olive june

weekend snapshots | mr. and mrs.

olive juneFebruary 27, 2018

“the people we surround ourselves with either raise or lower our standards. they either help us to become the-best-version-of-ourselves or encourage us to become lesser versions of ourselves. we become like our friends. no man becomes great on his own. no woman becomes great on her own. the people around them help to make them great. we all need people in our lives who raise our standards, remind us of our essential purpose, and challenge us to become the-best-versions-of-ourselves.” – matthew kelly

it’s slightly raining outside but is still so bright. i can see so much of spring in the air. charlotte is full of pink and white cotton candy trees. lately, much of my day is taken up by caring and picking up after our wee one, resting for the littlest one of all, buying inventory for my shop, keeping up with our home, editing photos for this space- and it feels like my energy has plummeted. i feel tired and my body aches and the only thing that sounds beautiful is sipping a hot cup of tea or coffee and watching any show with jon hamm or a good pre-natal massage.

but this weekend was a breath of fresh air. we went away to the charming city of greenville, south carolina for an adult weekend. i always love, love our visits and the people who surround us when we visit greenville. we spent hours chatting around a campfire, we laughed until we had tears rolling down our faces, we ordered pizza late night- we celebrated love. i felt like i was in my twenties again for a hot second (like most people, i loved most my twenties- although i don’t miss the heartbreaks- my sister and i always joke and say, ‘thank God those days are over!!’ but i am so glad that i moved far away on my own and took in those days; making lifelong friends- and just enjoying those vibrant, youthful days.) overall, they were care-free and lots of fun! looking back, i am proud of myself for moving far away, not knowing anyone that well down here. now, i could probably move almost anywhere, but i was more reliant on others at twenty-four, more dependent, back then and so i am pretty proud of this endeavor. and i am thankful for all that it brought into my life. so far, my thirties have been drastically different- but in a good way. however, those days will always hold a special place in my heart.

many of those memories included my childhood friend, renee. we have known one another since kindergarten (we went k-12 together/grew up in the same rural town in ohio) and her friendship is so near and dear to my heart. she moved to the carolinas just a year after i did; i am so thankful that we were able to continue to explore southern cities, enjoy late night pillow talks, and make many more memories together as adults. there are few people i am more proud to call a ‘friend’ than her. she has the warmest heart and cares for others so genuinely- and i can always feel the love she has for me when i am with her. i could also feel that special love this weekend- as she married the man of her dreams. their story is special and i could not be happier for them both. her now husband, geoff, lost his wife to cancer over the summer of 2016 and renee was so close to both of them. their son, bryce, was only five years old at the time and renee developed a deep bond and unconditional love for geoff and for his son. her story is extremely similar to emily’s / of the freckled fox (if any of you follow her and her beautiful story). these two love stories prove that God truly does work in the most remarkable ways. how fitting that emily just welcomed a sweet baby girl over the weekend- the same weekend that renee married her love. renee and i both follow her and when she told me about her feelings/relationship in october 2016, emily had just married richard. you can read more about her story here. it was such an emotional weekend- in so many ways… seeing my friend so happy and watching bryce’s joy; his smile was so big all day. if anything were to happen to me, i would hope that my boys would have someone like renee enter their lives; someone to love and nurture them the way i would have, the way i would have wanted to forever. therefore, seeing the three of them together was touching, especially for my mom heart.

it was an intimate wedding and i was honored to be there

here are a few snapshots of the day |

her dress was a favorite of all-time- so romantic, so whimsical, so her. the underneath was chantilly lace (another favorite). i am one to never want to see a photo of the wedding dress prior to the wedding… especially in this case, i am so glad that i waited. she was so stunning; so radiant.