Monday, January 21, 2013

From loke to love #4

Read from loke to love #3 here

The language of loke


from loke to love part four


The date is set. The temple is booked, the reception organised. Our budget has been stretched to breaking point. There is nothing left but a measly $200 . That $200 is all there is to buy my wedding dress.

It probably seems ridiculous to some brides that I would leave my dress until last... but I have made  the decision that it is more important to embrace an eternity together in (for us) am expensive restaurant surrounded by happy, well fed family and friends. Wedding dress or none. I want my day to be about family.




I love the temple. That worldly cares don't mean so much. The temple doesn't need big wedding dresses, it doesn't need fancy flowers or bridesmaids all in a row. The temple is about family. Our family. It just needs Hunna and I. Most importantly as I kneel across the alter from him, Heavenly Father will become the third person in our relationship. He will be the binding that encourages me for years, through thick and thin, to stick with it.


Yet, there is still a part of me that thinks like the young girl who described her perfect wedding dress to her best friends on a lounge room floor one summer. But as I look, I become discouraged - as even second hand dresses don't meet the tiny allocated budget.

I am a slim size 6. It is difficult for me to find any dresses that fit well, let alone modest dresses under $200.

I know it shouldn't matter, but I can't hide my disappointment. 

I feel too guilty to pray and ask for something so worldly, so instead I pray for peace that I won't feel the need for possessions and will be filled with only contentment.

One morning I am on eBay looking at vintage cameras when I decide to peruse the wedding dresses. I am a sucker for punishment. Most of the options are for off shore tailoring in Asia. Many more are second hand dresses far to expensive for me. I keep scrolling and scrolling through hundreds of options. I suddenly spy an add for a dress, just before I decide to give up. I click on it. The dress is in a boutique wedding shop in Melbourne. The listing says the dress is brand new and it can no longer be sold in store because it was altered to fit a model for a promotional shoot. It has been altered to fit a size 6. It isn't modest, but I see with a new yoke it could be. My jaw drops at the price. It is starting bid at $100. I bid and for the next five days I am on tenterhooks as the listing progresses further and further until finally time is up and it ends. I have won it for a small $100 plus $20 postage. When the package arrives later that week I am excited but dreading that it won't fit. 

I open the package and...


It is perfect. It is like it has been made just for me. I am elated. I am over pluto, I am wearing a dress that matches the description I gave years before on the lounge room floor one sunny afternoon.

In the weeks to follow I chance upon material that almost matches perfectly, it takes a little effort and soon a dress maker who will replace the yoke with a modest capped sleeve alternative is found and all within budget.

My prayers have been answered in the most unexpected way. I am blessed with the knowledge that my Heavenly Father knows the desires of my heart.



go to part 5 here...

1 comment:

Sandy M. said...

Congratulations! :) Our temple marriage has been the foundation and glue of our lives together. I hope you have a wonderful day :)