Lovers Alway...

 If you've been a friend of my blog for a while, you may have learned that

symbolism is a huge thing to me. I find great pleasure in creating symbolism

 in my projects, especially in the garments I design for special occasions. 

Knowing that, it should come as no surprise to you that I was sure to

incorporate touches of symbolism (through family history) into 

our wedding ceremony when Handsome and I tied the knot.

 When I walked down the aisle to marry my Prince Charming, I carried 

this beautiful, little book in my hands, under my wedding bouquet of 

red and white roses. I had covered it in white lace to match my gown.

 The book was copyrighted in 1902, and contains verses of love, fealty 

and wedded bliss. There are also vows contained within its covers.

Are you wondering where the symbolism fits into this picture?

 This book was originally carried by Handsome's maternal grandmother,

Daisy when she married Charles in April, 1905. The dedication page was

completed by the "clergyman" (Floyd Eugene Doms) who performed 

their ceremony in Los Angeles, California all those years before ours.

It was as though all the generations before us were there on our wedding day.

It wasn't just a matter of "something old, something new, something borrowed, 

or something blue". We were enveloped in all the love and promise of a 

happy future embodied in the symbol carried by Daisy, and again by me.

I don't know if Handsome's mom, Evelyn also carried this book, but I've

added a note to stay within it's covers to tell future Liljegren brides that

I also held this book in my hands as I repeated my vows to my husband.

I hope that the next bride to carry it will continue the tradition of adding

their name, and perhaps a few reflections of their wedding day for

other generations to read. I hope that the symbolism of the act is not

lost, and perhaps our grandson's bride or our granddaughters will choose

to carry this little book - long in the future! - when they make their promises.
We'd really like that.

Although this is a lovely and happy memory for me, it's not my next post
for Memory Lane Monday. (After all, it's not even Monday yet!)

I will be writing my last Memory Lane Monday post on New Year's Eve. I bet
you have a story just waiting to be shared with your blog friends, and I'd love
it if you'd write about it on your blog and then come back here to link up.
 If you prefer to just stop by, read my post and leave a note, that's cool, too.
 I've been planning a special dedication for my last MLM post and I hope you'll
 spend a few minutes with me before you ring in the new year with your loved ones.