JP REYNOLDS WEDDING BLOG!

How To Stay Sane While Planning for Your Wedding!

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

It's my first time to be featured at Martha Stewart Weddings online – and I couldn't be more excited or proud!

15 Things Your Officiant Wished You Knew

Monday, February 8, 2016

What A ROOTS Ski Cap and Your Wedding Vows Have In Common


Maggie Sims.  Do you recognize that name?  No, it’s not the name of one of my brides.  It’s the name of the woman of my dreams.  Seriously. 

I’m going to tell you a story that is so odd that I’ve wrestled with whether I should even share it in any kind of public arena.  I’ve decided, though, that it is too weird not to share!  And, yes, somehow it is connected to weddings. . .

For Christmas my niece Mary gave me a wool ski cap from Canadian-based sportswear company ROOTS.  I don’t ski but she knows I like hats.  One night last week it got really cold here in the Valley and I decided to sleep wearing the cap.  That tidbit is not the embarrassing part of this story!

I typically go into a deep sleep and have dreams that play out like movies.  I don’t actually recall my ROOTS-capped dream except that I woke up remembering that there was a woman in my dream named “Maggie Sims.”  Odd as I don’t know anyone with that name – I don’t even know a Maggie.

In the days following, I wondered what could be significant about “Maggie Sims.”  Finally, I decided to check if there was a Maggie Sims on LinkedIn.  Yeah, this is the part where things get really weird!

I typed in her name and a bunch of “Maggie Sims” popped up – the first Maggie, though, lives in Texas and is a marketing director. . .for ROOTS sportswear!  WHAT THE???
I get a ROOTS ski cap as a gift.  I sleep with the cap.  I dream about Maggie Sims.  Maggie works for ROOTS – in the non-dream world.  What can I say?  I have been in awe of the “coincidence” / synchronicity of it all.

So what does it all mean?  I don’t know.  What I do know, though, is that I’ve been reminded just how easy it is to take the wonder of life for granted.  I want order and predictability.  I want apps that will give organization to my day.  I want food that’s fast.  I want knowledge and connection and gratification that are at my fingertips tapping on a smart phone or tablet.  And all of that is beyond great.  It’s phenomenal really, especially when you know that an olive green princess wall phone and an IBM Selectrix typewriter were the height of my teenaged high-tech world! 

Maggie Sims, though, reminds me that there is so much more to life.

In his play, “Small Craft Warnings,” Tennessee Williams has one of the characters ask this question, “What is the one thing you must not lose sight of in this world before leaving it?  Surprise.  The capacity for surprise.”

Life is full of shocks that can knock us about.  Surprise, though, is something else.  It’s what gives life moments of refreshment and healing.  Surprise can remind us that although life is whacky, it summons us to put forth whatever good we have in us.

If I were a songwriter, I’d probably write a ditty about Maggie Sims, but I’m not. Instead, I’m going to let her challenge me – challenge me to renew my respect for the mystery of life and people. 

I’m resolved to renew my commitment to being curious, to letting go and to being grateful.

Okay, that last sentence really sounds nice, if I do say so, but it masks my frustration.  You see, I want Maggie Sims to hold some lesson for me, some insight that I then can pass on to you, but, I don’t think there is any lesson connected to the dream.

Have I done anything differently since my ROOTS-inspired dream?  Not really.  Should I have?  I don’t know.

What I do know is that I don’t want to live in a numbed state.  I want to live a life that is as vibrant as my dreams.  And maybe that’s Maggie’s gift – a call to renewal.

And so, why have I shared this odd story with YOU, who are in the throes of planning your “dream” wedding?  Because. . .

Because I am convinced that at the heart of the vows you offer to your partner and that your partner offers to you is the commitment that together you will never take the mystery of your love nor the mystery of your life together for granted.
Your vow is your promise to always strive to live in the awe of it all!
May all your dreams come true. . .