For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:13-14
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’myours
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. :)
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.
