"Beauty pierces her heart and draws her into the sacred. She wants not only her wedding, but her marriage to reflect this in every way: through awe-inspiring liturgy, decor, and photographs, each infused, above all, with the radiant beauty only made manifest in sincere holiness. No matter her past, she has a love for all that is pure. She desires nothing more or less than to make a complete gift of herself. She chases fearlessly after virtue, knowing excellence is the path to true freedom, and freedom is for love. Deeply, profoundly, she is in love..."

Emily + Daniël | Christmas Season Wedding

January 06, 2017/ Editor Spoken Bride

From us to you, happy Feast of the Epiphany! At the close of this Christmas season, our prayer for you is grace and fortitude as you journey closer each day to your own Bethlehem: to the deep joy, the silent, indescribable riches of the heart, and the pure wonder that flow forth from married life. To celebrate the last day of this sacred time, we're thrilled to share an additional post this week, featuring Emily and Daniël's amazing love story, Praise and Worship-filled wedding Mass, and holiday-inspired details!

Emily is a full-time speaker. On her first-ever European trip--to the Netherlands for a youth and music ministry conference--one of the conference presenters, named Daniël, picked up Emily and her colleagues from the airport. What followed was the start of an international romance that would almost seem improbable, were it not for the Father's infinite wisdom, mercy, and providence.

From the Bride: There’s one truth that stands from the beginning of my love story: if God designed it to happen, he will make a way. God always makes a way.

On the first day of my trip, where I'd be singing and speaking at the conference, the others in the group had meetings to attend. I had the time free, and Daniël was given the job of taking me to sightsee around Holland. The first place he wanted to show me was his favorite basilica in a nearby city. If you have not been to Europe, you must know…the churches will take your breath away every single time. We walked into Mary, Star of the Sea Basilica and I was totally floored by its beauty. We walked in and Daniël asked me if I wanted to pray in their chapel. We prayed together for the first time that day. Unbeknownst to me in that moment, we would end up praying together every single day after that.

Daniël and I spent time getting to know one another throughout the weekend of the conference, and I was incredibly moved by what a strong, generous, faithful, giving, and kind man he was. When I returned home to America, I knew God was doing something big. But I was clueless as to the extent of the adventure that was beginning.

Daniël sent me a letter expressing the same things I was feeling – that somehow, He knew that God was calling him to pursue me rightly, even from 6,000 miles away. A man in the Netherlands pursuing a woman in California…a scenario only possible for God. He always makes a way.

We began calling one another on Skype, getting to know each other, and praying about what God was calling us to. We later discerned that it was best for me to make a return trip to Europe to explore what God was doing. I returned two months after we first met, and after Daniël took me on a few dates--even though the prospect of dating across an ocean was overwhelming--we decided to begin formally dating.

Daniël pursued me from half a world away, on a 9-hour time difference, for 2 years. Our relationship was beautifully blessed, but a very challenging road. We had to learn to show the other love with only words and prayer. Date “nights” on weekends meant spending time on Skype on my Saturday morning and his Saturday night, always finding new things to talk about. God’s hand made way for every visit (about every 2 months), and our dedication to keeping Christ at the center of everything was what carried us on with hope and deep purpose in our relationship. We committed to walking the road together daily.

God continued to make a way.

Daniël secured a graduate school internship in Laguna Beach, California, so that we could discern marriage in the same city together. We continued to fall in love, and Daniël continued to show me his heart of deep goodness and his firm foundation of faith and virtue. He never ceased to impress me by the core of who he was and the way he honored me. Daniël proposed in February 2015, and were married on December 30th of that year.

I now look at my sweet husband across the dinner table from me, and reflect on how we are a living, breathing sacrament together. We are living in the center of God’s promise that nothing is impossible for him. We are living the fulfillment that comes with dedicating our life and love to God--living the fulfillment that comes with our waiting for one another--the fulfillment that comes from professing a vow and trusting Christ to give you the strength to abide by it.

God made a way for us, and he makes everything beautiful in his perfect timing and perfect power. True love is possible, and it is alive and well in this world. May we celebrate, believing in the goodness of true love and the power that it has to change this world."

