Mr. & Mrs. Spencer Johnson ~ January 20th, 2017

Spencer & Bethany's Wedding

January 20th, 2017

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing
 and obtains favour from the LORD."

~ Proverbs 18:22

Finishing touches on Bethany's hair...

 ...then the veil.

Sister Bridesmaids

Helping hand from a cousin...

... and aunt.

Mother of the Bride

Bride's turn!

Lovely dress details.

Not exactly stall mucking boots.

Something borrowed... an embroidered handkerchief 
from her precious friend and wedding photographer, Rachel.

Contemplative moment...

She's so lovely.

Bethany's beloved sister-in-law, Jordan, and nieces.

Help from their other Grandma, Shelly.

Spencer's mom's first glance at the bride.  Priceless!

  Mary, Spencer's pastor's wife.

Precious...

About to be sister-in-law, Maryia, and her boys.

Pastor Jeff H. getting a sneak peek at the bride.

Aunt Dianne and cousins.

Good friend, Mary-Lou, always ready to lend a hand.

A few pre-wedding photos.

Tender moments with Mom and Dad

 before the ceremony.

Family prayer.

The handsome groom!

Spencer and Best Man, his brother Kyle.

Groom & Groomsmen

Dan, Kyle, Spencer, Jeff, Matt

Spencer with his groomsmen,
his father, Steve, and step-dad, Rich.

Sweet moment with his mom, Wendy.

Friend and sister in Christ, Caroline Mack, has taught all of our children to play

 the piano over the past 23 years, Bethany included.  We were so blessed that she and her husband, Larry, came all the way to Florida to be part of this special day!  

Almost time!

Processional

Here comes the groom!

Everyone's in place!

Here comes the bride!

Two very important men in Spencer's life.

Pastor Jeff H. officiating.

Pastor Jeff M. commissioning Spencer.

All for Your glory, Lord.

Spencer approaches for his bride.

Paul's tender parting words to sweet Bethany

 and his loving exhoration to Spencer.

Giving of the Bride

Presenting Spencer with an antique key from our old farmhouse which

 Bethany had affixed to a cushion she'd sewn for her dad when she was

thirteen, asking him to help her guard her heart for the Lord and for her future

 husband, should it be His will for her to marry one day.  A sweet moment. 

Joy!

Parting Hugs

Pastor Jeff H. preparing to officiate.

Sweet sisters relishing the moment.

Spencer's brother and Best Man, Kyle.

Bethany's brother, Caleb, also spoke, but 
we don't have a photo.

Exchanging Vows

~ Spencer's Vows ~

I, Spencer Thomas Johnson, take you, Bethany Elizabeth Yuck,

with gratitude and joy, to be my wife.

By the help of the Holy Spirit, who lives and abides in us through faith:

I vow that the greatest and deepest love of my life will always be Jesus Christ.  Only in Him is our strength and our hope for a long life and a blessed marriage.  Only in keeping Jesus on the throne of my heart am I able to love you as I ought to love you.

I vow to submit to His headship over me as I lovingly exercise headship over you; to lead our family in prayer and worship, to build our lives on the counsel and authority of His word, to trust, love, and obey His testimonies and commandments, and to sing, share, and teach them to you and our children if our gracious God chooses to bless us with them.

I vow to seek to glorify, honor, and please Him with my words, thoughts, actions, priorities, and prayers, that the aroma of Christ would be spread to all, inside and outside of our home.

I vow to love, honor, and care for you as myself, to stand between you and evil, and to die to self every day in order to protect you, wash you in His word, and fill your life with delight.

I vow to seek your wisdom and counsel, to listen in order to understand, and to invite your voice into all matters of our life together.

I vow to be faithful to you, to guard my eyes and my heart, and to keep you as my only love, in all times and in all circumstances, until our God takes us from here to be with Him forever. Come what may, I’m yours for life.

I know that apart from the lavished grace of Jesus that I cannot keep these vows, and so I vow to humble myself, turn from my selfish sin, and seek your forgiveness when God reveals to me that I have broken them, and to completely and freely forgive you when you do the same.

~ Bethany's Vows ~

I, Bethany Elizabeth Yuck, gratefully and joyfully take you,

Spencer Thomas Johnson, to be my husband.

I vow to keep as my first and deepest love, Jesus Christ.

Only in Him will I be able to love, honour, and reverence you as I should.

I vow to be faithful to you, to keep you as my only earthly love

until death parts us, come what may.

I vow to submit to you as my head, even as the church submits to Christ

I vow to quickly seek His and your forgiveness when I sin against you, and to freely extend forgiveness toward you when you sin against me.

I vow to walk and work with you in building our marriage upon the counsel and authority of God’s Word, to join with you in prayer and worship, to trust, love, and obey His testimonies and commandments, and to teach them to our children should the Lord bless us with them.

I vow to dwell with you and care for you tenderly, no matter our circumstances, whether in sickness or in health, in want or in plenty.  Where you go, I will go.  Where you lodge, I will lodge.  Your people will be my people, and your God, my God.

Without the enabling and equipping power of the Holy Spirit, I cannot keep these vows, and so my heartfelt prayer today and every day is for Him to grant me the gift of humility, that I may remain teachable, desiring above all to honour and obey Him in all I think, say, and do as I spend my life with you in service to Him.

Exchanging Rings

Signing their vows.

Witnessing the signing of the vows.

First kiss ever!

Final Hymn

Mrs. & Mrs. Spencer Johnson!!

Recessional

Not sure what was so funny, but these are great!

Lovin' on their new brother-in-law.

Those faces!

Group Photos

Bride's Family
(Not sure how we ended up with that formation!)

