Where to say "I do?" Part II: In Which We Try Again, But Fail

After our failure with our first desired ceremony location, I just wanted a church who seemed welcoming, willing to help, and supportive of our marriage. I wanted a church where we felt comfortable. I wanted a church that would say, "Oh Katie! We're so excited you're engaged! What day can we reserve for the wedding?!"

What I wanted was my church. The place I've been going every Sunday for years. The place where I'm at home, where people know my name, and where they would give me a wedding date within 24 hours if I wanted. I wanted St. Mary's.

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The more I thought about it, the more sure of my decision I was. The church had just been renovated, and it's absolutely beautiful. Plus it's named after Mary. As in the mother of Jesus. What better inspiration and example could I ask for as I start my own family by becoming J's wife? Plus I wanted blue as one of my colors, and the church is blue. And it was just perfect.

"Be a good wife and mother like me!" she says.

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So, only days into the wedding planning process, I had to do something scary. I asked my parents (the parents who are so generously paying for the wedding...) if I could do something I knew they didn't want. St. Mary's isn't in our hometown where my parents and J's parents live. It's about a 90 minute drive to get to College Station from Houston, and to make matters worse, guests coming into the airport would have long layovers in Houston or Dallas. It would be a bit of a "destination wedding" for everyone.

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I was afraid of dissappointing my parents, but I was more afraid of ending up with a wedding I didn't want, so I mustered up the courage to bring it up.

To my surprise, my parents were way more supportive than I had imagined in my head! They were all, "Well it's your wedding...wherever you want it is where we'll do it!" and " You just make the decision with J, and we'll support you." Sigh. Exhale. Lovelovelove. Those guys are great.

Hugs! Thanks for being so awesome Mom!

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I called J with the good news, and was shocked when he dropped this bombshell:

"Katie...I've been thinking, and I just don't really think I want to do it there. You know...it's your church, not our church, and I want our wedding to be about us. Can we please just do it anywhere but there?"

Cue stomach drop, silence, and feelings of defeat.

Stay tuned for the rest of our ceremony location search!