Something Old, Something New...

One of my favorite "tasks" throughout my wedding planning journey was collecting my items for the age old wedding tradition of "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." I'm a sucker for tradition and an even larger sucker for collecting. I love the hunt and I'm a lover of items that have a story or history. For instance, I'd much rather find a piece of furniture for my home that was once well loved by someone or a family, and holds the promise of the same for my home and family, rather then something brand new and shiny. I love holding something in my head and daydreaming about who has held it before me. Even my husband can attest to the fact that I am ALWAYS trying to figure people and their stories out when we're out and about together, probably to a fault at times.

So with my passion for planning, coupled with my love for collecting things of meaning, I gladly began my hunt for my old, new, borrowed, and blue. And thanks to a few special people in my life, I had a lovely and completed collection at hand on June 1st with the following treasures:

Old-Part 1- When I was still in high school my mom gave me my Great Grandma Christian's hanky and pearls to tuck away for my special. How I did not misplace these delicate pieces over years of moving and migrating is a small miracle! It was awesome, years after she's left us and years after my mom entrusted with me this gift, to finally pull them out and wrap the hanky around my bouquet in case of happy tears.

Old- Part 2- 14 years ago, when Tim and I were 19 and dating in college, he gave me a gold and ruby "promise ring" at Christmas and I just knew we'd make it through the long distance challenge and have our happy ever after. Although distance does make the heart grow fonder, time and circumstance put our promise on hold for awhile. I never got rid of the ring, because I still loved what it stood for over the years, and on our wedding day, I was thrilled to be able to wear it again as we stood at the alter hand in hand. It seems our man kept his promise after all!

New- Although this one might not be as exciting since technically 90% of brides wear a new wedding gown on their big day, for me my new gown was all I needed to complete this collection. Tim had said over the years that when he pictured his wedding day, he always pictured me coming down the aisle, regardless of whether or not we were even dating at the time. Therefore I knew I wanted my something new to be the new dress on the person he had held out hope for for so long.

Something Borrowed- My something borrowed came about unexpectedly when my Grandma Meyers asked if I'd be interested in wearing her garter. Of course!! I graciously and excitedly accepted this offer, and her garter was perfect, dainty, an antique blue, with cream lace and pearl finishes and I loved slipping it on that day. And although we didn't do a big garter reveal or toss, I loved knowing it was there all day.

Something Blue- I've shared the story about my something blue item here, and although I knew my blue would be a great reminder of my Grandpa Howard that day, I absolutely love my pictures with his blue heart tucked into my white dress. Especially a sweet picture, which was a candid moment, when the sun is perfectly shining through my many, many white layers of tulle and ever so faintly, you can see his heart outline shine through. Shine on, Grandpa.

Why am I telling you this when the tradition has been met? Well, because I've decided that I'd like to keep it alive and well as a household rule now and wherever we may roam and put down roots in the future. I want each of my homes to have the tradition of old, new, borrowed, and blue. With my love of histories and stories, I'm not interested in letting this tradition die. Our homes will have a story to tell and I want it to be one that cherishes the old along with the new, and always welcomes borrowed treasures along the way!