Jill Marie Kelly - Prayer and Planning for the Big Day: The Essential Wedding Guide for a Bride and Her Mother

PRAYER
AND
PLANNING
FOR THE

Big Day

JILL KELLY & ERIN KELLY-BEAN

PRAYER
AND
PLANNING
FOR THE

Big Day

THE ESSENTIAL WEDDING GUIDE
FOR A BRIDE AND HER MOTHER

Copyright 2018 by Jill Kelly and Erin Kelly-Bean

Published by Worthy Books, an imprint of Worthy Publishing Group, a division of Worthy Media, Inc., One Franklin Park, 6100 Tower Circle, Suite 210, Franklin, TN 37067.

WORTHY is a registered trademark of Worthy Media, Inc.

HELPING PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THE HEART OF GOD.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kelly, Jill, 1969- author.

Title: Prayer and planning for the big day : the essential wedding guide for a bride and her mother / Jill Kelly and Erin Kelly.

Description: Franklin, TN : Worthy Publishing, 2018. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018038913 | ISBN 9781683972587 (hardcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Christian womenPrayers and devotions. | BridesPrayers and devotions. | WeddingsPlanning.

Classification: LCC BV4844 .K45 2018 | DDC 265/.5dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018038913

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture references are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. | Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV Text Edition: 2016. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. | Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation of the Bible. Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. | Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved. | Scripture references marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. | Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with Jana Burson of The Christopher Ferebee Agency, ChristopherFerebee.com.

ISBN: 978-1-68397-258-7

Cover Design: Tim Green, Faceout Studio | faceoutstudio.com

Interior Design: Bart Dawson

Printed in the United States of America

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This book is dedicated to Camryn Kelly, Faith Kelly, and Paige Waggoner. The three girls left in the family to eventually (God willing) get married.

And to all the girls who desire to honor and please God through the gift of marriage, as well as the amazing moms who raised them this book was written for you.

Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

PROVERBS 31:2930

Contents

Index of Prayers

THE BRIDE

THE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE

How to use this book

W eddings are wonderful, beautiful, a celebration of a new lifeand lots of work. Whether you are the bride or her mother, the months ahead will be busy! Inside this book, youll find tips to help you plan the entire experience, from the falling in love to the happily ever after. And if you start to get overwhelmed, the prayers in this book will clear your head and reset your focus.

Pray through the book together as you encounter the joy-filled moments and the stomach-dropping issues of planning for the big day. The first section includes prayers, Bible verses, tips, and challenges for the bride. The second section offers the same for the mother of the bride. If you live together, keep the book somewhere where you both can use it as you pray for the wedding, the groom, and each other. If you arent living together, maybe trading the book back and forth once a week will work. Or buy one book for each of you if your wedding planning is done miles apart.

The two sections mirror each other so you will both be praying about the same topics at the same time. There are prayers for all aspects of marriage, character, planning, and the wedding itself. However, if you come across a prayer subject that doesnt pertain to you or your family, just skip it and move on. The idea is to cover your engagement period and wedding with as much prayer as possible and to learn to love and appreciate God as you are learning to love and appreciate each other.

The
Bride

Introduction

Congratulations!

Youre getting married!

Wait pause let it sink in YOU. ARE. GETTING. MARRIED!

As I write this, I am preparing for my wedding. In 352 days, I will say I do! to my fianc, Parkerthe man I love with all my heart; the man of my dreams; the one I have prayed for since I was a little girl; the man God created to be my husband. I have imagined what this would be like, and God has far exceeded my hopes and expectations. Every day I get more excited for the love and life that He has prepared for us. Its hard to believe that by the time you read this book, Ill be marrieda Mrs.! It happens all the time, but when it happens to you, its amazing and incredible and once-in-a-lifetime crazy. Hold on, the tears are flowing againthats been happening a lot lately.

If youre anything like me, you probably have a serious case of bride brain right now. Wedding planning and all things bride-to-be are pretty much what you think aboutperiod. The first few weeks after Parker proposed, I was overwhelmed with excitement. Immediately, I started searching the Internet and social media for wedding ideas and tips. I also went to our local bookstore and purchased the best wedding planning guidebook I could find. Please tell me you did the same.

As I write this, Im finishing my last semester of college, and I often catch myself in class, daydreaming about wedding dresses, the ceremony, our first dance as a married couple, venue decorations, and everything else wedding related. It was hard to even sleep those first few weeks. In fact, Im two months into our engagement and wedding preparations, and Im finally starting to sleep at night, but the daydreaming continues.

Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime gift from God. It is by far one of the most important and exciting (and sometimes a bit stressful) times in your life! So go ahead and rock that bride brain because, before you know it, the big day will be here.

We still have months to go and tons of planning left to do, but heres where we are so far:

We picked our wedding date: January 13, 2018.

Over the last three decades, my mom and dad have developed a lot of important relationships and friendships; therefore, we have a substantial guest list. Finding a wedding/reception venue has been a huge challenge. Id had my hopes set on a rustic country wedding, but most barns cannot hold the number of people we have on our invite list. You learn early on that compromise is vital when it comes to wedding planning. Weve decided where the ceremony will be, but were still searching for the reception venue.