5 is a great number

5 years and 1 day ago I sang this song to my mama. 

He is still good, so good :)

I've been married for almost 4 years. Here are couple things I'v learned about Christian marriage.

You don't get married because you love someone

Before you say 'What!?', read what I mean. In a "worldly" view of marriage love, being in love and loving someone are the reasons to get married.  Marriage and weddings, per se, are a manifestation of 'I love you'.

But from a Christian point of view, you get married so you can START loving. Loving, love and 'I love yous' are not something you feel - love is a decision - love is action. As 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 tells us:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

You can't love without God's help

Love is not a feeling of happiness or bliss. It can sometimes even feel awful or annoying. Why? The Bible says that we have deceitful hearts and in our natural state we don't seek God, instead we do bad things. And though I have given my life to Jesus, I am still just a person - I do bad things. For example I put my own needs first.

I have learned that God gently and patiently reminds me to love my husband. Especially in situations when it is natural to feel hurt, angry, selfish... 

"God, help me to love my husband."

"I'm sorry" means more than "I love you"

Once again: "WHAT!?" Saying you're sorry can be hard. You have to swallow your pride. But when you say you love someone, it usually stems from a good feeling. And saying 'I love you' doesn't take anything from us. 'I'm sorry' on the other hand does. It proves that we have been wrong or done wrong. It humbles us - we have to admit that we weren't perfect. 

This has been the hardest thing to me. Admitting and humbling myself before my husband, before my God - before myself.

My lovely sponsor, Robyn, has written several amazing posts about Christian marriage. I warmly recommend! You can find them HERE.

When I felt like a princess

There have been 3 days in my life when I have felt like a princess. 

The first princess day (age 17)

In Finnish high schools we celebrate Wanhojenpäivä (Read more HERE). During that day the new seniors dance old-fashioned dances, like Polonaise and Viennese Waltz. The tradition is to wear old-fashioned ball gowns, but nowadays dresses are more like prom/evening dresses. My friend wrote about this change in her blog. It's in Finnish but the main things are the pics :)

The second princess day (age 18)

I graduated from high school 2007. I had bought my dress from Singapore and it was white because (I know this sounds funny) Princess Madeleine's graduation dress was white. Let me explain: When I was a little girl I saw a picture of Sweden's Princess Madeleine in her graduation dress and I decided that when I graduate I want a white dress too, because the graduation cap looks good with a white dress. :)

The third princess day AKA the biggest day of my life (age 21, but i turned 22 next month)

More from our wedding HERE, HERE and HERE.

Have you felt like a princess?

5 websites you should check out

...if you already haven't. 

Do you like listening to free music? Grooveshark is a bit like Spotify, but without the annoying ads. 

The internet is filled with millions of food/baking/recipe sites. They Draw & Cook brings something new to the table. See what I did there? The table thing :D Anyways... Check it out, and you'll know what I mean.

Before my wedding, I spent hours and hours on The Knot. Amazing ideas, pics, tips, etc. You can even create your personal wedding website for free. 

Martha Stewart is a domestic goddess. I love her 'Create' section. 

Mydeco is an online interior design store, but that's not why I think it's a great site. I love their free 3D room planner software and the cute moodboards. 


Do you have any website tips? 

Songs I've sung at weddings

(Have you noticed the poll? I would appreciate it if you'd spend a moment answering to it.)

Wondering which song(s) you would like to hear at your wedding? Here are couple suggestions. These are the songs I've sung at weddings.

Probably the first song I've sung at a wedding was Petra's Love. Beautiful lyrics.

At my flatmate's wedding I sang L.O.V.E by Nat King Cole and Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli.

At my other flatmate's wedding, I sang Anna Puu's Linnuton puu (A birdless tree in English) and Aretha Franklin's I Say A Little Prayer.

There's one song I've sung in two languages. Sarah Dawn Finer's Kärleksvisan/For a Friend. Here it's in Swedish:

Then there's the 'Shrek song' It Is You (I Have Loved) by Dana Glover, which I sang at my friend's wedding (she's like a sister to me since we lived together in Thailand in a boarding school). She married my husband's cousin. What a small world!

Last, but not least. I sang at my own wedding. It was hard because it was such an emotional night. And the song I had chosen had very touching lyrics. I sang this song: 

Other great songs for weddings:

Now we're man and wife - Michelle Featherstone
Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Ritchie
Songbird - Eva Cassidy
Your Song - Elton John
(They Long To Be) Close To You - Carpenters
Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
Kiss From A Rose - Seal

24/7 part 3

After the official part, it was time to celebrate. Here are some pics from the reception.

Decorations:

Centerpieces were made from old painted books, apples and apple tree leaves (from mom and dad's yard) 

This garden swing (made of old buffalo wagon) was a piece of Thailand. 

My late grandma congratulating us. I'm so happy she was there.

Then the food:

Different kinds of salads

Thai red curry with Yasmin rice

Tom Yum Shrimp soup

Wok vegetables

Karelian pies and bread rolls

And the dessert:

Bebe pastries

French Waffles, 

Strawberry and Raspberry Cheesecakes

 Dark chocolate lingonberry mousse cake

(yummy!)

The wedding favors:

Wedding honey

The wedding surprise:

"Mom, you wanted me to sing at my wedding, and I said no, because it would be too emotional, but I have a surprise for you. I'm going to sing. Hope you'll like it."

Us performing Carrie Underwood's Mama's song. It was hard to sing because everyone was crying. It's such a beautiful song!

And so our life as a married couple started. I found my honey!

24/7 part 2

My third year as mrs K started today and it's time to walk down the aisle again. Here are some pictures from the church:

My goodness, this was an emotional moment. The moment I (like many other little princesses) had been dreaming about ever since I was a little girl. In my dreams I had that really big and "fluffy" princess dress (ladies, I think you know what I'm talking about), but in my "dream come true" I wore this mermaid dress, which still hangs in my closet. I think it was million times more perfect than any "princess dress". 

"There's no turning back now!"

My dad married us, so it was really special and personal. I'm a daddy's girl and when he spoke about our bond, it was pretty hard not to cry.

You may kiss the bride!

Mr & mrs K leaving the church with I feel Good (James Brown) playing in the background.

Who wouldn't be smiling knowing that you'd be driving this beauty:

(still married, and in it for life.)

24/7 part 1

This week is all about remembering the most wonderful day of my life and that days was 24th July 2010. That's the day when I said "I do" to love of my life. I'm going to share some memories and thoughts about the journey so far with you. 

First: The wedding day (which was seriously the only cloudy and rainy day that summer. But it was still perfect! And no rain, while we were outside)

We took our wedding portraits at the old Verla Mill Museum (which is included in the UNESCO heritage list). The setting was beautiful and it was lovely to share it with our closest friends. 

Most likely the coolest bridal party ever: