The Harris Wedding Part 1: The Dress

I can not believe that the wedding is over!

So much work went into the whole celebration and I am forever indebted to

all of those who made it possible. 

I will be sharing these beautiful day in pieces, first beginning with my amazing dress!

Mom and I have watched countless episodes of Say Yes to the Dress and have critiqued literally hundreds of dresses. I think I could now work in a bridal shop I am such an expert! But if we learned anything it is that there is truly one perfect dress out there for every woman. We also learned that most women completely over pay for that special dress!!

I am so blessed that I was able to find an amazing dress that a dear, sweet lady in our church had. She had inherited a house full of dresses from a renter who owed money and did not know what to do with them. She called Daddy and said, "Do you know anyone who might want a cheap wedding dress?"

Daddy's reply, "Um, yes!"

I was able to go over to the home and look through I'm certain almost a hundred dresses and pick all the ones in my size range to try on. We loaded them up and brought them to our house for trying on. This is a true blessing as I was a bit worried about being critiqued in front of an entire bridal salon.

Our neighbors must have wondered what in the world was going on as we unloaded a van full of dresses and brought each one inside!

But as I tried on and tried on, I was getting a bit discouraged. I actually thought I liked one dress but was not sure. But then as I put on the last dress Minda began to cry. "This is it!" I said I did not think so, but as I stepped out into the living room and looked at the dress in the big mirror I saw what she was seeing! This was my dress.

The original ticket price for the dress was almost $1000 but Ms. Doris would only take $75 for it!!!!

When I went to a bridal shop to purchase the undergarments for the gown, (they cost more than the gown itself!) the attendant was amazed that I had not had a fitting done on the dress. I told her the whole story and she said that this was a miracle dress and that it looked like it had been made exactly for my body!

The original dress had a small white bow on the back.

I really was not happy with it. A little too Minnie Mouse!

So I began to discuss with Minda what might be more me, and she created an absolutely gorgeous

back piece that I adore!! So me and so beautiful!!

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Laura Marie, the same awesome photographer who did our engagement shoot, and my wonderful sis in law to be, took the pics for the bridal shoot.

We decided to take them at the Hattiesburg Public Library. It is a beautiful location and it defiantly speaks to my literary side! Laura created some simply elegant shots and I could not be happier!

 I could not have asked for a more beautiful dress or a more perfect photo shoot.

I think that a dress like this one is one that I could never even dream would be

so exactly right. It fit the vintage 1940s era we were going for, fit my body perfectly and

made me feel gorgeous! What more could a girl dream of!

That said, it being as long as it was I knew that I did not want to wear it throughout

the entire reception allowing it to drag in the backyard. And so I had to pick out the

perfect reception dress!! (And since we had a little wiggle room in the dress budget

I felt justified in having two dresses!)

While we were shopping in Memphis in April we found Mom's dress and my

reception dress at the same time.

The dress has a bit more of a sixties feel to it, but  love it so much!!

For the bridal shoot Amanda Holliday did my hair and make up in the reception dress. We took the pics

at Mom and Dad's amazing house.

I am so in love with the look and feel of the photos that Laura was able to create!

Overall I could not be happier with my dresses. I am so, so thrilled with my portraits!

I will forever look back on them and feel beautiful!!

Stand by me...

As the days grow shorter and shorter between now and the wedding I wanted to do a post about the women who will be  my bride's maids. Cliff says that they are the people who will "stand for you" on your wedding

day. I had never heard it put this way until he said it, but I think it is fitting.

As a girl dreams of her big day she also dreams of the girls who will stand beside her and accompany her on her journey to wedded bliss. As someone who has moved around a lot in my life from place to place I have had many good girl friends, but as I have gotten older my circle has narrowed a bit. When choosing

the ladies who would be there for me on that special day I decided to choose the ones who have been there on the ordinary days too, on the days when I needed a shoulder, a laugh, a hug. I tried to think of the women who have stood for me in life when choosing bride's maids and I would like to take a minute to

express to them what they mean to me.

