Tuesday, June 30, 2009

As promised

As promised, I wanted to post our wedding service here. We had the most beautiful service. And like they say, it flies by before you know it. Right as I got to the door of the church, I thought 'I don't remember anything we went over in the rehearsal'. Thank goodness I didn't really need to remember. Poor Andy was stressed to the max and was ready to get everything under way. We had to wait for 10 or 15 minutes because some of our family were a little late because of problems with driving directions. But everyone got there finally and we got the show on the road. 
Order of Service

Processional Music                      Wagner

The Welcome

Hymn                         Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Love divine, all loves excelling, 
Joy of heaven, to earth come down,
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
All thy faithful mercies crown. 
Jesu, thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounding love thou art; 
Visit us with thy salvation, 
Enter every trembling heart.

Come, almight to deliver, 
Let us all thy grace receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing, 
Serve thee as thy hosts above;
Pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation; 
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee;
Changed from glory into glory, 
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love and praise. 

PRIEST: The Lord be with you.

ALL: And also with you.

PRIEST: Andrew and Suzanna, you stand in the presence of God as husband and wife, to dedicate to him your life together, that he may consecrate your marriage and empower you to keep the covenant and promise that you have solemnly declared.

The Bible teaches us that marriage is a gift of God in creation and a means of his grace, a holy mystery in which man and woman become one flesh. It is God's purpose that , as husband and wife give themselves to each other in love throughout their lives, they shall be united in that love as Christ is united with his Church.

Marriage is given that husband and wife may comfort and help each other, living faithfully together in need and in plenty, in sorry and in joy. It is given that with delight and tenderness they may know each other in love, and through the joy of their bodily union my strengthen the union of their hearts and lives. It is given as the foundation of family life in which children may be born and nurtured in accordance with God's will, to his praise and glory. This is the meaning of the marriage you have made. 

You now wish to affirm your desire to live as followers of Christ, and you have come to him, the fountain of grace, that , strengthened by the prayers of the Church you may be enabled to fulfil your marriage vows in love and faithfulness. 

FIRST READING: Isaiah 61: 10-11
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation 
and arrayed me in a robe of rightousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, 
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise 
spring up before all nations.

PRIEST: God is love, and those who live in lovve live in God and God lives in them.

ALL: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open,
All desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden,
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts,
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you
and worthily magnify your holy name, 
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

SECOND READING: Colossians 3:12-17
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances
you may have against one another. 
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body you were called to peace. 
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach 
and admonish one another with all wisdom,
and as you sing psalms, hymns 
and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, whether in word or dead,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
 giving thanks to God the Father through him.

PRIEST: Andrew and suzanna, you have committed yourselves to each other in marriage, and your marriage is recognized by law. The church of Christ understands marriage to be, in the will of God, the union of a man and a woman, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till parted by death.

PRIEST: Is this your understanding of the covenant and promise that you have made?

ANDREW AND SUZANNA: It is.

PRIEST: Andrew, have you resolved to be faithful to your wife Suzanna, forsaking all others, so long as you both shall live?

ANDREW: That is my resolve, with the help of God.

PRIEST: Suzanna, have you resolved to be faithful to your husband Andrew, forsaking all others, so long as you both shall live? 

SUZANNA: That is my resolve, with the help of God.

ANDREW AND SUZANNA WILL EXCHANGE PERSONAL VOWS

SUZANNA:
Andy, you are my best friend and the love of my life.
From the moment I met you, I knew you were an amazing person. 
I am so excited that I am able to experience the rest of my life with you by my side. 
You have been my companion in joy and my constant comfort in adversity.
Your encouragement and support have shown me what true love is.
I am so hopeful for the future because I know we will be able 
to share our hopes and dreams together.
I promise to encourage and inspire you,
to be kind, trusting, tolerant and understanding.
I will always be honest and faithful to you. 
Here, before our family and friends, 
I pledge my heart to you, and only to you
for the rest of my life.

ANDREW:
Suzie, since we met, most of our friendship has been spent fighting 
about the feelings between us. 
I even moved to a different continent to prove I didn't like you.
But I'm standing here today, on yet another continent,
to tell you that I have been wrong all along.
Suzie, you mean more to me than anything in the world. 
I never though the perfect woman would be standing right in front of me the whole time.
You are my very best friend
and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you.
I love you so much.

