20 Ways To Say "I Do" To You ♡

July 15, 2016

20 Ways To Say "I Do" To You ♡

{Photo By: Chris Wells}

I've always wanted to wear a wedding gown on the beach. Not get married on the beach, LOL, but wear a wedding gown on the beach. There's no rhyme or reason to this desire, it's just something I've wanted to do.

As far back as I can remember I just recall wanting to hear the sounds of the ocean waves washing up on the shore as I felt the rays of the sunrise on my face. As I dreamed my bohemian dream, I could feel the sand between my toes, no shoes required.

You know, we only get to do this crazy thing called life once as far as I know, so when it comes to making dreams come true, I say why not and "I Do." I commit myself to living the life of my dreams. I think it's so important to squeeze every little bit of love from our gift of life. And it truly is a gift and not to be taken for granted. I'm a fan of hopeful romantic instead of hopeless romantic, a fan of "I Do" or "I Will" or "My Dream List" instead of bucket list. Why wait until we're on our death beds to commit to living this gift that God has given us?

With all of the above said, last month during my visit to Miami, I decided I would take advantage of being so close to the beach to cross one of my dreams off of my "I Do" list. :)

Before heading down to South Beach I found an awesome photographer on Model Mayhem. The wedding dress was compliments of my 2000 wedding gown which I had altered into a two piece. I think the bustier part of the gown will be so cute with jeans, heels and some jewelry in my hair. The day dreams are compliments of my parents who allowed my brothers and I to be free to dream, who loved us unconditionally and allowed us to walk to the beat of our own drums {thanks mom and dads}. :)♡

At times my "I Do" list has me thinking about the quote that asks, "Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?" There have been times in my life when I forgot how to dream. I was so busy making a living I forgot to live. I also temporarily fell into that "American Dream" debacle that was never my dream to begin with {long story}.

While I don't have 20 suggestions for you to say "I Do" to yourself, I do have these two thoughts that often help me when I sometimes become stuck in the area of saying "I Do" to myself and my dreams. One, I remind myself that life is a gift from God and it just feels like it would do a disservice to God, myself and others if I'm not who He made me to be. It would be as if I'm not serving His purpose for my life here on earth. Two I remind myself to Just Do It. And don't get me wrong, I do plan for my business and plan for trips and that kind of thing, however I don't second guess myself as much I used to in regards to saying "I Do" and just making things happen. And trust me, this attitude did not come over night. It has taken some time.

The biggest leap I took was finally taking a trip to Paris back in 2011. It had been a dream of mine forever and I finally decided "Ty, just do it!" With about 3 months of planning I finally took the trip, crossing my dream of going to Paris off of my "I Do" list along with seeing Lenny Kravitz in concert for the first time. That was two things to check off along with special treats like having coffee before the concert and attending the concert with new friends from Italy. It was the best experience. I've continued to allow myself to dream more and more, adding more things to my "I Do" list and crossing some things off as I so happily make them happen. You may go faster, you may go slower, no matter your pace I think it just feels so good to say "I Do" to ourselves and our hearts desires.

Below are 20 beautiful {wedding} gowns and dresses to help with any daydreaming you may choose to do in the realm of the traditional sense of saying I Do. Also are 20 ways to say I Do To You.

1. Give thanks each morning via prayer and/or writing in your gratitude journal.
2. Treat yourself to breakfast in bed. No need to wait for that vacation. :) Maybe weekly, monthly or quarterly, order in or make breakfast and stay in bed.
3. Need an uplift? Add a few drops of lemongrass essential oil to your shower. And a shower doesn't just have to be in the morning. I've done my lemongrass showers in the middle of the day to get a pick me up and also to cut back on coffee.
4. Call someone you love. I've gotten so use to texting, but the sense of sound and hearing a loved ones voice can be so much more comforting.
5. Take yourself on a weekend excursion. Book that hotel room, take a book, some comfy lingerie and plan a do nothing weekend just for you.
6. Say I Do to you by putting the outside world on mute. At least for a day, it's nice to disconnect from social media.
7.