 Angel Truss-Heath

Angel and I have an interesting history. She was the daughter of one of the deacons at Live Oak Baptist when we first moved to Texas in 95 and Daddy became pastor. We actually spent the night at her house the very first time we ever stayed in Gatesville. She was a junior the year that I was a freshman and I always thought that I was so cool when she would say hello to me in the halls. But for years that was pretty much the

extent of our friendship. I was a young goodie goodie and she was an independent, free spirit who I admired from a far.

But things changed one summer. I don't recall the year but sometime toward the beginning of my college days and toward the end of hers we both found ourselves home for the summer and looking for something to do. I don't even remember why we started to hang out, probably after church one night we went to the drive in, or went over to some one's house, and something just clicked!  I knew that I had made a life-long friend.. 

Angel was there for me that Summer and has been since. She has shared many a heavy heart ache with me, counseled me through many a problem, and reminded me to never give up hope. Even though the miles separate us it warms my heart to think of her and the laughter and good times we have shared. Angel 

has taught me that the Lord is good. That he blesses us when we least expect it and in ways

we never imagined. I am so thankful to her for traveling all the way from Texas to be with me and I can not wait to see her and her sweet family. 

Leslie Barker

Leslie is my Uncle Tom's niece, my cousin Scott's cousin on the Prather side. I grew up hearing about Scott's cool cousin Leslie, and even met her a few times, but for some reason we never began to really be friends until a few years ago when I was living in Clinton and Leslie lived in Belhaven.

I knew already how "cool" she was and I have to admit I was a bit intimidated by her music and arts knowledge. But she was quick to share and sweet in her  speech on these subjects, never condescending, always kind. I credit her with teaching me to love Bruce Springsteen, she gave us a burned cd with the live version of Thunder Road and I know it may sound crazy, but in many ways it changed me.

It stirred something in me. And as I think now about Leslie and our friendship over the years since then, I realize that is what she does. She stirs something in me. This desire to be better, to be inspiring, to be the best that I can be. I know that she does this for many people, and I am so thankful that she has done it for me. Leslie's love for the Lord is expressed in art in ways that are so beautiful I can not even begin to describe them. I am blessed to have her stand beside me on this special day and even more blessed to know that she stands beside me in my life.

Amanda Holliday

Amanda and I worked together at the book store at Mississippi College.
When I started working there I was going through a rough patch in my life. I had lost my job at Hillcrest, my boyfriend had broken up with me, and in many was I was depressed. Amanda soon begin to help me break through the sadness. She has the most amazing laugh. It just makes you smile to hear it, and since I was

not doing too much smiling in those days, it became my mission in life to make Amanda laugh.

Soon we were working side by side every day at the office. We pushed our desks together and joked that we were Ben Afflick and Matt Damon. Each day as our friendship grew so did my joy and soon the heart ache that  I felt had subsided.

Amanda has taught me to be confident in who I am, to take each day on with a smile, to laugh out loud and, and to say to the world that I am beautiful inside and out because I am a strong, capable woman. I am thankful to her for her "Miranda" spirit that pushed me and motivated me to be a better person.

Laura Rogers

Laura was Minda's friend first. They traveled to Spain together, had many a fun night out on the town in

Jackson and Chicago and Alicante together, and I was always a little jealous. But sometime after she moved back from Chicago we began to become friends too and I am so glad.

Laura is one of those people who can always be counted on when you want to have fun. It doesn't matter if you are shopping, going for a drive, going to dinner or throwing a party, Laura will be the smiling face that gives you the energy to enjoy yourself. I have gotten to know Laura better in recent years over lunches, and movie nights at her place and as we have opened up to each other I think we have found a kindred spirit. I know that I  can count on her when I need a friend to make me laugh, to hear me out or to dish with.

Laura has taught me to enjoy life, to just relax and join the fun wherever the fun takes you. Her adventurous spirit has taught me that I can take on the world and I am thankful that she has made me a friend that she takes on the world with.

Minda Anthony

What can you say that has not already been said about a best friend. Minda has been more than a friend. Entire blogs have been dedicated to her and still I can not fully express what she means to me.