From the Photographer: It has been a gift working with so many faith-filled couples, documenting the beauty of the sacrament of marriage. This is a day I will always remember. As Emily and Daniël's wedding day unfolded, I was in awe of their total, self-giving love. A love that is playful, childlike. A love that gently whispers truth. A love that patiently waits on God’s timing. A love that we are all called to.

These two have spent their lives running toward Christ and leading so many young souls to his Heart. Their courage to enter into marriage as a shining light in the darkness is truly inspiring. After journeying through the daily sacrifice of a relationship continents apart, the whole day was spent in joyful disbelief that this day had finally arrived. As Emily and Daniël were each covered in prayer by their closest loved ones, the Father’s grace was just overwhelming.

One of my favorite aspects of their wedding Mass took place after Communion. The whole church was worshipping the God of the Universe at the top of their lungs with thankful hearts, to the song "How He Loves." There was no rush, just basking in that moment, praising him together. This is a marriage that is focused on the treasures of heaven.

December 27, 2016

Rosanna + Matthew | Marian-Inspired Wedding

December 27, 2016/ Editor Spoken Bride

He was from Texas and she was from California, preparing to attend the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid. The first few times Rosanna and Matt talked over Catholic Match and Skype--starting on Divine Mercy Sunday--Rosanna noticed how full of life Matt seemed, filled with joy for the Catholic faith. Yet she'd been praying for guidance about her vocation. They continued having dates over Skype and in person, and in Spain that summer, Rosanna experienced peace that God was calling her to marriage--quite possibly with Matt.

Shortly after Rosanna returned home, Matt asked her to be his girlfriend at a church in San Diego, feet away from statues of Our Lady. Over the next two years, they dated according to a traditional courtship approach they felt called to and flew out to visit each other as often as they could. But monthly flights started feeling old. After a Tridentine Mass, in a candlelit chapel devoted to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Matt read Rosanna a poem he'd written and got down on one knee.

From the Bride: We got married on the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel at my home parish in Southern California, which is run by Norbertine monks. We had picked the date somewhat haphazardly. We smiled, though, when we realized that not only was it a Marian feast day, but a feast deeply loved by my great-grandmother, Dolores, a third-order Carmelite who loved Our Lady of Good Counsel so much that she named one of her daughters "Buen Consejo." I also realized the Marian image in my room growing up was one of this particular devotion to Our Lady. And lastly, I am a marriage and family counselor by profession; what better honor and title of the Blessed Mother to celebrate our marriage? When we went to Rome for our honeymoon, we attended Pope Francis's weekly audience and were blown away to find the topic he addressed was none other than the gift of "good counsel."

Matt and I decided to have a our nuptial Mass as a hybrid of an English and Latin novus ordo Mass. We chose to have a few parts, such as the Creed, sung, as we both love sung liturgy. The Norbertines utilize many traditional “smells and bells” in their Masses, and we were so happy to include those traditions in our liturgy.

Receiving the Lord together in the Holy Eucharist, kneeling side by side, for the very first time as husband and wife was even more exciting than the nuptial vows that we exchanged. Two traditions we incorporated were the Spanish lasso from my Filipino roots and a Croatian tradition where the bride and groom hold a crucifix while saying their vows. After the wedding, by a statue of Our Lady of La Vang, Matt and I shared our first kiss on the lips. It was something we'd felt called to abstain from during our courtship, and was a delightful, fun milestone moment.

The reception venue was the clubhouse at UCI, where my grandfather was a doctor and professor, and where my parents met. We wanted the theme of our wedding to be "Culture of Life." Our cake was inscribed with life abundantly, and John 10:10, with the full verse, "I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly," on a chalkboard poster behind it. We also designed our own monogram, an R and an M entwined with a cross, in the style of monograms that frequently adorn Marian altars. We peppered the banquet tables, laid so beautifully with coral and pink flowers by our florist, with frames featuring pictures of saints and some of their most inspiring quotes. As Matt and me come from a few different ethnic backgrounds, we chose saints from Italy, Japan, and the Philippines to reflect our heritage. In these simple centerpieces, we wanted to reflect the universality of the church, full of all kinds of people but with one powerful, singular focus: the call to holiness and the worship of Jesus, the Bread of Life. To celebrate our first kiss, we also had a sign inspired by the Song of Songs: "Kiss me, my love, that your name be on my lips. You intoxicate my being with the fragrance of your presence."

