two (2) time champions!

The Bride & Groom  just celebrated their two month anniversary!

And what a great team they make together!

Champion newlyweds?

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“Perhaps?”
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“Duh.”
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“Yinz know it!”

(giggles)

Another look back, on their wedding day, takes us this time to review

the clever table names & centerpieces they choose.

To compliment their Wedding theme of…

“All Things Black & Gold”

they departed from the traditional table number scheme

and instead

selected the names of various Pittsburgh affiliated athletes who

represented the (University of Pittsburgh) Pitt Panthers, Pittsburgh Pirates , Penguins, and of course

Super-Bowl Champions

the Pittsburgh Steelers!

All of their favorite Pittsburgh Champions were well represented!

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The very first thing we did was to collect various gold or black picture frames. Some were new and others were repurposed and refreshed with the help of brilliant-gold spray paint!

After the groom personally selected the players nearest & dearest to his heart, we printed photos of each player to place in every frame.

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There was a lot of ink needed to print off photos of such great Champions!

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Besides a photo,

there were also Black & Gold Ribbons attached to each frame;

so that all of the guests could easily find

their assigned tables!

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Guests could find their tables by name, photo or the player’s jersey-number!

The centerpieces themselves were trophies we spent months collecting from various locations.  Some as far away as England!

(Thank goodness for Etsy!)

Cuppycake assisted in making platforms,

if a trophy was in need of one,

and as expected,

Allburn’s Florist  did an outstanding job

filling each one with

the most beautiful floral arrangements!

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(The trophies have worked well even post-wedding reception, giggles!)

Champions deserve to be honored.

And these two honored many that day!

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But just like Moses,

they knew of whom

deserved the greatest honor & glory.

And indeed…

they honored Him well.

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Photo courtesy of Danielle Hartland Photography

“Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is My Banner;”  Exodus 17:15

Who are some of your most favorite Champions?

hugs n’ blessings to all the Champions I am blessed to know!

The first man she ever loved…

 

Dad’s first look at the Bride

and

as always…

she took his breath away.

The first man she ever loved…

“Does my wedding gown look pretty, Daddy? Daddy, don’t cry”

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Photo courtesy of Danielle Hartland Photography

And because it was too hard to say out loud

the words she wished to say,

she instead placed them on a video

in a very special way.

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“Oh, with all that I”ve done wrong I must have done something riight.  To deserve her love every morning and butterfly kisses… I couldn’t ask God for more… I know I gotta let her go, but I’ll always remember Every hug in the morning and butterfly kisses…”

 

hugs n’ blessings to all the daddy’s who let their little girls go, so they could change their name …

especially this Father’s Day Weekend.

“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

one month…and many more ago.

Today the Newlyweds celebrated One Month of married-life together!

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The new Mr. & Mrs.!
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May 7, 2016

One month!!!!!

How amazingly awesome is that?

If you are betrothed, do you remember that first month?

I remember the joy in making “our” bed each morning,

the delight in packing his lunch for the day,

and the decorating of our first home, trying to lovingly create our very own space.

Oh yeah, and the dinners that maybe weren’t turning out quite right just yet!

Good thing he liked Dinty Moore Stew over egg-noodles because

that was as gourmet as it got for awhile!

(Giggles…)

So much goes into the planning of a wedding day!

Do you remember what were your favorite things to plan?

These two young adults did a fabulous job planning & organizing what they desired their day to be and it was so much fun to be a small part of this.

In all the many months leading up to the Wedding Day we collected old trophies to refurbish for centerpieces, created table placards, shopped for not only  a Wedding gown but interviewed dress-makers for the bridesmaids and created our very own Peep-Sculpture in leau of an Iced one…(because it’s always fun to be just a little different.)

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What was the most unique thing you did for your wedding?

In an effort to share our own experiences & in hopes of inspiring you to take on your own creative challenges; I will be developing a mini-feature, on the 7th of every month for six-months, to recap some of the projects we took on all those months ago!  And just like Helen & her cookie-feature I very much look forward to sharing these tips/experiences with you!

Won’t you please tell me some of your own too?

In honor of their ONE month marriage this first feature will contain the very first item they both decided was the TOP priority for both of them, which was the Church Service!

Where did you choose to be married?

