Our clients and friends, Rebekah and Xander, celebrated their first wedding anniversary this month; we always say this, but–phew–time flies when you’re having fun! We are so happy for these two special people. They were married in Rock Hill, SC at First Baptist Church, then with a reception at Events at Manchester. See their original blog post here.
Rebekah and Xander have a very sweet story to share and lots of great advice. We were thrilled that they were willing to contribute some of their reflections with us. Their thoughts are right on point, and there are lots of great little nuggets of advice in here!
Congratulations Rebekah and Xander! You know guys, North Carolina is between Florida and New York some where. 🙂 Come see us!
Q: Catch us up! Where are you now?
A: Since our wedding day we have been constantly fixing up our apartment in Florida, making it more and more a home (with the help of some of our wedding pictures, of course). We’ve been working and growing in the jobs we’ve had in Disney Entertainment since we met. Xander’s been doing a fair amount of puppetry and I just finished a temporary assignment working with performing arts groups and am back to performing in parades and shows. Our first major life change (after getting married) will come next year when we move to Ithaca, New York so Xander can attend Veterinary School at Cornell University. As we gradually prepare for the change to a colder and less animated-character-filled climate we’re enjoying the chance to relax, go on a few trips, cook a huge number of homemade pizzas and just enjoy each other’s (and our cat’s!) company without the intensity of wedding planning.
We’ve actually gone through our share of challenges this past year, mostly because of Xander’s ongoing medical problems which thankfully are finally getting resolved. We always knew we made a good team, but after going through multiple rounds of hospitalizations and treatments we know even more deeply that we can count on each other even at our lowest points. It is sometimes difficult to ask for or expect help from others, but we have learned that part of being married is being able to openly and humbly admit that neither of us can always do everything alone–that sometimes we need to be taken care of, and that’s ok.
We’ve also learned that, as fun and exciting as big events like weddings can be. The most meaningful and special moments of a lifelong partnership are sometimes the least celebrated, most seemingly mundane. Like holding hands on the couch after a long day of work or even the joy of working together to finally get the kitchen cleaned up.
Q. Describe a special moment from the wedding day–maybe something that surprised you or touched you the most.
A. The horse-drawn carriage ride (pulled by a horse named Penny) from the church to the reception, which had the potential to seem a tad cliche but which ended up being a beautiful few moments of calm together to let the reality set in the we had just gotten married.
Q. What was your favorite photograph from the wedding?
A. It’s so hard to pick just one! One that stands out is a shot of the just two of us from across the water at Glen Cairn Gardens. It was an intimate moment on a day filled with people, and Stephen and CJ captured it from 200 feet away. In general, our favorite pictures were the candid ones that really captured little moments of joy throughout the day.
Stephen and CJ were great. They were very personable and approachable but also very respectful about making the day about us, our families, and our guests. They injected a strong positive energy into the whole experience. They had great eyes for how to best approach capturing our wedding day, and seemed to always be around to take pictures without ever making me feel like they were intruding on the intimate moments they have immortalized.
Q. If you could go back in time, and knowing then what you know now, give advice to your newly engaged self! What would you give more attention? What things would you move down the list of priorities?
A. You’ll have to make some compromises with wedding details, but this is your day, so stick to your guns about the things you really want. We probably didn’t need to spend as much time as we did worrying about what people might think about us eating pizza before the ceremony or playing laser tag at the reception. Those unique details made the wedding special to us, and it is important to remember that guests are there to celebrate you, not to judge you, so do what you want!
PINIMAGEYou precious people, we love you! Happy first of many anniversaries!
