Amy J. Tol - The Brides Handbook: A Spiritual & Practical Guide for Planning Your Wedding

THE
BRIDES
HANDBOOK

THE
BRIDES
HANDBOOK

A Spiritual and Practical Guide for Planning Your Wedding

AMY J. TOL

2005 by Amy J. Tol

Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com

E-book edition created 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-3324-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture marked NLT is taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

To Brian,
my best friend and husband.

Thanks for being
the best groom a woman could ever have.

CONTENTS

I dreamed of my wedding day from the time I was a little girl. Even before my Mr. Right came along, I had visions of flowers and lace in my head. So you can imagine my delight when I finally did accept a marriage proposal. Finally I was in a position to put those girlhood fantasies into reality!

As I look back on those engagement days now, I smile at many fond memories. There were so many precious momentsfrom the first time I saw my wedding dress to the surprise bridal shower my sister threw on my behalf. My family and friends came around me and made my engagement a very special time in my life.

Amid the good times, though, there were also times when wedding plans seemed overwhelming. My moments of dreaminess were often disrupted by a hectic schedule. I was finishing up my senior year of college, looking for a job, and trying to plan for my future home. Needless to say, my days were long, and my energy level sometimes ran short.

Somewhere in the middle of all the activity, I lost some of my excitement for God. Im ashamed to admit it, but I faced a constant struggle to keep my priorities straight. Sometimes I succeeded. Often I did not. Bible study, prayer, devotional readingthey often got set on the back burner while wedding plans dominated my attention.

It wasnt until after my days as a bride that I found this special Bible verse: As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you (Isa. 62:5). What a perfect verse for the bride-to-be! Its a beautiful wedding picture that speaks to the heart, helping us to see how much were cherished by our heavenly Groom.

I wish Id found that verse while I was engaged. Perhaps it wouldve helped me to pause and appreciate Gods love for me. And maybe it would have motivated me to spend as much time building my spiritual life as I spent planning my wedding. I can only imagine how special it wouldve been to reflect on living as Gods bride during my days as a real-life bride. And thats why I decided to write this book. My hope is that this unique wedding planner will make your own engagement a more meaningful experience.

Your days as a bride are precious. I hope you enjoy every one of them! Youre experiencing anticipation and hope. Youre busy planning and building a future. You have friends and family members encouraging you along the way. Have you ever considered how much your spiritual life mirrors these bridal experiences? Thats probably why the Bible contains so many images of a bride. And thats why your engagement presents a unique opportunity to think about the character of your God, your faith, and your heart.

So dive right in! Soak up the wedding ideas. Ponder the spiritual reflections Ive mixed in along the way. And as you do, I pray that Isaiahs image will live in your heart: As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

HOW TO USE
THIS BOOK

I ve packed this planner with ideas and inspirations to make you a beautiful bride. As you read, youll notice that each chapter contains two main partsplanning tools and spiritual reflections.

Planning Tools

In the middle of each chapter, youll find practical tools to guide you through the maze of wedding plans. Start by skimming through the table of contents and getting a feel for all the elements youll need to plan for your wedding. Then, as you begin to plan specific details, read through the corresponding chapters more thoroughly.

Throughout the planning section, youll find the following helps.

Planning ChecklistAt the beginning of each chapter, youll see a checklist providing an overview of the wedding tasks that are covered in that section. The checklist includes ideal time frames for each wedding task. This list was created with the average engagement (which usually lasts about one year) in mind, so if youre on a shorter timetable, youll need to adjust those time frames accordingly.

Wedding NotesYoull also find several worksheet areas, providing space for you to track important information about various wedding vendors and plans. Be sure to fill these in as you plan so that you can have a handy reference for later use.

SidebarsTo help you create fresh ideas for your special day, various sidebar articles are sprinkled throughout each planning section. Check them out for interesting wedding information and effective cost-cutting methods.

Spiritual Reflections

At the beginning and end of each chapter, youll find spiritual reflections about various virtues of a godly bride. I encourage you to use these reflections as a springboard for personal devotion time. Since there are forty-eight reflections in all, you can read through one a day for a seven-week look at the virtues. Or for a slower pace, read through one or two reflections each week and follow up with related Bible passages during the rest of the week.

Youll also find sidebars mixed in with the spiritual reflections. Each sidebar gives a fictional account of a biblical story, with the Scripture references provided at the end so you can dig deeper into Gods Word on your own.

Bible BridesWomen arent mentioned frequently in the Bible, but when they are, their stories usually have a lot to say. Bible Brides sidebars give a brief synopsis of one brides storyand how her faithful character can still speak to us today.

Love Story from GodGod loves to tell stories. The Bible is stuffed full of them. So as you strive to weave the virtues into your own love story, these sidebars will give you encouragement and inspiration from the stories of God.

As you delve into the spiritual reflections of this book, I recommend that you keep a journal of your thoughts and prayers. At a time when many women forget about their spiritual lives, journaling can keep you in touch with your heart throughout the engagement. Take a few minutes each night to write about your wedding plans and engagement experiences. Someday, youll really enjoy being able to look back at the thoughts and feelings you experienced as a bride.

THE
ENGAGEMENT

S o... how did he propose? Its a question weve all asked at some pointsometimes looking for news of a recent engagement, and sometimes just hoping for a glimpse of family history. I loved hearing my own mothers engagement storyhow Dad offered a simple proposal, and then his friends celebrated the engagement by locking him in a huge crate, driving him to the middle of town, and calling my mom to release him.