Wedding Vows That Can Touch Your Heart

I've been wanting to post this video mid 2011 but since I also wanted to post here the vows  in words, i waited for an available time for me to transcribe them. Now that i already transcribed them (i hope i did a good job in transcribing them accurately), here's the video of the wedding vows I've been wanting to share on this blog site. 

These vows are really touching and inspiring. I also posted my review of these wedding vows at the bottom of this post.

GROOM

When I say I love you,

I’m not just making you my wife,

I’m making you my best friend,

My last dance, my only hope, my forever lover.

When I say I love you,

I’m not just expressing a feeling,

I’m solidifying a commitment

And i know it'll take my whole life to show it to you

When I say I love you,

I’m not claiming to have all the answers,

I hope that when we are together

We can ask all the right questions.

When I say I love you,

I’m not just repeating “'til death do us part,"

I’m saying i'll be here for you forever

In this life and the life to come.

When I say I love you,

I’m not just voicing mere words

I’m telling you that I’ve been surprised, challenged, shocked, humbled—

realizing that soul mates really do exist.

When I say I love you,

I’m not just giving you human love

I'm attempting to pour out God’s unconditional, sacrificial love

Dying to self, in hopes that I can better honor and serve you.

Alicia, i don't know how to imagine it myself

an undeserved blessing, a gift from God

To most in the world, my life is closed

but to you I open my heart

I don’t know what the future holds,

but I know that I don’t have one without you.

Just know that when I say I love you, I love you.

BRIDE

When I say I love you,

I’m not just making you my husband,

I’m making you my stronghold,

The family leader, my heart’s protector, and my goodnight kiss

When I say I love you,

I’m not just standing before family and friends,

I’m kneeling before Christ our Savior

And praying that His grace will knit our lives together

When I say I love you,

I’m not just adding your last name,

I’m subtracting our loneliness, dividing our sorrows

And multiplying our joys so that two can become one

When I say I love you,

I’m not just asking you to make me whole,

I’m asking you to stay focused on God

And together with the strength and love

We will be made holy

When I say I love you,

I’m not expecting happily ever after,

I’m just preparing

But to the mountains and the valleys,

Swim through the joys and sorrows

Battle the good times and the bad

So together we can make a life.

When I say I love you,

I don’t want big houses or fancy cars

I just wanna live in your arms and touch your heart

So we can dream bigger dreams than we could do separately

Jason, you are the man of my dreams—

a real-life knight in shining armor.

And i never had such peace when i'm with you

I never felt closer to God than I’m with you.

I know i'm not perfect, but I believe that we fit perfectly together.

Just know that when I say I love you, I love you.

Just a review from me (the blogger): The vows are really touching and they are very inspiring especially from the statement of the groom that says:

When I say I love you,
I’m not just making you my wife,
I’m making you my best friend,
My last dance...my forever lover.

Every word would make you fall in love and would make you cry. It's like a fairy tale in a real world.

I just wanna review some of the statements like:

"I don’t know what the future holds,

but I know that I don’t have one without you."

We know that God holds the future even if someone is not with us, but i can understand that in a "lover's perspective". The groom and the bride in this video are godly so i believe they know that God holds their future.

I want to review this statement as well:

"I’m making you my stronghold,

The family leader, my heart’s protector..."

God is our stronghold, he should be the family leader and our heart's protector. 

Ephesians 5:22 says, "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord." God is the head of the husband, the husband is the head of the wife, so God is the family leader. On the other hand, i also agree that the husband should be the leader of the family because God has given him authority to lead the family.

As the heart's protector, i believe in some point that a husband can protect the wife's heart but not all the time, so, God is still the ultimate protector of our hearts.

But, overall, these wedding vows are really inspiring and very touching.To all the married ones, may this video inspire you more to love your spouse and remember your vows and fulfill them. If you are single and soon to be married, may you find inspiration from these vows and may your heart be touched. 

I would like to thank Jason Illian for giving me permission to post the video here. To Jason and Alicia Illian, may you continue to be blessed in your marriage life and continue to make Christ as the center of your relationship.

Copyright © 2012 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post. 

 By the grace of God I am what I am.

A Journey Of A Long Distance Relationship

courtesy of ArlethG Photography (used with permission)

  

Marriage is a journey...you can't just desire for it today and date on that day and marry the next day. 

And for me, you can't put God in a box where to meet the person you'll marry. God has so many ways in doing it in answers to our prayers.

A journey of a long distance relationship...this is basically an interview and a photoblog about LJ and John's journey with their wedding that started as a long distance relationship.

  
LJ Salceda-Shroeder is a former 702 DZAS host of Inspirations Unlimited and Pinoy Espesyal but still the host of Love On Air and the author of Eating With One Chopstick. 


This interview was supposed to be a video interview when she was still here but for some reason, i wasn't able to produce a video interview.