Minda has taught me that world is a great big wonderful place full of joys and love to be experienced and shared. She has taught me that knowledge is an ever searchable journey that we can grow through and toward. She has taught me what love really is through her own sacrifices, and heart aches and actions. She has inspired me to be the woman that I am today.

Much of young life was spent trying to protect her, to guard her, to keep her. She has taught me that to truly experience life, one can not keep another, one can only keep their beloved in their hearts as they allow them  

to fly free and full. She has taught me to fly. She has been there as I have fallen and she has helped me to fly again. I can not express what she means to me. I am so thankful to her and honored to have her stand with me on my special day.

In addition to those who will be standing beside me as bride's maids there are also a few other women who

I need to mention as people who have influenced my life.

Alyson Elise Syer

Alyson is probably my oldest friend. Our dads were roomies at MC in the seventies. We have known each other since we very young and have a very special friendship. It a precious thing the friends you make along the way who you know will always be friends no matter what.

We have saved each others lives, been pen pals, played pirates, and had many a slumber party. Ally taught me as a young girl to laugh, to have confidence, and to believe in myself and in the Lord.

Though she could not travel all the way from Colorado to be in Pville on Saturday, she is an honorary bride's maid because she is a forever friend that the Lord has blessed me with.

Laura Marie Allen (Almost Anthony)

When I think of Laura it is strange to think that there was  ever a time when she was not a part of our family. She and Coday will be married in the fall and it has been so much fun to share in this wedding planning process with her. I am inspired by her daily as I see her photography but also as I see the life she has poured back into Coday. I am forever thankful to her for the spark she has put back in his eyes. I am blessed to call her sister and friend.

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 I am so thankful for all of these women and for what they have meant and will continue to mean in my life. I hope that they all know how very special they are to me, I am so thankful for them all! Very very soon we will be standing up there under the pergola! Thank you for going through this journey with me! I love you all!!!

The Four Seasons...

 Our Engagement Photos are inspired by the four seasons.

Since Cliff and I will be married almost exactly a year to the day of our official dating

anniversary, we wanted to do a take celebrating each season of our love so far.

WINTER

Winter was taken at Mississippi College at Provine Chapel

and on the steps of the Library.

The story goes that Dandy first spotted Mimi on these steps

as he watched the girls come out of chapel. We tried to

recreate this precious moment. Cliff was a true dear to put

on his winter clothes including his coat, to indulge his crazy

future bride and allow me a winter shoot in the middle of June!

Laura Marie is of course amazing!She truly captured the look

of Winter even on this hot Summer day.

SPRING

James Taylor's famous song goes,

"Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, All you have to do is call..."

and I really think this set of photos captures the look of a

young couple in love just relaxing and listening to his smooth sounds.

This part of the shoot was taken behind Lake Woodmoor in Clinton.

This was not as easy as it looks. I had a make up melt down half way

through, but Laura Marie powered through and ended up with a

beautiful setting for Spring.

SUMMER

Cliff and I made our relationship official on the Fourth of July~

Our first kiss in the streets of New Orleans after fireworks at the point!

For the Summer shoot I wanted to capture the essence of that

holiday and the love that we shared that special day.

This was a fun part of the shoot. These pics were taken at Lake Woodmoor.

I hope that they make you feel the fireworks!

FALL

This last part of the Four Seasons shoot just might be my favorite!

I think its because I love the boots so much!!

They were a gift from Minda a few years ago and I think that this

was the perfect opportunity for me to wear them!

The pics were taken in beautiful downtown Clinton and in front of

The Owl Cafe mural. It was after that Provine sighting that Mimi and

Dandy first spoke at the real Owl Cafe and so I find it fitting for Cliff and I

to pose here as well.

A very special thanks to Laura Marie, again. She truly shared my vision and

helped me to see it come to fruition with her sharp eye, talented lens and creative touch!

Also, a thank you to Coday, who helped Laura posing my ring, wiping my melting

mascara and holding my many props! You are a great photo helper and an even

better brother and friend!

And of course, again, thank you to my sweet Cliff! He put up with my crazy

vision for this shoot and I love him so much for it! You are the man that has brought

love to the last year of my life, adding more joy and laughter to each passing season.