Groom's Family

(They obviously had things more together than we did!)

Aunt Dianne and cousins.

Dear friends, 

pianist Carolyn and her husband Larry.

Spencer's pastor, Jeff M., and his wife, Mary.

Bethany's precious friend, Rachel, who photographed
the wedding along with her brother, Jon.

They laugh together a lot!

Spencer's long-time friends, Quinne and Dan.

More good friends, Leslie and Matt.

Bethany's best friend and brother, Caleb, and his precious family.  

What a gift they are to us!

While photos were being taken prior to the reception, guests were

 provided with a light snack of seasonal fruit, cheese and crackers, and beverages.  

During their wait, they were encouraged to fill out a "Marriage Advice Questionnaire", as well as have a little fun getting to know others guests by doing a people-finding scavenger hunt.  Some of the clues included:

- Has live video-chatted with astronauts. 

- Watched their hotel burn down during a riot in Cairo.

- Was once wanted for armed robbery. 

It made for some interesting conversation!

Oh, and that armed robbery thing?  That was me, Mother-of-the-Bride.  

It was a case of mistaken identity, but the story has provided many laughs throughout the years.  :)

The Kissing Bell

This sweet Holstein calf, as well as the milk and ice cream served with the

 brownies, were a nod to Bethany's dairy farming heritage.

Spencer enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee, so each guest

 received a frisbee commemorating their wedding day.

Seating Chart

This photo makes me chuckle.  

Planning a wedding from a considerable distance is not without its challenges, 

including ordering the correct amount of bulk flowers from Costco (can't say enough about the excellent quality, I highly recommend them!).  When they arrived at our resort in Lake Buena Vista, we were shocked at how much baby's breath we'd ordered!  

Not wanting any to go to waste, we used it in every conceivable location, including

interspersed with the leaves on some pretty "weathered" fake trees they had at the church, which we'd strung with white lights.  They actually turned out beautifully thanks to my talented sister, Dianne!  

We still had so much left that we decided to use some of it on the stage in the sanctuary in order to try to camouflage or soften the harsh-looking "technical backdrop" during the ceremony.  Without having enough vases, we had to resort to using waste bins from our condo.  This is one such arrangement.  I don't think the guests could tell.  :)

We made all of the bouquets, boutonniéres, and corsages ourselves.  

Remind me next time to just order them pre-made.  ;)

Jordan did a lovely job on the Bride's bouquet

 with some help from Bethany's Aunt Dianne.

Fabulous tasting and beautifully arranged brownie "Wedding Cake",

 provided by Linda at Cakes So Simple in Melbourne, Florida.

We had arranged for Linda to bake birthday cakes for Jordan's birthday,

which was also on January 20th, as well as to celebrate Spencer's nephew's

 1st birthday, which had taken place shortly before.

Reception Entry

Excellent buffet provided by Cathy and her staff at

Any Occasian Catering in Melbourne, Florida.

Ready to serve brownie sundaes and milk to their guests!

Oops!  Better get their aprons on!

But first, a little kiss for energy!

Anticipation!

Intense chocolate syrup squirting!

After serving their guests, they managed to enjoy a bit of dessert too!

Bethany and Spencer's brothers, Caleb and Kyle, did

such a great job co-MCing the reception.

The bride's long-time friends, Hannah, Emily-Jayne, and Molly,
did an absolutely fabulous job harmonizing a Psalm and a couple
of Andrews Sisters' songs.  They left everyone pretty much
gobsmacked by their incredible talent!

"The Observation Game!" 

Spencer & Bethany were given between 10 and 30 seconds per powerpoint

 prompt to determine why any particular group of guests rose to stand.

  

Each correct answer netted them $25.00, with the potential to

 "earn" $500.00 for their honeymoon fund.  

Exercising their combined knowledge of their guests.

 They did alright!

Pastor Jeff M. and others spoke of and to the couple. 

As Bethany's parents, one of the sweetest blessings was to listen to

those who know Spencer best as they testified of his humility and gentleness.

"

Wonder what marriage advice a sweet little sister might have given?

Precious Nieces and Nephews

Dale and Sandy, two of Spencer's dearest friends 

and supporters. 

Sweet Sue-Ellen and Gordy

Pastor Jeff H., a fatherly mentor to Spencer.

Our wonderful friend and mother of the photographers, Carrie. 

Bosom Buddies!

We're immensely thankful for those who went to such considerable effort and expense to celebrate this joyous day with us!  It was such a joy to have you there!

For those who simply couldn't pull it off, we completely understand!  For most of our friends and relatives on both sides it was a great distance to travel, but we hope this compilation of photos gives you a taste of how lovely and Christ-infused the day was.

Changed and ready to leave.

Not sure I'm ready to let her go...

Tender good-bye to her precious niece.

And there they go amidst a barage of bubbles!!

God speed, Love Birds!!


*Throughout this blog post, I've mentioned the photographers, brother and sister team, Rachel and Jon, friends of ours.  This was the first wedding they'd ever shot and I just wanted to give them a shout-out, as they did such a good job!  Thanks, Loveys!  We so appreciate all you did!


A little wedding slideshow of their lives and relationship.

We're immensely thankful for how and when He brought Spencer and Bethany together.  

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!"
~ Psalm 107:1 ~ 

Spencer and Bethany are currently living just outside of Washington, DC.  Come July, they'll be moving to Wake Forest, NC, where Spencer will attend Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in order to obtain a Masters of Divinity degree with a missions emphasis.  Though no one knows the future, they're planning on taking the gospel to unreached people groups in Asia.  Pray for them as they seek to live out their lives in service to Christ.