Have you ever been in one of those situations where a joke becomes a reality? You just throw something out there and laugh about how inconceivable it is for you to do something that crazy.
Like starting a wedding planning business. But let's back up a little bit....
Ally and I have been friends since we met at Calvary Tuscaloosa in 2012. We were both students at the University of Alabama and became friends through our small group Bible study. We could not have been more different. She contrasted my meek demeanor with a direct sensibility. Somehow we complimented each other. We joked about Ally being full of truth and me being full of grace. Both necessary but both so so different. Through the course of that school year we became the most unlikely pair, but great friends. We were both engaged at the same time and we both got married in 2013. I in June, she in September.
After that we were distanced by hundreds of miles between Birmingham and Memphis. Part of a long story somewhat shortened, she and her husband, Nathan, moved back to Birmingham in July of 2015. We reconnected instantly and picked up right where we left off.
Fast forward to the January of 2017. We are in Sweet Water, Alabama for a dear friends wedding weekend. Through the rehearsal dinner and preparations for the ceremony on Saturday, we found ourselves helping the bride with miscellaneous tasks. Small things. Having our husbands pick up the groom and keep him company, pinning on boutonnieres, arranging decorations, coordinating the reception timeline, requesting the photographer get certain shots and taking some pictures of our own, bustling (and re-bustling) the dress, and ensuring the getaway car was at the ready.
We joked that we could totally be wedding planners. My attention to detail accompanied by Ally's experience directing weddings with her mom would be a killer business combo! And wouldn't it be so funny to name it Grace and Truth?! That would be hilarious. That would be crazy.
But maybe not too crazy....
Could we do this? Could we really be professional wedding planners?
So we got some more information on how to go about starting a business. We were so excited, but felt like we were starting not just in square one. We were, like, in square negative 10. Overwhelmed but exhilarated by possibility.
Come May of 2017 we both ended up pregnant with our due dates 2 days apart. Due in January of 2018. NO, it wasn't planned, but thanks for asking! We hoped that if we put in some leg work now, we could make this our job and stay home with our babies.
We formed our LLC and bought our business name. Grace and Truth Weddings.
Our business started out with a lot of grace from our husbands allowing us to pursue this crazy idea, and a lot of truth from each other in trying to get this going.
We are made of grace and truth, and we operate with grace and truth. But most of all, we operate out of a passion for seeing people's dreams come true. And what's more beautiful than a little girl's childhood dream of marrying Mr. Right, in the perfect setting, with the perfect dress, the best band, and the most beautiful flowers, coming true?
Turns out dreams need lots of planning.