A Noteworthy Obsession:

Just when I think I'm finally finished writing my thank you notes (I've lost count at this point, I've seriously written hundreds of them though), I receive the little rush of late cards/gifts. While we appreciate all of our well-wishes and gifts so very much, there should be an etiquette rule saying that anything received a month after the wedding does not need a thank you note. :) At this rate, I'm never going to be free of my thank you note task.

It may be a little late, but my latest stationary obsession is adorable personalized return address stamps. A friend of mine stamped her wedding response card with a personalized stamp and I haven't stopped searching for one ever since. I finally found a website that has a wide variety of styles, and now I'm trying to decide which one I want. (This would have been so helpful in addressing my thank you's, but I can always use them for my Christmas cards. :) One of these would make a perfect gift for a newlywed, I have several friends who are recently engaged - I think I know what I'm getting them! :)

I'm trying to decide which one I want, maybe you can help me.

From Noteworthy Notes:

Professional Pics Are In! :)

So the professional wedding pics are in and I'm just dying to share them - they just came out so beautifully! My photographers were Jeremy and Hara Cook (an adorable husband and wife duo) from Cook Images in Pensacola, FL and they just do a stunning job with every picture I've ever seen of theirs! The following pictures came from their blog (www.cookimages.com - check em out!) and I'm so excited to share them with you! :) It truly was a beautiful day - Praise God. :) Enjoy!

New Beginnings...

We did it! We finally tied the knot! :) All my worrying, planning, fretting and praying paid off - it was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined it. God truly blessed our day. Everything from the music to the flowers, the decor to the food was incredible - my bridesmaids (if I may say so myself) were breathtaking. Miss Gay and her daughter, Kayla, (a family friend and amazing hairdresser) did a stunning job on hair. My florist, Shannon at Fiore, made incredible arrangements (my bouquet was out of this world)! And my precious groom was as handsome as he's ever been! Oh! And the weather was perfect (Hurricane Ida held back her fury for 24 hrs) - our day was a dream come true.

I sat in my living room a few days ago and took a look around me and thought, "Wow! I am just so stinking blessed. I don't deserve any of this." I can't help but fight back tears when I think of all that's taken place in my life over the past 3 months; God has truly poured His blessings over even the slightest of details. My relationship with God has taken on a whole new meaning now that I've experienced being a bride - words can't accurately describe that moment of walking down the aisle arm in arm with my sweet daddy, gazing past all the people as my eyes met the eyes of one who loves me enough to sacrifice his life to be with me forever. What an overwhelming experience - all my dad remembers me saying to him was, "Where's my Brenton? I can't see him." I don't remember much of what I said, but my dad was thrilled to be giving me away to a man I was anxious to set my eyes on. As I reminisce that moment, I can't help but feel like I've finally grasped the analogy of being the bride of Christ. What a sweet thing for Him to call us - I can't imagine a love deeper than what Brenton and I share, but it's there waiting for us every morning. How intimate, I can't get over it!

My sweet husband (I love calling him that!:) just showered me with surprises (I planned the wedding, he planned everything beyond that) - he had a beautiful get away car all ready for our departure complete with an adorable "Just Married" sign and the car stereo blaring Michael Buble. He arranged for us to stay at The Lee House (a bed and breakfast I've always wanted to stay at. If you only knew my obsession with the woman who owns it, she's my local hero) - it was even better than my highest expectations. And to top it all, he had planned the perfect honeymoon. We went to Cancun, Mexico and stayed at an all-inclusive, couples resort. It was just so amazing to get away and relax in such a beautiful place with my best friend by my side!

I'm anxious to see the official pictures from our photographer, but several friends have posted pictures from the day, so I'll share those for now. Thanks so much for all of the prayers, congratulations and beautiful gifts everyone sent - we were blessed beyond anything we could have imagined and we were so happy to share such a beautiful day with all those who could make it to the wedding! Enjoy the pics!

Much love and blessings,

Mrs. Collyer :)


EDIT :: // - So I totally had these in order and sadly I just realized that blogger messed up my order. Sorry for the scattered-ness.

I Surrender...

It's been one of those weeks - you know, one of those weeks that your mind and emotions carry you away to a frenzied place so crippling it consumes your thoughts as you lie awake at night imagining all of the "what if's" of life and the stress of the day manifests itself in your body so much so that things stop functioning properly.

