BEST WEDDING ADVICE THAT NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR

In our pre-marital counseling, Rachel and I were presented with this advice. What are your thoughts?

I am responsible for my thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviors. I am not responsible for my spouse's thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviors. In relationship we influence our spouses thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviors.

-theGroom

PREMARITAL COUNSELING

Last week Rachel and I got into a little something called premarital counseling. This is where her and I sit down with a person who is going to tell us all the things we are doing wrong and whether or not we should actually go through with this thing. The fortunate part for Rachel and I is that we are with Gary Bruegman who has become a friend of mine. He counseled my pastor, youth pastor and good friend from Colorado. He also knows Rachel's parents and the uncle who is doing the wedding. He is apparently a Godsend. Last week, we got into his office and got down to the conversation (and we got homework...). It was an interesting experience. Some of the questions he asked were name three of your strengths / weakness to the relationship, what do you fear the most when getting married and the whammy was is there anything you fear sharing about your past with your fiance because of how they may repsond. Good stuff huh? There was tons of dialogue and response. Rachel and I left talking a ton so I guess that a good sign. Let's see what happens tonight...-theGroom

CUTEST KIDS EVER

I thought it would be fun to share pictures of the oh-so adorable kids in our wedding!

Ring Bearer: Levi Joy. His parents are Youth Leaders at Hope. He's a ninja!


Ring Bearer: Brody Jones, cousin of the bride

Flower Girl: Addison Jones, cousin of the bride


Flower Girl: Tatum Jones, cousin of the bride


Justin and I have totally accepted the fact that these beautiful kiddos are going to steal the show! We are so excited they will be part of our special day!

Love,

The Bride to Be

Bridesmaid Dresses

Saturday Justin went with me to Lebanon (the city in Missouri, not the country) to pick up the bridesmaids dresses. Exciting, right?




Justin is thrilled to be at a bridal shop.....



"How long do we have to wait.....?"

My favorite part of the excursion occurred when we entered Normans and saw a bride to be trying on her dress. It was pink with ruffles and sparkles....Justin's face was classic. He immediately turned around and booked it out of the room. He then proceeded to ask me, (in his not so quiet whisper) "That's a wedding dress?!" I hope she didn't hear us (and thank God my dress isn't pink and sparkly!).

Good times,

The Bride to Be

WEDDING REGISTRIES

Many people have been asking about where we are registered at. On the sidebar you will find our registry links at Bed Bath & Beyond and Pottery Barn. Bed Bath & Beyond is a direct link and will take you right to the registry. With Pottery Barn, you will need to enter some of following information :

Name : Rachel Tolbert or Justin Chandler
Event Date : November 1, 2008
State of Residence : MO

That should do it. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for visiting / attending / loving us. We dearly appreciate it. -theGroom
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Now playing: Massive Attack - I Am Home

PREMARITAL COUNSELING PART ONE

This is the first in a long time for this wedding blog of ours. It's not that nothing has been happening, we just really wondered if anyone read it. Come to find out, a lot of people have and have wanted to hear more about what has been going on, so we are bringing it back. We will also upload our registry links so people can get a hold of those (hooray for wedding gifts!).

Last night, Rachel and I began our first wave of pre-marital counseling. We are meeting with Gary Bruegman. He is a newly acquired friend and old acquaintance from CBC. Formally the Vice President of Student Development, he now works with marital counseling full time. It was interesting walking into the room. Gary has been meeting with me for several months, but when Rachel and I walked in, there was something odd about it. Gary said that for most people, entering pre-marital counseling is the first stage in the game where you get the feeling that "this is for real." All the invitations, all the deposits, all the swatches, all the appointments, all of them lead to a moment, but don't take on meaning. They are simply things done to make the event for everyone. Pre-marital counseling is one of the things that is solely for Rachel and I. No other people. No other appointments. No other issues. Simply the ones her and I bring to the table. It was great though. You answer really hard questions you may have never said out loud (or some you already have). You get prodded and poked and all to help you love the person you love more. It was great in session one. We'll see about 2-6, but so far so good. And when you end the night with Red Robin, what more could one ask? More to come more often (including blogs from Rachel). Much love - theGroom
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Now playing: Trafik - Hard To Resist