Matt washed my feet during the reception in order to symbolize how Christ, the groom, humbled himself and washed the feet of his disciples: his body, the Church. I remember choosing the song "The Spirit and the Bride" by Matt Maher, days before the wedding, to be played during the washing. When I discovered the song, I broke down in tears, realizing the goodness of the Lord, and his love for me in all of my brokenness. To think that I would be marrying Matt in just a few days, my broken self and all, that God had brought so much healing into my life through Matt, and that he would continue to heal and grow both of us through our marriage, just humbled me to my knees.

I think those few minutes that Matt washed my feet etched a deep meaning into both of our hearts that day. We were saying, in a symbolic way, that we were both laying down our lives for one another; that there was no turning back, that we were "one flesh" in the eyes of God now. It's something I still flash back to when we hit rough spots. Our marriage crucifix, the one Matt and I held as we took our vows, hangs above our bed. Every day, we are reminded of the great sacrament we partake in, and the heights of holiness to which we are called.

September 06, 2016

Emma + Mark | Edwardian-Inspired Wedding

September 06, 2016/ Editor Spoken Bride

Emma was living in Philadelphia, waiting out the final week of a six-month online dating subscription on CatholicMatch, when she received a message from a handsome man from New York City. Their first in-person meeting began shortly after, the day Mark stepped off a train into Philly's 30th Street Station. They soon began dating long-distance, and ten months later, Mark got down on one knee in the middle of the station.

From the Bride:

Deciding where to tie the knot was tricky. We’re adopted East Coasters with friends scattered from Pacific to Atlantic. We ultimately chose rural, quirky and historic Eureka Springs, Arkansas--an hour away from my parents--for our semi-destination wedding.

Mark is a convert who was drawn to Catholicism through the beauty of the traditional Latin Mass. Our wedding mass was in English, but we were able to find a schola choir nearby to chant parts of the liturgy in Latin.

The Crescent 1886 Hotel, where we held our reception, claims to be one of the most haunted hotels in America. This was not a deal breaker for us! It happened to be situated within walking distance of a quaint, historic Catholic Church, itself a rarity in the South. We wanted a moody, vintage and romantic feel for our wedding, and the entire area made me think of an Edwardian ghost story come to life.

I was initially afraid planning a wedding out of state would make including personal touches impossible. However, we ended up with more DIY projects than anticipated, and found many ways to reflect our style and talents. Mark and I are both graphic design savvy, for instance, so we created & printed our Save-The-Dates, invitations, programs, place cards and all other wedding signage ourselves.

Antiquing is a passion in my family. Every time I come home to Arkansas, my mother and I scour area junk shops for oil lanterns with hurricanes, antique medicine bottles, and authentic vintage mercury glass. I showcased some of our finds for the reception, and ended up following some online tutorials and creating additional mercury glass votives and vases.

Our wedding favor was a small jar of home-infused mint & blueberry tequila (Combine 4 cups tequila, preferably 100% agave, 2 cups blueberries, and 1/4 cup mint in a sealed container for 4-7 days, then strain). I made something similar as a gift for Mark on our first Valentine’s Day, and home-infusing has since become a bit of a shared passion. We infused & bottled it over the space of a few weeks, assembly line-style, in my kitchen. A caravan of friends driving to the wedding transported the bottles from Philadelphia to Arkansas for us.

Choosing vendors off the internet was a bit challenging, but easier than it could’ve been in the age of video chat and peer-reviews. We went with less traditional retailers for our wedding party’s attire and were pleased with the overall ease and quality. And we hit the jackpot with our photographer, Kinsey Mhire, whom we met in person for the first time on the morning of our wedding!

I found all the tropes and hackneyed sayings people spout about your wedding day to be maddeningly true. It does go fast, you won’t get to spend the quality time with each guest that you might like to, and definitely don’t forget to eat. I woke up early, made some coffee and spent some quiet time on the porch by myself, praying and reflecting about the solemnity of our vows and what lay ahead. I’ll repeat some more tropes and say that the day winds up being special not because of the details you have planned, but because it seals you & your beloved in a covenant.