mr & mrs brian holmes | 3.10.18

i'm not sure how to put into words all the feelings from this day. it was very surreal to be participating in all the elements of a event that has become such a part of my life the last 6 years. except this time, instead of viewing it through a camera lens, i was taking everything in with my own heart & soul.

one of the biggest gifts of this day was feeling so absolutely present as each moment came & went. most brides and grooms have always told me what a blur their wedding day was but both brian and i talked afterwards about feeling so connected and present-- and that was largely due to the people who surrounded us.  both of us got to spend the morning with friends who have helped shape us into who we are. these are people who have walked the hard & good with us and commit to continuing this journey with us. 

when b & i chose to get married in memphis (as a halfway point for our families), we knew it presented a unique dynamic since neither of our families were here to help us. cue our memphis community. they went above & beyond to help us pull off an incredibly low budget wedding that was still unique to our story and a special evening for all to enjoy.

i'm about to share a ridiculous amount of images but if you want to read a beautiful perspective of our day when you're done, head over to lil fraz's blog.

to everyone who came from near and far to celebrate with us, thank you! we feel your love more than you know and it was the biggest honor to celebrate with y'all! we had an unfortunate accident with my laptop on our honeymoon and lost our entire thank you list:/ we were overwhelmed by the generosity of each one of you and did our best to remember every thank you note but please forgive us if we overlooked any!

HUGE thanks:

Gracious bridal party host: Ally Velderman (seriously went above and beyond!)

Wedding Coordinator: Amanda Wiig Weddings / Stephanie Paschall @ Living Hope

Photographer: Emily Frazier Creative w/ Jessica Lauren

Videography: Michael Tillman

Musicians: Johny Pineda, Tara Johnson, Tommy Evans

Wedding Gown: Eleanna Flautt Designs

Groom/groomsmen suits: JCrew

His ring: Manly Bands

Bridal Hair: Paggio's

Make-up: Tara Johnson/Ashley Hansen

Flowers: Sally Norman of Floral Culture + bridesmaids

Decor: Kelly Coon, Kaelyn Knight & friends

Reception set-up: Reed Kirksey, Tyler Parker, Mark Newman + friends/brothers

DJ: Njeri Camphor

Food: ALDI! haha kinda funny to include this one but seriously they were a life saver! We fed 300 guests a gourmet meal for less than $1000.

Food prep & service: Emily Ozier & daughters, Vicki Frazier, Harvey & Molly Matheny, Lauren Wallis + many others

Popsicles: La Michoacana

Cookies: family & friends

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Brian's vows:

In an airplane ad, Troy Turner (random guy) asks the profound question, “Why drive when you can fly?” Profound. Emily Christiana Gluntz, we are taking an intimate plunge of faith into the unchartered skies of marriage, and Em, ironically I’m afraid of heights. I love driving. You know this. Fernweh is a German word, that means, longing for far off places.” And I long to take this journey with you for far off places even if it means getting on a plane or even a roller coaster. Oh, God! That German word, the title of your photography company, is real to me right now and for the rest of my days.

While flying to these far off places: The Husband’s responsibility is to remember the verse in Ephesian 5, which states, “Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. Applying this verse to my life should be easy, because you’ve loved me immensely for the past 90 weeks of our dating and engagement period. But the dilemma of marriage and my call to love you like Christ is that I will have to fall. To sky dive. To die and fully surrender control to God for the sake of loving you for better or for worse. And let’s be real, who can conjure up the perfect love of Christ when you burn the bacon at breakfast? I’m kidding. I won’t be too hard on you about that. This is not easy, but I am ready for the ride.

Emily through the turbulence and smooth sailing,

I vow to always work toward being emotionally close with you. This means while holding your hand, I am charged with holding your heart. I vow to be honest and open for the building up of you. I vow to work at understanding you without running away from the stark differences. I vow to make peace with you when we argue over the little petty things that can turn into big issues. Moreover, on the same note, I also vow to always offer make up intimacy time after our arguments are resolved if you’re up for it. Hint Hint… I vow to remain loyal to you in situations that drive to separate us. I vow to never compromise our relationship. With the help of the Holy Spirit, loyalty will stand the test of time. And lastly I vow to work toward esteeming you. This will be a challenge, because I have failed at this frequently during our dating season. I thought if I reminded you of how physically gorgeous you are that you would feel esteemed. However, esteem is more than just words. Esteem is doing the simple things like writing you a well-written letter that comes with the flowers I give you. Remembering your birthday and your 10 siblings’ birthdays (ok… maybe not realistic). Taking you to spend time with your beloved parents and grandparents. Taking an actual plane to Europe or Spain OR WAKANDA. All these things I feel will esteem you as the forever love of my life.

I want to pursue you until I’m an old man on a machine going to sleep at 5:00pm in the afternoon and waking up at 2:00am in the morning. I want to hold your hand until we become the ashes we’re destined to be. Emily, as the daughter of the King, I will work toward presenting you blameless before our Lord and Savior. Emily I want to lead you and protect you. Emily I want to remain joined together under the covenant of matrimony as it is the beautiful picture of Ephesians 5. As your husband, I vow to become more like Christ and love you in sanctification and in satisfaction.

I love you, and may the Lord continue to be the glue in this exciting journey.

My vows:

Today I stand here before the Lord Jesus and many of our dear family and friends to commit to sacrificially serving you for all our days. I believe the Lord has brought us together to bring Himself glory through our sanctification and to further His kingdom here on earth. From this day forward, you will be the protector and provider of our family and I commit to making serving your needs my greatest ministry, building you up in faith and showing you respect through my words, thoughts and actions.
Brian Wilson Holmes, as I journey with you towards a greater kingdom, yet to come, I vow to view you as a fellow heir of the gracious gift of life, made in the image of God. I present myself pure before you today and commit to remaining devoted and true to you in marriage, till death do we part.
I vow to help you cultivate a home that is centered on the Gospel and full of the Father’s grace and love. A home that always has room for one more around the table, embraces discipleship at its core and is full of laughter. I vow to care for my inward and outward appearance while giving myself wholly and freely to you. I vow to embrace the gift of grace and love lavished on me, by you, through the Father and to lay aside every weight and sin that threatens to tear us down. I commit to running this race with you and sharing in spiritual friendship as we train our bodies and minds for that future glory day. I vow to willingly seek outside counsel throughout the years as we grow in better understanding of each other. I vow to trust the Lord with the children he chooses to bless us with and to give them an example of contentment, trust and submission.
These things I vow today knowing that in my own strength I will never be able to live up to this standard, yet confident that the Holy Spirit who dwells in me will lead and guide me every step of the way in serving and supporting you for all of my days. I love you!