this was read at our wedding.

Advice from a Tree
By Ilan Shamir

Dear Friend,

Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter

Feel the wind and the sun
And delight in their presence
Look up at the moon that shines down upon you
And the mystery of the stars at night.
Seek nourishment from the good things in life
Simple pleasures
Earth, fresh air, light

Be content with your natural beauty
Drink plenty of water
Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes
Be flexible
Remember your roots

Enjoy the view!

more pics from the big day...

my dress on a personalized hanger

something old... my mother's wedding band

our handmade programs

the aisle... complete with 1000 paper cranes and mason jar flowers hanging from shepherd's hooks

the basket that housed the wedding programs... sign made by friend and wedding coordinator Christy

writing your own wedding vows.

We decided to write our own vows for our ceremony. We weren't quite sure how it would go, but we knew we wanted to have some sort of format... like a template so we could have some uniformity to what we each would say without knowing exactly what we each would say.

After several attempts to search for a "write your own vows" template online, we came up with nothing. Because I have a mild addiction to blog reading, I stumbled upon this old entry from 2000 dollar wedding ( a blog I found pretty informative on how to save dollars on your wedding). I also read a lot of original wedding vows, but never found a great template. So we eventually came up with our own. This is how it went...

-(I will say your name here and you will say my name), a statement of your choice about your feelings for me (1-2 sentences). Okay so it's all cheese. Just say something cheesy here.

-a feeling, a story, an anecdote. A few sentences. You can be funny here if you want to be. Maybe something that makes you laugh about me or a thought about love or marriage in general.

-3 or 4 statements beginning with I love...

Example: I love that you take a shower every day. I love that you are strong. I love your passion for music.

You get the point. You can make each statement as long or short as you need to.

-a few sentences about where we are as a couple, where we are going OR anything else you would like to say to sum up feelings.

-your actual vow. Start this sentence with I promise...

Example: I promise to love you with my whole heart and to make you breakfast every morning. I promise to be the best wifey ever. I promise to kick the sheets off of your bed every night while I'm sleeping ;)

Maybe we should have 3 or 4 statements beginning with I promise??? Like the love thing.

-End with I love you.

There have been a few requests for a copy of our written vows, so here they are. David's first. And then mine.

Leah Allison Kirk

I love you soo much. Its a love I have never felt before. Its so easy to throw up my arms and run away in life when faced with a difficult situation..even when surrounded by soo many great situations. Its in these difficulties that I find the true meaning of love. With you I want to stay, fight, work something out, and then go get a bite to eat together....You are my best friend.

I always thought I would have been married by the age of 26. I would be dancing with my love and then relaxing...and sharing some dessert together. Well we arent 26, we arent good dancers, and as I found out on a date early on....you dont like to share your cheesecake.

I also never thought I would get real sick....and even if I did I would go get the cheap medication. The first time I was sick with you...you took care of me. You came to my house and had name brand medicines and it was an assortment. NAME BRAND. I was soo nice that it warmed me....I didnt care about being sick anymore...infact I didnt want to get better with you there.

The point is is that none of this is the way I thought it would be.....its better

I love that you are a believer. I love that you are a survivor. I love that you are a pistol. I love that you love PeeWees Big Adventure. I love that you fall asleep in movie theaters. I love that you can read music. I love that you set goals and then knock them out. I love that you challenge me. I love that you love the Beatles. I love how creative you are. I love how you inspire. I love how you love me and all of my shortcomings. I love how you are healthy and how much you have a burn to workout. I love your cats Oscar and Zoe and how Oscar looks like me. I love how beautiful you are. To sum up...I am ready to do this. I am ready to fight through what life throws at us and to enjoy it along the way. I am ready to travel the world.

I am ready.
I promise to be there for you. I promise to support you. I promise to challenge you. I promise to listen to you and even to hear what you are saying. I promise not to try and always fix things. I promise to continue to hug you even though you arent a big hugger. I promise to love you unconditionally.

Allison Kirk...I love you

David Taylor Crawford,

I am completely elated to be standing here in this moment with you. You came into my life six years ago with a light shining brighter than I could ever imagine. You have been such an easy person to fall in love with over and over again. What a blessing it is to be here today in front of everyone I love marrying my very best friend.

I love your infectious smile.

I love your unmatchable humor.

I love your strength in complete chaos.

I love your ability to walk up to a complete stranger and make that stranger laugh within minutes.

I love that you have a ridiculous amount of patience and love for others.

I love that you are a man of God.

I love that you have a passion that allows you to be unstoppable.

I love that luxurious red hair of yours.

And most of all, I love that in you, I have found my perfect match.

I couldn’t be more happy to call you my constant friend, my faithful partner, my family, my husband, my eternal love. So today, in front of God, our family and friends, I make this vow to you.

I promise to love you forever.

I promise to support you in your goals.

I promise to trust and respect you, to cherish our union as husband and wife.

I promise to comfort and encourage you, and to hug you often.

I promise to laugh with you and cry with you.

I promise to stand beside you through the good and the bad.

And I promise to let you eat big bowls of chocolate ice cream… sometimes.

With this vow, I give you my hand, my whole heart and my true love.

I love you.

a lost detail...

I started getting really busy (and stressed) during the last month of the engagement so I may have missed some details. These are the water bottle labels I designed and we had David's graphic designin' brother print out for us...

we still have a ton leftover.

photo preview...

Our photographer had some trouble with her card reader so we still haven't gotten our wedding pictures yet. She did, however, send a few favorites...

our honeymoon mishap

So our honeymoon was accidentally booked for the wrong month. We found out the night before we were supposed to leave. We are unable to prove that is was the booking agency's error (we know when we got married!) so it could potentially be a large loss. Although, we did get the airline to give us vouchers to use in place of the tickets we lost. There were a lot of tears that Sunday night, but we got through it and decided to book a last minute cruise (a little more economical) to the Bahamas.

walking to our cruise ship!

there is a constant flow of food... so many choices

and they want you to get fancy...

and people like this will stand in front of you when you're trying to watch a guy carve an ice sculpture...

and they let you hang out in paradise!

we did it!

We actually pulled it off.  I wish I had had access to internet for the last few weeks so I could add more little details, but with us moving and the big day, it just didn't happen.  I'll post more pics as my photographer continues to edit.  Here's a little preview...