I can not wait to spend all the rest of the seasons of my life sharing in love with you!!

It's coming down...

As I sit here typing it is really coming down outside.

We have needed the rain and I know

that all of the beautiful plants that Mom and Dad

 have planted will enjoy this down pour.

It is also coming down to the last few days of

wedding planning! I can't believe it has gone by so fast!

We have been so blessed by great antique finds and by precious

friends who have offered items that can be borrowed. Our

tables are filling up with cake plates, cookie stands, silver and

various other items that will soon display all of wedding goodies.

 In addition to these lovely vintage glassware items we have

also found table cloths, umbrellas and several other unique pieces

that we are planning to use in fun ways!

Just how are we planning on using all of these items? You will just have to

wait and see!!!

The back yard has totally transformed. What once was a nice little garden is now a Wedding Oasis!

The pergola is finished and it is absolutely gorgeous! I could just sit under it for hours and hours.

There is a new little sitting area and a fountain that Schminka seems to enjoy and

Daddy has put in a sweet little walk way for someone to use as she walks down the isle!

Perhaps the sweetest thing that I have come across in recent days is this little to do list in my precious Daddy's own handwriting. It just almost brings me to tears when I think of how hard he has worked to get the yard looking so good. He is such a hard working man and it means the world to me that he has put in so much effort in order for me to be able to be married in such a lovely place.

Packages have been arriving right and left from friends and family sending sweet gifts and from our various ebay and etsy finds for the wedding. My favorite package yet arrived yesterday!It contained the hanger that my wedding dress will be displayed upon on the big day!

I will very soon be Mrs. Harris and I am so happy! I am such a blessed woman! Not only have  I found the

most wonderful man in the whole world to spend my life with but I have the best family too! Not just the Anthony crew, but my new Harris family as well! I am so excited to see them soon and to join them as a

Harris!!!!



And the greatest of these...

Oh my goodness! Where has the time gone? Very suddenly almost two months has slipped away and only six weeks remain!

The pergola is built, the gown has been perfectly fitted, the invitations are mailed!!

But still sooo much remains!

I am excited to take our engagement photos with Laura Marie soon!

We are doing a vintage take on the four seasons! After seeing how amazing

Coday and Laura's engagement session turned out, I can not wait! Laura is such

a great photographer and I am blessed to have her doing our shots!

I am most excited about the showers starting because I am looking forward to seeing everyone! Most notably, Scott and Molly,who though they will have to return to Scotland before the wedding,will make the six weeks leading up to the wedding great!

I am also looking forward to seeing some of Cliff's friends again, like Seamy and Dawn, and Brian and Nikki from Nola!

I am also so super excited that my dear friend and "big brother" Matt Crosby is bringing his whole family and coming all the way from Texas to help with the music! Seems that sometimes when promises are made nothing, not even the miles, can cause true friends to break them!

Also, traveling all the way from Texas will be one of my bride's maids and her whole family, Angel Truss Heath. I was in her wedding a few years ago and I can not wait to see her again and meet the two little boys she has had since.

I am also eager to meet some of Cliff''s friends who will be traveling all the way from Georgia to be here to stand beside him on this special day.

 I have felt from the very beginning and still feel that most important in all of this is our friends and family coming together to celebrate with us!

Love is one of those amazing things that when it is true can stretch, and grow and outlast anything and I think that this will be evident on the big day. As we are surrounded by those who love us and who have gathered near to us both presently and in spirit we are worshipping the Lord with this love, His love, shared together with Him.

What a beautiful thing marriage is. A friend of mine once said that in a way marriage here on earth is practice for our time with Christ in Heaven when we will be his bride. What a glorious thought that all the preparation we are doing now is a symbol of the preparations we should be doing for the coming of our future bridegroom.

Its so easy for me to get so caught up in the details of the show and arrangements of the wedding. Its too easy to forget in this day and time what a wedding really is. What a wedding really should be.