(Andrew and Suzanna join hands)
PRIEST: Heavenly Father, by your blessing, let these rings be to Andrew and Suzanna symbols of unending love and faithfulness, and of the promises that they have made to each other, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Andrew and Suzanna have here affirmed their Christian understanding and resolve in the marriage which they have begun. Will you who have gathered here to celebrate with them support and uphold them in their marriage now and in the years to come?

ALL: We will.

(Andrew and Suzanna kneel)
ANDREW AND SUZANNA: Heavenly Father, we offer you our souls and bodies, our thoughts and words and deeds, our love for one another. Unite our wills in your will, that we may grow together in love and peace all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRIEST: Almighty God, give you grace to persevere, that he may complete in you the work he has already begun, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

PRIEST: The Lord bless you and watch over you.
The Lord make his face to shine upon y ou and be gracious to you.
The Lord look kindly on you and give you peace all the days of your life.
Amen

Hymn                           O Perfect Love

O perfect Love, all human thought transcending
Lowly we kneel in prayer before thy throne, 
That theirs' may be the lover which knows no ending, 
Whom thou for evermore dost join in one.

O perfect Life, be thou their full assurance
Of tender charity and steadfast faith,
Of patient hope and quiet brave endurance,
With childlike trust that fears not pain not death.

Grant them the joy which brightens earthly sorrow, 
Grant them the peach which calms all earthly strife;
And to life's day the glorious unknown morrow
That dawns upon eternal love and life. 

THE CERTIFICATE OF BLESSING IS SIGNED

Choir: The Lord Bless You and Keep You           Rutter

THE PRAYERS

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name; 
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done
On earth, as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread, 
And  forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever. Amen.


Hymn                         Bind Us Together Lord

Bind us together Lord, Bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken;
Bind us together Lord, Bind us together
Bind us together with love!

There is only one God,
There is only one King;
There is only one Body,
That is why we sing.

Made for the glory of God,
Purchased by his precious Son,
Born with the right to be clean, 
For Jesus the victory has won,
Bind us together.... 

You are the Family of God,
You are the promise divine.
You are God's chosen desire,
You are the glorious new wine. 
Bind us together.... 

THE BLESSING

RECESSIONAL MUSIC

IN REMEMBRANCE OF RICHARD S. BROWN

On this day, somewhat bittersweet, 
the thought of you pains my heart.
I cannot help but remember the day
we seemed destined to part.
I know you are looking down on us, 
watching from above. 
Yet, how I wish you were here today
showing your support, and love.
I'm all grown up now,
but I still wish you were here by my side.
I need you here on the day
that I am becoming a bride.
However, I cannot change the past.
All that's left now are sweet memories.
Memories, and thoughts
that in my heart will always last.
I am moving forward,
but I can't help looking back. 
Thinking of  you, and how you did everything
in your own special way.
Because of you, I have learned to cherish
each and every single day.
Daddy, I love you with all of my heart.
You are sadly missed,
and will never be forgotten.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

I have a solution

Hello all! Lots of info about what is happening with us. Actually it is pretty boring right now. We haven't really been doing all that much. The weather is nice and cool, which is so amazing because we don't have an air conditioner. But we only have to deal with that until the end of August!
Okay, so posting the original wedding photos has been a pain. Often they take forever to load, and then sometimes they don't even work. So my love for polaroid photos has won over! There is this supercool program called Poladroid. It changes any photo into a digital polaroid photo! You are able to see them "develop" on your screen and you can even shake them. And these photos load super fast on blogger. So these are some of our wedding photos that I have transformed. I know they aren't nice and clean like the originals, but I love the old feel of them. I am going to be posting more about our wedding service soon (most likely, it will include polaroids). 

So I got a letter today from my department. They have sent back all of my finals and papers along with a letter telling me I can proceed to my dissertation. Thank goodness!!!! I was super worried. I had written a paper that I didn't feel very confident writing and it showed in the results. But I passed and that is all that matters! In fact I only had to pass all of this stuff to get to the dissertation. But I feel a lot more confident in the fact that now I only have it left to write. It still doesn't motivate me to go to the library (which is something I am working on) but hopefully it will give me the confidence I need to continue on. Only 3 more months to go!