They truly wanted this to be the high-light of their day and took great effort in pointing everything toward the Sacrament they were about to make.  The readings and music for the ceremoney were all thoughtfully picked out.  The people who were chosen to stand beside them and those they asked to fill particular roles were such very special choices; including every single cousin who partook in presenting the gifts at the altar!  And what a special blessing it was to have eight priests, who are dear friends, partake in the celebrating of their Union!

What were the special choices you made for your ceremony?

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The church was full that day!

They requested no flowers on the altar as they wanted the full focus on the beauty of the Church and the Sacrament;  except for the presentation bouquet to be given during the honoring of the Blessed Mother, (which the bride asked to be large enough for Miss America to carry because she felt the title of ‘Mother of God’ is far more important!)  However, there were beautiful bouquets for the bridesmaids, stunning boutineres for the groomsmen, and of the course the immediate family members as well.  Not to mention the ‘surprise’ our daughter had orchestrated to duplicate my gardenia wedding bouquet, which I had carried down the same Church isle some thirty years earlier!

Did you have a favorite flower you included in your wedding bouquet?

(All the flowers were made by the fabulous flower designers at Allburn Florist!)

The groom and groomsmen wore handsome tailored tuxes selected through Men’s Warehouse  which complemented the underlying theme of the wedding:

“All Things Black & Gold!”

Did you have any themes at your wedding?

The groomsmen (these are my two sons) wore gold ties &

the groom was in all black, (who can be seen here walking his lovely mother to her pew.)

The bride found a gown she adored for her bridesmaids to wear; however, quickly discovered the designer price of that particular gown was not a price she would ever ask her lovely ladies to pay!

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So instead she interviewed various dress-makers until settling on one who could duplicate the same dress, yet would custom make each girl’s neckline to reflect their own individual tastes!   The dresses were two-piece, a long black ball gown with pockets & gold sequin tops with six seperate necklines: Sweatheart, V-neck, Square, One Shoulder, Mock Turtle, and Off the Shoulder!

Did your bridesmaids love their gowns too?

(Check out those pockets!)

And the four adorable flowergirl dresses, with coordinating jackets & hair bows, completed the Black & Gold theme!

However, we were sad when the littlest of the four could not be a part of the special day.

Were you missing anyone special from your Wedding Day?

The little-ladies filled up the Church with “Oohs & Aaahs,”and complimented

the ring-bearers, who were each dressed in a different Pittsburgh Sports Team jersey depicting the date of the Wedding!

(See above.)

What were the “Oohs & Aaahs” at your ceremony?

The oldest of the three ring-bearers carried down the aisle with him, what would soon become the newly married Mr. & Mrs. Yatsko’s Family Bible! And with the rings placed on top he perfectly handed them off to the best-man as he reached the altar.

Do you have a family bible you use?

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The Yatsko Family Bible

What about the bride’s dress????????????

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Unexpectantly, the first gown our daughter tried on was…THE one she chose to wear for her Wedding Day!  We went shopping on a “whim” when a couple of hours of unplanned free time, prior to a family event, popped-up during a visit home.

I didn’t even have any tissues with me!!! 

But from the moment she put it on…she knew it was “her” Wedding gown.

How did you know  when to say “Yes!” to the dress?

 Before & after final alterations were completed.

(A magical experience from start to finish at Bridal Elegance!)

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Everything they had hoped & planned for from the Church Service

came together perfectly that day!

What was the ‘perfect moment’ on your Special day?

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Ringing the Church bells together!!

It is so hard to believe it was one month ago already!

There were so many blessings which occurred on that day…

and in the many months ago of planning.

God only knows just how many more are yet to come in the months that lie ahead!

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What blessings do you hope for in the upcoming months of your marriage?

 

hugs n’ blessings (and a prayer) especially for all newly married couples, as you navigate through the wonderful Sacrament of Matrimony!

 

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please remind us to pray for each other often, and to be kind as we’re growing in grace.

Equip us to be the strength that we need, one for the other. May we serve to encourage as we fulfill our God-given roles; one a wise leader, and the other a compassionate help-mate.  For your Word says, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a help-mate for him.”

Thank You for Your wonderful gift of a trustworthy companion and friend. Thank you also for the gift of marriage that we open each day.

In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” – Genesis 2:21-23, KJV
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“So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” – Genesis 2:21-23, NIV

*Prayer taken from Time-Warp Wife, Keeping Christ at the Center of Marriage