Destination: Life is Beautiful

Bridal Reflections

My wedding day was the absolute perfect day, and I wouldn’t change a thing even though everything wasn’t quite perfect. My groom is the man of my dreams. Everything from my dress to my hair turned out perfect.

When I had wished that I had decorations for my ceremony, my wish was granted: the entire city plaza was lit in beautiful blue, green, and white balls of lights hanging delicately from the trees above us. When we got to the restaurant for our simple reception, the whole celebration plaza streets had decorated for the upcoming holidays too, in beautiful white sparkly and hanging lights from all the trees and light poles. I turned to my groom and said “look, they decorated just for us”. It was like the whole city had decorated in anticipation of our special wedding day.

I also struggled with the fact that some of my family wouldn’t be there with that I would’ve liked to of been there that day. Although they weren’t there, I didn’t feel any less loved or supported. The people who were there made me feel very special and even helped me to think of things that I didn’t think would be important, like taking a bunch of photos in every pose, every angle, and every family combination possible - that I know I’ll appreciate now. It was hard to hear that certain family didn’t want to come celebrate my milestone, but I knew I was marrying the right person, so nothing else mattered at that point except for him and me.

Back to the decorations- I guess I just happened to pick the right restaurant for us to have our reception at too. Everything was just right. they sent us at a really nice round corner table at the end of the room so we had our own private space. The decorations from the ceiling were beautiful glass amber blocks with light filtering down and it was the perfect atmosphere to celebrate our new union. our food was delicious and we ate like kings and queens.

The wedding cake was wonderful. My sweet friend offered to give me a cake when she found out that I was getting married and she arranged the most delicious and beautiful cake from a local deli with little white and royal blue rose sets of whipped topping over a vanilla with strawberry filling. It almost tasted like a fancy strawberry shortcake dessert. I was so thankful that my friend could attend, and that she gifted me with that lovely cake.

I am so thankful and very excited to be joining my new family. They are really stellar people and have a lot of love to share. I get the gift of lots of new family members, including a sister-in-law and two lovely mothers in-law.

I never knew I would make out so blessed in life but here I am and I am so thankful. Family means so much to me and now I have the gift of being able to build my own, with my groom…

There was a time when I didn’t know or see how my life could work out in a beautiful way, so I want to encourage others to keep moving forward with your life goals and have big faith that the universe has your back. I know life can be so dark when you feel alone and without purpose. Keep going friend and you’ll find your happiness too.

Now that I’ve saved the best part of the story for last… I am thankful to have found a partner that not only gives me butterflies but also I can call my best friend. My groom is no more than a regular (amazing) guy - but he’s mine! We’ve had our ups and downs over the past couple years but ultimately he gives me a firm foundation of unconditional love to be a better person and I simply wouldn’t want a day of my life without his presence. I am SO thankful for him!

I finally found my happily ever after <3

#wedding #happyeverafter #amberclee

What’s in a name?

What’s in a name? Someone’s name is the most precious word that they’ll ever hear to their ears. I love my name Amber. My father told me that I was given this name because the Vikings used to walk along the beaches and pick up stones of Amber, and that it’s a precious stone to the Norwegian people (I am of Norwegian descent).

Amber is also precious to people who work with fossils as it’s been one of the ways that we’ve been able to find DNA, preserved in amber fossilized.

Amber is also a color, it’s a jewel, and it also means fire in the Arabic language.

I absolutely love my name, and I’m not sure that I knew the significance of my own name growing up and the beauty behind it, being named after a jewel. But as an adult thinking about myself, I am able to truly love my name and appreciate the time my parents went into picking it for me. I appreciate that this is my name because people treat you differently when you have a name that’s pleasant.

I imagine people read my emails and see Amber Lee and most of the time people don’t even know that it’s my first and last name; they just think it’s my first name and that I’m some country bumpkin with a pretty name, Amberlee. It’s kind and friendly with southern charm in this way.

Other times I think people mistake me for being Asian because of my last name, mostly possible employers. In technical fields as I work, this profiling by name kind of comes off as a benefit.

But if you know me by my first name and if you know me (in person), then you know that Amber, gentle and jeweled, is the perfect name for this beautiful person.

What is your name and what do you find special about it?

 

#amberclee #reflection #name #Norwegian