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Pop the bubbly – we started a blog! Below is just one of many beautiful posts to come – but we wanted to kick things off with a story written by Shelby, the owner of Eva’s Bridal Center. Enjoy!

Green Bay, WI – It has been almost four years since Jeremy and I got married. Since that day, a lot has happened. We got new jobs, moved, bought our first home and welcomed our two daughters into the world. Things are moving very quickly, and we are incredibly excited to see what the future holds.

As much as we are looking forward, there is something I go back to every now and then — it is something for which I have a newfound understanding and appreciation.

In fall 2017, Jeremy and I thought it would be neat to take some photos together where we would soon be married. We had just finalized Pamperin Park in Green Bay as our ceremony venue. Anyone who has been there knows it is gorgeous — hilly green space, tall wooded areas, a creek. It was everything we wanted. But, as much as I always envisioned marrying Jeremy outdoors, the possibility of bad weather interrupting our big day, had me on edge. We were on a budget so we decided not to spring for a backup plan, like a park shelter, as so many suggested. This meant we would have no other option if it rained.

Jeremy and Shelby Williamson

Shelby and Jeremy at Pamperin Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin

On the day of this self-directed photoshoot at our future wedding site, I confided in Jeremy my fears of things going wrong — the nightmares I had of a storm coming through and destroying our plans. Our guests walking through mud and climbing over fallen trees. The stress I felt about my dress getting all dirty, and my hair and makeup being ruined. There are, of course, much worse things happening in the world. That is not lost on me. But when you spend so much time and invest so much energy into planning such a special day, you want things to go well.

I remember Jeremy telling me everything would be okay — but as someone who photographs weddings, I know Jeremy understands how awful it would be to have a torrential downpour descend on our ceremony.

Just as we started packing up our camera equipment, a wind rushed through and it began to sprinkle. I looked at Jeremy and I could tell he instantly knew what I was thinking — this weather was a sign it was going to rain on our wedding day.

Jeremy and Shelby Williamson

Image courtesy of Photo Focus Photography

Image courtesy of Photo Focus Photography

While walking to the car, though, I spotted a tiny piece of paper flying across the parking lot. It blew right toward me. I picked it up and unfolded the paper. It read: “No rain will stop this day.”

We could not believe our eyes. Sure, the park hosts many weddings and other events. The scrap paper was probably leftover from one of those occasions. Of all the people and places in the world, though, this little note, written by only God knows who, showed up at my feet at the very moment I was thinking about how rain might ruin what is supposed to be the best day of our lives.

I kept that note. It stayed safely folded in a sock drawer for nearly ten months until our wedding, July 28, 2018. On that morning, I tucked the paper inside my dress as a little good luck charm.

The day of our wedding was absolutely perfect. The sun shined almost like I had never seen before, and the sky was a crisp, beautiful blue. Our ceremony was like something out of a movie. We could have not asked for a better day to become husband and wife.

Flipping through our wedding album recently, I came across the pictures we took with that piece of paper. Even though I’ve held and read the note countless times, I saw the message from an entirely different perspective.

I had always interpreted the note very straightforwardly. “No rain will stop this day” meant it’s not going to rain. What I know now is that the note is meant to serve as a reminder that even if it does rain, the day will go on. Admittedly, this is something I think Jeremy understood long before I did. A few days before our wedding, he told me if it rained, “that’s what umbrellas are for,” and if we had to get married in a hallway of our reception venue, then that’s what we would do — and then we would party the night away with all of our friends and family.

Of course, the note’s message goes far beyond a single day. It’s about life. No matter what obstacles we face, life will go on. What can seem like a big problem today, can seem like a distant, perhaps irrational, memory tomorrow.

It’s all about perspective.   

I like to hang on to sentimental things like this note, so one can imagine my disappointment when I couldn’t find this little treasure after our wedding was over. I just hope wherever this note ended up, it comes across the right person at the right time just like it did for me that fall day.