear friend, Tennille.
Br. Paul was the lector.
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Karl sang the Sequence
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Fr. Jim, who baptized Fr. Charles, gave the homily.
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That is one happy priest!
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first priestly blessings
There were so many beautiful moments during Fr. Charles’ ordination and later at his first mass, and it would be difficult to narrow them down to a top five of favorite moments. But I have enjoyed the flurry of photographs posted on Facebook of family and friends receiving the traditional “First Priestly Blessing”.
Mom & Dad
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Ang
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Rosario
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Me & Karl
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Br. Paul (cousin/Benedictine monk)
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friends
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cousins
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This last one is my favorite.
Probably because my goddaughter is looking especially sweet and pious with her hands folded as she looks up at my brother, the priest.
These are a small sampling of the photos that were taken of First Priestly Blessings, and there were many blessings given and many photos taken that day. Stay tuned for more…
(all photos courtesy of Facebook)
aunt ceci and her newest nephew
Since Karl and I were home for the ordination over the weekend, we were able to meet our newest nephew Brian. He’s just a little smudge of a man, but he’s a cutie!
Aunt Ceci & Brian
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so… this happened:
My brother was ordained a priest!!!!
Or, as Rosario said eloquently on Facebook (accompanying the above photo), “He’s a PRIEST! My brother kneeled down a punk (deacon) and stood up a priest!”
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It’s still a bit surreal, but it was an incredible weekend…
I’ll post more on the glorious event soon, but until then head over to the Diocese of Grand Rapids website to watch the video:
Rite of Ordination to the Presbyterate
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