Anyway, their story is really a wedding dream that came to reality. I said this because they underwent a lot of paperwork (which is not easy to accomplish), interviews and different situations before they finally married. After reading this, you might want to read LJ's blogs (the link to her blog site is posted on the latter part of this article.)

Here's the interview:

WeddingDreamsAndReality :

 

How do u feel now that your single days are numbered?

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

Mostly stressed out because of the paperwork and wedding preparations. It went by fast because I was always occupied with something, before I knew it, I was married! :)

courtesy of ArlethG Photography

courtesy of ArlethG photography

courtesy of LJ

courtesy of ArlethG photography

WeddingDreamsAndReality :

For those who don't know, how did u meet John?

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

 

We met through a Christian dating site for free.

courtesy of LJ Salceda-Shroeder by Wingdingz

WeddingDreamsAndReality :

How long have u been on before u got engaged?

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

About a year and 4 months.

courtesy of LJ's facebook photos

courtesy of LJ (Bohol, Philippines)

courtesy of LJ

courtesy of LJ

courtesy of LJ

WeddingDreamsAndReality : 

What are the disadvantages and advantages of having a long distance relationship and how did u overcome those disadvantages?

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

Advantages: Focus on work/ministry and avoiding temptations, more time for yourself.

more time for herself

focus on work (with her DZAS family)

focus on the ministry

Disadvantages: Not being able to see each other in person, expenses, not being able to spend important occasions together.

alone during christmas day

WeddingDreamsAndReality :

How did u know that John is the one you want to marry? Was there a "sign" that he is the one :) ?

courtesy of ArlethG photography

courtesy of ArlethG photography

courtesy of ArlethG photography

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

I don't believe in signs nor asked for them. I prayed, I asked the Lord for guidance and confirmations and I had peace in my heart that's when I knew we were meant for each other.

WeddingDreamsAndReality :  

What tips can you give to those who are on LDR (Long Distance Relationships) to make their relationships successful?

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

Pray, invest in your relationship and save tons of money for visits, paperwork and wedding. :)

her visit to the U.S.

John's visit in the Philippines

WeddingDreamsAndReality :

Congrats to the both of you and may your marriage be successful and fruitful!

courtesy of ArlethG photography

courtesy of ArlethG photography

courtesy of ArlethG photography

A journey of a long distance relationship...it wasn't easy for the both of them but in their patience, a lot of prayers, trust in God, encouragements from their family and friends, willingness to do the paperwork without going through shortcuts, the love for each other, the vision to reach their goals and the desire to glorify God...wow...it's really inspiring! LJ and John, may your marriage continue to glorify God.



God deserves all the glory!



Acknowledgement: thanks to Arleth for allowing me to use her photoshots here and giving her immediate permission when i sent her a message about it and to my friend Mrs.LJ Salceda-Shroeder for giving her time to answer all my questions and for allowing me to feature her and John here. Thanks also for her facebook account for the photos:)


You can visit LJ's blogs here.

Copyright © 2011 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post.

By the grace of God I am what I am.

Wedding...Every Woman's Dream

This was the first photo i took when i passed by a wedding fair years ago. I entitled this photo as Wedding...Every Woman's Dream.

Be honest women! We women dream of a beautiful or memorable wedding, if not grand wedding.

Its been in my heart to start another blogsite aside from what i already have, http://woman-with-a-mission.blogspot.com/

My friend encouraged me to start another blogsite about fashion.Fashion is also one of my passions but wedding is really a strong subject in my heart and since i'm the family event planner, organizer, scriptwriter, host...name it  and i did it  ( but of course with limitations:), so i prioritized tackling this subject. In this subject i would like to help or at least contribute to your plans for your dream wedding. So here it is, http://WeddingDreamsAndReality.blogspot.com.

Why Dreams and Reality?

Dreams-according to free dictionary is a wild fancy or hope; a condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration. 

Every woman longs for a beautiful wedding. On this blogsite, i will share many things about weddings which im going to research about...from wedding dress to reception....and all those wedding essentials.

Reality- because we need to realize that in reality, we don't just think of the wedding per se but the family we're going to enter after the ceremony, the things that are in involved before and after wedding and also the marriage life, etc. Here, i will post things that will talk about life before or after one's wedding with the help of the experienced people and other writers.

I'm so excited about this new blogsite.I don't have any experience with the wedding yet.I'm still "a girl waiting" but one of my dreams or longings is to have a memorable and beautiful one.Something that i am asking God for a gift in my life. After all, God will not withhold any good thing from his children. My ex-boyfriend said, " you deserve a beautiful wedding...a wedding that people in your country will talk about." Wow...amen to that (so be it). I consider that statement later as a prayer and of course, that God will be glorified on my wedding day and later on in my marriage life because He is the giver of good gifts.

Wedding dreams and reality...something that really excites me about. They say that when you help fulfill other people's dreams, God will fulfill yours. So here it is, i just want to help you fulfill your memorable and beautiful dream wedding and later on, enjoy and share mine too, in God's time. "Stay tune" for more updates:)