9 Days Until the Wedding

Hello again,

Its 9 days until the wedding and today was the last "big" step in prep of the wedding.  This morning Joel and I met with Bishop Kicanas to get to know each other better and to get his final blessing for the union.  As you might suspect, Catholic traditions are very important and so with Bishop celebrating there is a more formal approach to wedding details.  I wasn't sure what to expect...I have the daily honor to work with Bishop, but after sitting in his office for a time he asked me "In a few words, how would sum up your relationship or this wedding?"

WE MADE IT!

This may seem simple but its very true.  Joel and I have MADE it.  We've both come very far from the lives we've grown up in, the circumstances that life has brought us, but more importantly we've made it back to each other.

This morning I prepared the items that will be sewn into my wedding bouquet.  Some of the tokens I wanted next to me in this very important hour of my life was a new rosary.  I have a blue ornate one but I opted for a more wooden, natural one for the ceremony.  It nods reverently to Jesus' humble life and I find the reminder fitting since weddings can be so opulent and costly.  I am choosing to keep things close to the root, pure.

And then the coins.  In the Hispanic culture this is actually a part of the wedding mass.  Joel and I appreciate the tradition and said the blessing privately.  But their presence and steadfast reminder to be good stewards to our growing family is priceless.  I picked coins from both Joel and my birth years and then 3 new ones for 2014 signifying our year of marriage.  The coins were delivered to the Vatican where one of our Diocesan priests had a private audience with the Pope.  It was during this audience that our wedding coins were blessed by Pope Francis!

Originally, there was an understanding of husband as "bread winner" and wife as "home maker" so the coins were given and received not in a spirit of reciprocity but in a give/take relationship.  Nowadays the coins are a reminder of good stewardship for all couples; that they will mutually support each other, their children and the world around them.  May God bless these coins that symbolizes mutual support and responsibility.

(GROOM/BRIDE Repeats) GROOM/BRIDE , I give you these coins as a pledge of my dedication to you, the care of our home, and the welfare of our children.   GROOM/BRIDE, I gratefully accept them and make this same pledge to you.

We're getting closer and closer each day to being husband and wife.  Joel and I are grateful for your support and prayers,

Danielle