Our Story, in her words

After having shared a handful of classes and many mutual friends during our high school career, it was during a choir period our final year at Prospect that David and I first shared our first extensive conversation. We both remember being surprised at the commonality of our current situations and the pleasant feeling of having taken part in a random but wonderful conversation.

A few months later, David approached me and asked me to go to lunch with him and a few friends. I refused, (lamely) intimidated at the thought of accepting the invitation. That night, however, I could not avoid the nagging desire to call him. So, in a very uncharacteristic move, I picked up the phone and dialed his number. That call would change my life.

We were on the phone for hours that night. Though we were, for the most part, still strangers, we felt compelled to share our lives and hearts with each other. The weekend after the first phone call, I accepted David’s invitation to go to church with him. That invitation soon turned into one to go to Camp Harvest with the high school ministry. Though I was nervous and hesitant, David was persistent. I was on my way.

His fractured ankle ended up being one of the hugest blessings of the weekend. While others ran outside through the camp, I stayed with David as he was stranded inside the chapel. We sat as two people, strangely and inexplicably drawn to one another, despite our lack of interest in dating.

At that point, I had always attended church and believed in God; but I felt as though there was just something missing from my “religious habits.” In my great friend I saw something that I wanted for myself—a joy and a life that I desired but just couldn’t figure out. David, however, pointed me to Jesus and explained to me that it wasn’t about my beliefs but rather my relationship with God. He showed me that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. Later that night, I accept Christ and began my walk with the Lord.

Though David and I barely hung out, the time log of our phone conversations continued to grow exponentially. Our friendship quickly morphed into a best friendship. Whether he was calling just to check on me or to share some encouraging Scripture, David consistently showed he cared. I had no other friend like him except that which I found in Jesus Christ.

Although our pure intentions had led us not to expect to ever date, the time we spent together following my return from U of I after the first term led to the beginning of our relationship on January 1, 2006.

Our solid best friendship and already-existing foundation of our relationship in Jesus Christ allowed us to have a very rich and blessed dating life. Despite the many circumstantial challenges we were faced with during our three years of dating—encounters with deaths of loved ones and a constant stream of change in locations and situations—God allowed us to grow immensely both individually and together.

After two and a half years of dating, David asked me to marry him on July 30, 2008. We began our life as one six months later.

Dress- David’s Bridal (ordered online at www.davidsbridal.com)

Shoes- Mary Jane Crocs (Maggie’s Mom’s name was Mary Jane, and she wanted to be comfortable for the entire day!)

Rings- Wyatt Austin Jewelers (www.wyattaustin.com – We highly recommend them!) ; Rogers and Holland’s (www.rogersandhollands.com)
Ceremony- Harvest Bible Chapel – Rolling Meadows (www.harvestrollingmeadows.org)

Flowers- Purchased in bulk from A Perfect Petal (Mt. Prospect, IL – www.aperfectpetal.com)
-arranged by Maggie’s aunt, Deanna LeRose

Reception- Maggiano’s (Skokie, IL — www.maggianos.com)

Tuxes- Formally Modern Tuxedo

Cake – Jewel-Osco (www.JewelOsco.com – Low cost and delicious… even after we unfroze it on our one year anniversary!)

Photographers- Rich and Leeann Chang (they’re brilliant.. use them!!!)

Tell us about finding your wedding dress:
I found my dress before I was engaged. I knew that a proposal was coming any day, but I was determined not to make any major decisions before I had a ring. However, the fun of looking for dresses with my mom was too enticing an idea to resist. I did not plan on trying on any of the dresses, we were simply going to look to see what was out there and what I liked. Approximately 2 minutes after walking into the store I saw my dress and I fell in love with it immediately. I then decided that maybe it was not such a terrible idea to try on dresses that day–but I did not buy it that day. We came back with my sister a week later and confirmed that it was indeed the perfect dress. I was still determined not to purchase a dress until I had a ring on my finger, but as I reluctantly changed out of the dress that day, I heard my mother telling the sales lady to go ahead and ring it up. So I had a dress before I had a ring. The ring came about a week later.

Describe your wedding flowers:
The date of our wedding was determined by the time in which the lilies of the valley would be blooming. Since fifth grade I knew I wanted tons of Lilly of the valley and lilacs at my wedding, so when I got to junior high, my mom started growing a patch of Lilly of the valley. The afternoon before the wedding my bridesmaids and I gathered our bouquets from the backyard and filled the garage with bouquets and buckets of lilies of the valley, lilacs, honeysuckle, tulips, and violets. We purchased two dozen tulips from the grocery store, but the rest of the flowers came from our yard, neighbors’ yards and the side of the road. My aunts arranged the flowers in vases from thrift stores and my mom’s cabinets. It was simple and lovely–and it smelled heavenly.

Tell us about your wedding cake/cupcakes:
My mom made all of our cupcakes the day before the wedding. She practiced and tried recipes for months in advance. She and her sisters arranged them on platters and placed violets on each cupcake just before the wedding. It was a great deal of work, but they looked beautiful and tasted wonderful.

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding day?
Dave’s response: Seeing Missy walk down the aisle.

Missy’s response: Riding the golf cart down to the wedding ceremony. Enjoying how beautiful the day turned out to be and watching Dave walk in through the bushes surrounding the garden. It was pure happiness and anticipation!

To see more of their wedding click here. And if you have any questions for this bride and groom let us know in the comment section, we will be sure to pass the questions on.

We have come a long way for the image on the DVD its self, from just burning a disk, to printing on the disk, to printing on high quality, water resistant DVD’s that look just as good as a DVD you can buy from the store, if not better.

We have also come a long with the presentation of the package, from a regular jewel case, to a simple square envelope, to petal paper from Paper Source secured with a button tied through the envelope to hold the disk down so that it does not get any scratches during shipping.

I like the overall look at this time, but I do feel there is a slight problem with how people understand it. I feel that it is a little bit of a complex design. When someone receives this package they open the petal, which is great! But then they seem to be a little puzzled about what to do next. I need to step back as a designer and see its functionality. So the next step is to untie the bow, but I see many confused faces when we hand deliver the DVDs. Do you have any suggestions? We would still like to use our crafty materials, because the look is perfect! Function is important too.

First some details: here is her beautiful dress, and Nate’s grandfather’s cufflinks

Their first look at each other, all dressed up

… and of course they were excited! They’re both swing dancers so they got the moves

We took photos of the wedding party

while the kids were being cute

They had a beautiful ceremony

Finally, there was a reception, with lots of cake and dancing! Congratulations!

A beautiful ceremony:

A fun bridal party:

Tasty food, including an omelet station and home made cupcakes!

And of course, the happy new couple!

God Bless your new life together!