My precious Mimi and Dandy were married in a little ceremony at the old Woodland Hills Baptist in Jackson before it moved to its new location in the Fondren. The spot where the old church was became a cleaners and so one of Dandy's big jokes was always that he got married at the dry cleaners and he had been in hot water ever since! Heh.

But I bring this up because it strikes me now that as pretty as the day was, the place where the ceremony took place is gone. The flowers have long since died, the pictures have faded and though precious reminders and cherished links to our past it is not even the pictures that truly will last. One day they too will be gone.

And sad as the thought may be, even the memories
 of Mimi and Dandy will become distant. As the memories of them pass down through the generations of our children, perhaps Baby Reed holding the final chapters of a beautiful book in hands, they too will become faded leaves on a family tree, just as we look back now at black and whites of Jim Tom and Linda George, or Lavernice and Frank Sinclair. I don't recall if I ever looked on the face, even in black and white, of old Mr. Ed Anthony, my great grandfather.

But then again I have. If ever you looked on the face of Tony Anthony, my sweet Dandy, you would see him now on the face his son, my sweet Daddy. And I think, though the memories are muddied by time like the waters of the Strong River he lived on that I can see in the distance sometimes Mr. Ed in them both, that I would almost have to, the way that they seem to resemble each other, it only makes sense.

But even these things fade. Family resemblances and genetics are strong but even they are not what truly last. And look at a case like Cliff, adoptions can throw a beautiful curve in family histories. Launching the blood lines in spectacular new directions!

And yet when I look back at the Anthony family line, at the Coday side, and when I learn more about the Harris' and the Jefferson's too, I see something bigger at work.

When I look at Daddy, sure I see Dandy on his face. But it is more than that. In his mannerisms, in his spirit in his heart he is becoming more and more each day a Dandy. And when I think, really think, what was Dandy that made him so special to us, I realize it is because he was so much like his father. Not Mr. Ed, but his Heavenly Father, and that when I think of Him now and my heart swells with love, it is for a man, yes, but it is for a man who lived his life exuding something bigger than anything on this earth. After all are we not taught as one of the very first verses as children that "God is Love".

That makes love divine! And never ending, never fading, always stretching and growing and out lasting everything! Its the only thing here on earth that we can do as humans that has any kind of lasting effect. Its the only real legacy we can leave.

Long after Cliff and I are gone and our memories are faded, no one will remember this day I am now stressing over the details of. Soon we will be like those fading leaves hanging high on the family tree as stretched far beneath us are our children and grandchildren.  And when our earthly vessels are laid  beneath the ground and all our practice is made complete the things that remain will be few, but the greatest among them will be love.

My Daddy Duke reminded me once that in Heaven we will be known as we have been known. He said that was how he knew in Heaven his wife, my Mamal, would look to him as she did on her wedding day, as his beautiful bride. I believe with all my heart that Daddy Duke worships our Lord beside her now, and that Dandy waits with a divine anticipation none of us can understand for his bride to once again stand beside him to worship. What a precious thought that perhaps how I look in thirty-four days will be how Cliff sees me for an eternity in Heaven, but more precious still that I will be a symbol of how Christ sees us, all of us, now. As His pure and spotless bride who He made pure with His sacrifice and love.

There will come a day when the pergola Daddy built for us to say our vows under will fall, but as long as Cliff and I truly live each day making the commitment of those vows complete, then the love that the pergola was built with, the love that the generations of our families has been built with, will stand forever.


And so as I prepare and stress and make ready for our wedding it is my prayer that no matter what our guests take away from the big day, that take away that Love.

Away we go..

It's been only eighteen days since the proposal but already much has happened. After setting a July 9th date, yes, less than three months away, it has been a mad dash toward the big day!

We traveled to Memphis to do a little wedding shopping last week and while there we ate at a wonderful restaurant, Trolley Market. In addition to yummy lunch plates and sandwiches they also sell flowers and produce. When I asked about if they had a whole wheat bun to go with my turkey burger the baker came out with a piping hot bun made from the freshest local ingredients and asked if that would be ok; um... yes!!

