FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULD INVEST IN HAND CALLIGRAPHED WEDDING VOWS
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"I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end.
But to lose your life for another, I've heard
Is a good place to begin.
'Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down.
And I believe it's an easy price
For the life that we have found.
And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storms.
This is harder than we dreamed,
But I believe that's what the promise is for.
That's what the promise is for.-Andrew Peterson, ‘Dancing in the Minefields’
Isn’t marriage one of the most wonderful, but crazy things this world has to offer? When you fall in love, you get engaged, and then, everyone starts telling you how hard marriage is and that you will need to be fighters for marriage every day. Isn’t that the TRUTH? I am here to break the ice: in a world of perfect instagram posts and perfectly posed marriages on social media, it is HARD. But it is a good, good gift given to us by the Lord himself that is worth fighting for.
As a woman who believes in the value and sanctity of marriage, given to humans as a picture of Christ and His bride, the church, I do not know if there are greater words that I could have the honor of preserving through calligraphy than your wedding vows. I do know that choosing to have them hand-calligraphed will be an investment, but one that will be well worth it. There are 5 reasons why I believe you should make the investment, and have your own vows hand-calligraphed:
I- YOUR WEDDING VOWS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT WORDS YOU WILL EVER SPEAK TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. When God designed marriage, he designed it as a covenant that a man and a woman step into that will then be one of the greatest pictures of the Gospel as a husband seeks to love his wife as Christ loves, and gave himself up for His bride, the Church. There is a oneness that happens when two people say I do in front of God and witnesses, and I never want our culture to lose the meaning of the promises they speak, the covenant they step into, and the words they say. Your wedding vows are just that: promises, a covenant, and powerful words of oneness and commitment for life. Tell me: what greater words could you ever speak to another human being?
II- MARRIAGE IS HARD. I have said it once (ok, maybe twice!) and I will say it a third time: marriage is hard! There WILL be days where you want to throw in the towel and call it quits. There have been nights where Joshua and I have fought, and as I have walked (Ok, pouted and stomped) upstairs to our bedroom, I had to walk right by our vows hanging by our front door. Every single time, without fail, I am instantly convicted in those moments to go and reconcile with my husband, and remember that we are on the SAME team, fighting the SAME fight, and walking daily the SAME covenant of marriage together. If there is one thing that Satan wants to do in your marriage, it is create disunity, and he wants nothing more than to tear apart what God brought together as one. The stakes are too high, and marriage is too great a cost to not make the investment to have those covenant words calligraphed and hung in your home to daily be reminded of.
III- THEY WILL BE AN HEIRLOOM TO PASS DOWN FOR GENERATIONS. There are not many things nowadays that will stand the test of time to be able to be passed down from generation to generation as an heirloom. The classic and timeless style of Ashley Margaret bespoke calligraphy wedding vows allows them to be the perfect keepsake to pass down to your children, and their children, and so on that will not fade with time. One of the greatest gifts I hope to pass onto my children and my grandchildren is a marriage that is deep, wide, rich, weathered, tested, tried, proved, imperfect, Christ-centered, full of memories, joyful, and a testament to our covenant of marriage that will be a legacy for them to carry for generations to come.
IV- HANG ONE-OF-A-KIND, CUSTOM, INTIMATE ART IN YOUR HOME. In a world where everything is manufactured in mass quantity, and everyone saves images on Instagram to then go and purchase the exact same pieces…stand out! You don’t have to have a perfectly posed home that looks just like Joanna Gaines home. (Although her home is beautiful!) I believe that the art and pieces you choose to hang in your home should be a direct reflection of who you are, and they should create spaces in your home that not only give you life, but that remind you of your core values. Hand-calligraphed wedding vows are the perfect way to have custom art in your home that reminds you of your core values as a married couple.
V- THEY MAKE THE PERFECT ‘PAPER-VERSARY’ GIFT FOR YOUR SPOUSE. News flash! Did you know that paper is the first anniversary traditional gift that you are to give to your spouse? I cannot think of a better gift than the words that you both spoke on the day you stepped into covenant marriage.