So, I have had tons of questions about where we are going and what we are doing when we get back to the states. At the moment, our plan is to move back to Birmingham. Of course this depends on jobs. Andy is putting in portfolio's with several Birmingham area advertising agencies and we are hoping for the best. My plan is to get a job wherever I am able to and start my phd in the fall of 2010 at Tuscaloosa. Our lease here in Canterbury is up August 20, so that is the proposed date of our return. We might stay on until September, because that is when my thesis is due and Andy is worried I won't finish it if we go home. But honestly I am ready to go home now. I am tired of giving up everything I have, moving to a different place, and having to start all over again. I am ready to have a place to call home. I am also ready to live close to friends. We have absolutely no social life. I was so happy when our families were here because it was familiar faces doing things with us. I can't wait to get back to Birmingham and having coffee with friends or having game night. I would really like to start a Bunco group or a book group, or something fun like that where I can get together with other people and have a lot of fun. Oh and I can't wait for the $1 movies! 
Okay so more to come soon. Thank you all for following our little blog. It will become much more exciting soon because we will be traveling a little more in July and August. Feel free to pass us on to other people who might want to keep up with everything!

We love you all,
Suzie and Andy

Monday, June 22, 2009

Photos

Finally...... a few of the photos have loaded. These photos are from the photographer and take forever to load due to the quality. It takes about 10 minutes each and have a 50% chance of failing. Poor Andy is not able to use the internet while I am trying to post them. 

These are just a few of the many after wedding photos that were taken at St. Martin's Priory in Canterbury. I hope to post a few more, but we will see if the internet cooperates with me. 

Our family and friends around the pond.

Me and Andy

We LOVE this one! I was so glad we had a clear day so you can see the cathedral. We took several shots on this little path. 


Here we are again. 

We were so thankful for the beautiful weather. It turned out to be an amazing day. After all the family shots, we sent our family and friends off to do a river boat tour while we took our photos together. It was such a good idea. Even though we were not totally alone, we got to relax and spend time together. We really wanted to make it our day that we were able to enjoy and take in together. Once we got to the hotel, we went to our room and relaxed before the reception. We wanted to make an entrance to dinner. When it was time to eat, they called and told us to come down. It was convenient because the reception room was just down the stairs from the honeymoon suite. 

Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Reception


Our reception was held at the Chaucer Hotel in Canterbury. The hotel was amazing, they made life easier on the day. We wanted a very intimate meal with family and friends, so they put us in the Ivy Suite (which the painted right before our event). 

Menu

Mixed garlic mushrooms 

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Tomato and basil soup

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Sorbet

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Roast lamb with mint jelly
served with
roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables

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Profiteroles with chocolate sauce 

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Coffee and mints
Cake

My wedding cake was baked by my mother because we didn't like the bakery we had originally chosen for the cake. It wasn't exactly what I envisioned but it tasted amazing! She made a spice cake with a white chocolate icing covered in chocolate shavings.

We asked the best man, Andy's dad, and the maid of honor, my sister, to give the speeches at our reception. 


I don't have a copy of Andy's dad's speech but he talked about Andy's unconditional love.  


My sister, whom I love so much, gave this speech:

Wow, what can I say about Suzie.... 
Suzie has always been the independent girl. 
It always made me admire her more and more with the warm outgoing attitude about her.
As a child Suzie was the person I always looked up to and wanted to be just like. 
Her beauty has always been ravishing and her heart strong.
 I know that these are only a few of the qualities that make Andy love her.
Today is the day that I have anticipated my entire life, the day that I get to witness my sister's bond and love for the man of her dreams
From the moment Andy entered into her life, he captured her heart. 
I have never seen Suzie more in love than right now in this very moment. 
My big sister has a glisten in her eyes every time she looks at Andy, and I can truly see that this is the love that lasts forever. 
Whether you realize this or not Suzie is a gem. 
She is a rare diamond that shines brighter than any other jewel around her. 
Suzie is a person that you can talk about anything with so wether we are having a conversation about Chips funny habits or an in depth discussion about life, she is always the one to listen. 
Though we have had our quarrels and strife with each other ... 
you knocking out four of my teeth...
with maturity we have a relationship that I wouldn't trade for anything. 
I hope that you and Andy have a long and happy life together, 
because we all love and adore both of you. 
Andy will protect and keep you sane and Suzie will help you and guide you when you are in need.
With each other, your love will be strong.  



Thursday, June 11, 2009

I know, I know


I don't know what it is, but at the moment blogger does not like me. I have tried several times to post photos on this blog, but they never load. I thought everyone might be busting at the seams to see some photos of our wedding and honeymoon, so you might want to check out the two links to our facebook albums. I am really going to try to work on this blog thing to get it all worked out. I am thankful for the one photo it allowed me to load after 15  minutes. There will be more to come soon, I promise. 

Facebook albums:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074217&id=41801604&l=ccf7a53706
and 
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074281&id=41801604&l=c52865b2a3

Love, 
Suzie and Andy