In addition to our Memphis trip we have held a panning meeting with our bridesmaids and wedding coordinators, confirmed all of our attendants, registered for shower gifts,  enjoyed a cake testing, and we are hopefully meeting with the caterer this weekend. In other words, it's wedding central at the

Anthony's house! 

The men around here have also been very busy!!

Daddy came up to Clinton last weekend to help Cliff fix a few things that had long been neglected. After fixing the gutter that had fallen in the storm Daddy bought Cliff an early wedding present, a lawn mower!! A much needed lawn mower!! He and Daddy worked really hard on the yard and it looks great! But the major changes are happening down in Poplarville at Mom and Dad's backyard. With the help of a friend from church they are building a pergola for the bridal party to stand under during the wedding ceremony! Daddy has worked so hard and it is looking fantastic! I can not wait to see the finished result. What precious men I have in my life! Momma always said to us girls that we should not marry anyone unless they are as sweet as our Daddy. It took me 31 yrs to find him but I finally did.

I am so blessed to have such amazing friends and family in my life that are surrounding me with so much help and love during this planning process. It is all coming together and the big day will be here soon!! Meanwhile the mad race to the finish line continues!



If you like it then you should have put a ring on it...

A few weekends ago Cliff took me down to the local jeweler here in Jackson that Dandy had taken Mimi to back in the forties,and that Daddy had taken Momma to back in the seventies, and just like them, he bought a ring.

(I think never in the history of rings has there ever been one more perfect.)

But it had to be sized and so I had to wait...

Last weekend he started talking about going to Nola and I just knew that he was going to pop the question in the Big Easy.

But to my disappointment he made plans instead to hang out with an old friend. I was happy for the two to reunite, but selfishly my heart sank. I went instead down to Pvile to spend time with the family as he went on down to Louisiana without me. But little did I know he had other plans!

Almost as soon as I got to the house Momma started talking about going out for a big family dinner on Friday when Cliff got back. I told her I didn't know what his plans were and we would just have to see. Before Friday afternoon had rolled around I had become a bit suspicious because it seemed that everyone was so adamant that we get together for this "family dinner".

But when Cliff got back to Pville he was so nonchalant and was taking him time. Mom mentioned to me that she was not sure Ellis and Minda could come cause they had a movie to catch, and so I decided not to get my hopes up. Surely I was just going to a casual dinner with the fam.

We ended up going to this place in Hattiesburg where Cliff and I had our first date, which was not to suspicious because it is a family fav. When we walked in Cliff told them we would have nine and as we headed to our table I noticed a large table already set in the back. But I quickly remembered Coday had mentioned that they had a new back patio and so I asked the waiter if we could sit outside, testing it to see if that table was prearranged for us. The waiter said sure and started out the back door, passing the large table, and I resigned in my heart that it was not the night of the proposal and that was ok.

As I stepped out onto the back patio I saw another table in the back, and it had a beautiful arrangement of flowers on it!

I quickly glanced at the other tables on the patio to see if they had the same arrangement; they did not! When we walked a little closer I saw the Cheetah print ribbon, (if you know me you know how much I have come to love cheetah print! ) and I knew this was just for me!

My heart began to leap out of my chest and I turned to Cliff. He was pulling the ring out of his pocket!!

I always thought that I would cry but though I teared up a bit at first I mostly was just freaking out. I kept telling the waiter who was standing there all grins and smiles that I needed water. It really seemed like the whole world slowed and I just got really light headed. Mimi, Mom and Dad, May and E,and  Boo and Laura Marie all bounded up with hugs, snapping pictures and crying. 

I just kept saying, "I'm really freaking out here, guys!"

ha ha

But it was wonderful. 

We ate and laughed and talked religion and politics over fajitas and tacos and I think the stars literally aligned!

Thank you to my wonderful family who helped make the night so special. I love

you all more than I can say.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! to my precious man who has made the last year of my life so

very special. You have come along and accepted and loved me for me and that has made all the difference in my life! I can't wait t spend my life with you.

And most of all thank you, Lord!

My heart's cry for love in the form of a Godly man has been answered!

And now, let the journey toward wedded bliss begin!!!