Church or Outdoor Venue?

I'm the type of person who could get married anywhere. I'll find the beauty in the scenery. However; I was unbelievably torn about where to get married. I've always imagined getting married in a Church. Jimmy is completely set on a Church as well.

However, I'm in love with the way Pinterest highlights outdoor weddings. I love rustic decor...the idea of being out in nature. Luckily; not only does the time of year effect this but our budget does too.

Church seemed to be the best fit; aside from not actually having one for us as a family. We both are Christian and I was preferring a Catholic church. I spent weeks messaging, calling and speaking with multiple churches. Everything from where Xavier and Jayce were baptized to where I taught Bible Study for kids... most were either outrageously priced or not the right feeling.

I decided to go with my friend Amber's advice of contacting New Covenant Church in Arnold. I had been there with some friends back in high school. It was a nice church - but modern. We were hoping for Traditional.

We emailed back and forth for a couple weeks; the price seemed right, his view on marriage matched mine - so I set up a meeting.

Xavier and I drove together; Jimmy was coming from work. We met the Pastor [Ed] and got along great. He didn't judge us for having Xavier while not being married. He even gave me advice on a photographer he knows. He took us around the Church.

He explained the only stipulation would be No Sex. I thought this would be a deal breaker for Jimmy. We have a very healthy sexual relationship. However, I took this as two blessings. One; to see if we could remove that for an extended period of time and use our energy/passion elsewhere. Two; there will be NO opportunity for me to get pregnant BEFORE we get married [which was a big fear].

Pastor Ed even offered to give us our classes free of charge; and Xavier was welcome to join us. It felt good to feel apart of God in his eyes; even though we had done things outside of The Book. As we said our goodbyes; I asked Jimmy how he felt. HE WAS ALL IN - didn't even want to see another Church.

We made our first official decision!