We're less than 3 weeks away from the big day and somewhere between Monday and Tuesday of last week my focus was thrown so far off that my body had a complete meltdown. I had been so consumed by forgotten invitations, counting response cards, designing floral arrangements, taking care of my bridal party and working out till every calorie consumed had been counted for several times over again, that I had lost sight of the big picture - Brenton and I, an exciting future together and all of the many blessings God's showered us with along the way. A swollen body, major hives, a cortisone shot, several doses of Benadryl and lots of drug induced sleep later I had been reminded - it's not about me. No matter how many pieces of chocolate I deny myself or how many pretty dresses I can find for the rehearsal dinner, nothing on that day will make me more beautiful than a radiant spirit, a peaceful heart and a body well rested. With so many details to remember, it's impossible for one person to take on the stress of keeping it all together. All peace and sanity had been shoved aside for the sake of counting response cards, sampling cake and hunting for the perfect brown ribbon, and for that I've paid the price.

Tonight Brenton and I were sitting on the couch listening to song after song, trying to select the perfect Brenton/Danya wedding playlist. An artist by the name of Jadon Lavik came up and his rendition of "I Surrender All" began to play. I had to fight back tears as the words "I surrender all/I surrender all/All to Thee my Blessed Savior/I surrender all" oozed over my heart. One little chorus pulled my heart back to that sweet but so difficult place of surrender. Loosening my white knuckled grip on all of the events consuming every moment of every passing day is so hard, but when I take a step back and realize it's truly about Him the things clouding my vision fall away and I'm left standing before my Beautiful King, whole and complete - He is truly all that I need. My heart is His above all and this wedding is the product of His handiwork, who am I to sell my emotions, my peace and my every waking moment to a day that will come and be gone just as fast as the sun rises and sets? What a relief - that one day is not where it all ends, but where it begins. A beginning, a birthing of something new, something exciting, something blessed, something purely of my Jesus. I am not worthy to bear His Name, but as long as I'm continually brought back to that humbling place of surrender, my life will be found something of worth. Drop it all at the feet of the King and find your rest in Him. :)

♥ d

Fall brings out the little Martha Stewart in me....brace yourselves!

Okay so my darling sister went on a hunt for a can of pumpkin and the results were heartbreaking....according to the Publix boy, the pumpkin crops flooded and all of our local gorcers will not have shipments of pumpkin until late next week! Who would have guessed? Just when I'm ready to toss my pre-wedding diet out the window for my favorite pumpkin cookies, my dreams are drowned in a sad story of flooded pumpkin crops. Oh well, life goes on. To make up for the sad dilemma, we made pumpkin spice cappuccinos and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies instead. They weren't pumpkin cookies - but they satisfied the chocolate craving.

Today is the first day I've taken a break from wedding planning since Israel. I slept till 8:45am and realized my heavy body wasn't so happy with all my running around - so I enjoyed a leisurely morning at the gym (as leisurely as the gym can be), had a picnic lunch with the fiance at our favorite waterfront spot in Gulf Breeze, proposed to him (yes, I proposed...hehe, his ring came in this week, so I decided to do my own little proposal in order to ensure we won't have any size issues during the exchanging of vows. And he said yes - for those who were wondering! hehe, he was delighted to see it. :), and then baked cookies and drank coffee with my sister. It's been a wonderful day - a much needed break from the wedding madness. I'm tempted to take a long weekend off from it all - but with 5 weeks and counting, I don't think I can afford it.

With the photographer booked, dress fitted and altered, cake ordered, and flowers planned - my next big project is turning a house into a home. I've always dreamed of having a home of my own to paint, decorate and fill every nook and cranny with a touch of Danya. Living in apartments with sterile walls and several female roommates who seem to have completely different tastes and opinions, I've never had the chance to just run wild with my love for decor and fashion within the home. Now that the opportunity is staring me in the face - I'm not so sure what to do or where to begin. I'm obsessed with bright colors - I love a cozy atmosphere with lots of lush fabrics, an array of textures and lots of soft lighting, yet I like a slight clean and modern look with a splash of antiques and worn pieces. The house we're moving into is bigger than I ever imagined our first place being, so with lots of space, no furniture and little time to paint or decorate before we move in is certainly a challenge. It's an older home, probably built in the 70's but has since then been remodeled and is as cute as can be. I've been doing some research to spark inspiration and here are some of my favorites thus far...







My relaxation has come to an end....I'm off to rehearsal.

Much ♥,
d