…but after reading those 5 reasons, don’t JUST take my word for it! Below are the heartfelt words of 4 women who I had the honor of working with to bring to life their covenant words of marriage through Ashley Margaret bespoke calligraphy wedding vows. If you have been thinking about having yours calligraphed, listen to and hear the words of these precious women and what these vows mean to them, as well as their experience in working with me. I can share my 5 reasons I believe you should have them done all day long, but these are real clients, real women, and real marriages that I had the privilege of serving well.
“I invested in wedding vows because I saw the time and energy you spent into creating each piece! I knew I wanted to reference my vows in my house and having a special piece created just for our home is so special to remember the wedding and the words we promise each other every day!
My experience was just the best! From the moment I sent an inquiry to receiving my vows, you were so understanding and wanted to create the exact piece that I had dreamed about! You were professional as a business owner, but so genuine and became a friend and storyteller in the time before my wedding!
The vows have been THE best investment, and the most rewarding and treasured piece that I bought for my wedding! Not only did they serve as decoration, but now, they hang in my home as a testament of the words we promised not only on our wedding day but every day after too. I was hesitant to spend the chunk of money on just one piece, but I am so grateful for them and they have been the biggest blessing to reference on our wall!”
-KELSEY HOGUE
“My parents got divorced when I was seven, so my idea of family and home always strayed from wholeness. Over the last year and a half, Taylor and I have gotten engaged, married and moved into our first home. As milestones of life continue to pass, God deepens my understanding of what it means to be a member of the family of God and the ideals we should uphold and mission we should pursue. I chose to invest in hand-calligraphed wedding vows so they can serve as a main focus on the gallery wall in our living room. This wall will be comprised of those values that we feel represent our family. And next to the cross of Jesus being at the center, our vows and covenantal promise to each other will hang to the right.
Ashley finished our vows right before my husband and I left for our one-year anniversary trip. Remaining true to her priorities and character, a young woman whom Ashley mentors had an emergency situation a few states away. However, knowing how important this gift was to me, she had her husband meet me on my lunch break to ensure my gifting to Taylor was timely. Ashley provided the highest quality of customer service and companionship throughout the entire process.
I highly recommend preserving a piece of your wedding day to remind yourselves of your commitment to each other often, and share that love you have with each other with everyone who enters your home.”
-CATHERINE LEIGH
“So in love with how these turned out, Ashley! Your perspective on marriage is spot on and some days remembering those words we vowed is vital. You are a dream to work with and made my ideas come to life perfectly. We have the vows hanging in a central spot in our home so we pass them every day, and it’s a beautiful reminder of our wedding day, the words we shared, and the commitment we made to each other and our family. Thank you. Thank you for putting our words to paper in such a beautiful way!”
-CORTNEY DAVIS PESKOE
“You were super helpful and asked so many questions to ensure that I got what I wanted. I wasn’t entirely sure on my vision so I also appreciated your artistic advice and guidance along the way. I was blown away by your attention to detail.
The reason I chose to have these done was that we weren’t newly weds anymore, and I wanted something that felt more like the weathered partners we were, something more raw. I saw you post someone else’s vows, and it made me think about my vows and the time I spent piecing them together. I stop in our home to re-read them often now that they are hanging in our living room, and it’s such a beautiful reminder of who we want to be, and where we started.”
-JESSICA BRANHAM
IN COSING: I truly believe that words have power, and that the words we choose to hang in our home have a deep impact on how we live and on our daily lives. Because of that, I finally took time away from client projects earlier this year to hand-calligraph my OWN wedding vows, and they now are one of the greatest pieces of artwork I have in my home that I will in fact pass down for generations to come. They hang by our front door, and every morning and evening I walk by them, and as I come and go into our home, and as people come and go into our home, they are the first and last words seen. Yes, marriage is worth it. Yes, having your vows hand calligraphed, framed, and hung in your home is worth the investment.
I hope I get the honor and privilege of serving you as well, sweet friend, whether through Ashley Margaret bespoke calligraphy wedding vows. Thank you for choosing me and trusting me with your most precious words spoken.
Sincerely-
