"And If Not..."

I have struggled with the thought of this post because it is not exactly wedding related, but it has been on my heart for the past 3 weeks, so I feel a small conviction to continue.

"And if not..."

     I usually try to start each blog post with a bible verse, especially if I feel like it pertains to the subject of the post. This one will be written about a bible verse instead. The phrase above is daunting at times to me... and if I am being honest it is because I know that if it comes to that I am no longer in control, and for a type A+ person that is not something easily let go.

     Recently I have found that this statement can also be a question, and this question can be answered. For me this answer usually comes in the form of a plan B..C...D...E when it should really come from Daniel. Daniel 3:18 to be exact. This verse reads:

  "And if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

      Although I am not having to refuse to worship an idol like in the story, I do place things {voluntary idols} before God. I find myself all to often praying that MY hopes and dreams line up with Gods instead of the other way around. 

     Having goals that you push yourself to achieve, like for me it was passing all of my licensing tests this year, is NEVER a bad thing. I  believe that God truly wants us to succeed in all things that he places on our hearts to pursue... "and if not..." or we happen to not succeed the first time, we have to remind ourselves that God is still good. He is worthy of praise. Praise that you might have to search for after a set back but it is there. It rests in the fact that He helped you get to the point of applying yourself, to give yourself the chance to succeed, and in time, in His perfect time, you will find your success.

     I hope that his resonates with someone else and helps you find the silver lining of your first attempts!

Delaney

To Chase the Light

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised.

Psalms 113:3

Light Chaser | Photographer | Friend

     From the day Zack and I started to talk about our life together the bride in me started dreaming of our wedding. This wedding in my head has changed about 10 times over the years too- but who is counting?? One thing I knew needed to be at the wedding, besides him and our immediate families of course} was THE photographer. This stemmed from stories my mom told us of their wedding day and how their photographer showed up to their wedding completely drunk.... their wedding album now holds only 20 photos that capture their beginning, and I decided that a wonderful photographer was my first to find. 

     My search actually started by Instagram oddly enough; I figured that the fastest way to get some names would be to search a platform based on pictures. After a couple days of searching through hashtags and looking at who the photographers follow themselves for inspiration, I started to reach out and connect with a few. 

Picture taken from Ashley's Website

    

     One of the few I emailed reached out to me within a couple of hours. Her name was Ashley Sawtelle. Over the next couple of days we emailed back and forth connecting on nothing other than... Austin! She actually grew up here, but moved to Denver with her husband 8 years ago, so we knew that she was a step above the others just from that ;)

     We continued to email, call, and Facetime over the next week, where she showed me her love for expressing beauty and nostalgic intimacy through photography; she also expressed how the light can showcase everything, "always find the light." Ashley probably does not know this to this day, but she was also our ray of light where things were starting dim. She was the first vendor we talked to that was willing to work with us to create something that would work for our day.  

     After a month of talking we met for coffee at Denver's Union Station and from that meeting I just knew that she was meant to be a part of our wedding! Ashley was the first contract that we signed and I counted the days until we got a chance to work with her. This day came in April, but will be told another day.

     Ashley, I have no idea if you will ever read this blog post but I would like to say, from the bottom of my heart, that I know that God put you into our lives for a very special reason. You have not only became a great friend but also a teacher. You have shown me how the light you seek in your photos is a physical manifestation of beauty in the words "I do." At turning points in the day, just as marriage is a turning point in life, your perspective has to change in order to embrace the beauty that lies in the new {and possibly even scary unknowns} of the future. Both of these have to allow change in order for a new world to be created; from day into night and from two into one.

Forever grateful | Delaney

* Stay tuned for all the adventures on TheRoadToRoberts*