Our Wedding Day

Isaiah and I were married May 26, 2012. Our 3 year anniversary is right around the corner. Our wedding day was a beautiful one and so amazing and God's presence was with me all day long. It was the most unbelievable feeling in my life! My wedding showed me who was with me and who wasn't, and who truly loved me and would stand by me and my Zaya. It was a small crowd and I know that people who really wanted to be there couldn't be, but still cared for us. They showed their love in other ways: gifts, messages of encouragement, phone calls, texts, etc. I know them all by name, I treasure all of them in my mind and heart, for they were there when I needed them most.

And the story begins now...

Isaiah came to pick me up 4 days before we would be wed. We had only 4 days to bring this wedding together: get our marriage license, buy dresses, flowers, nails, cake, church, pastor, everything! It was all very last minute but came together perfectly. There were so many details and things to do and I could have been all stress out about my wedding, but I wasn't. I was more stressed out about the fact that those who called themselves family would not be there. I had to deal with that and I was also stressed that something would go wrong and keep us from getting married. There were some attacks on us even during the four days. One in which Shull Dad called the pastor of the church we were planning on getting married at (I have no idea how he found out) and told him Isaiah and I didn't have his blessing in hopes that he could stop God's plan, but that didn't work. The pastor told the dad I was an adult and he was making a big mistake in fighting this and not supporting it. The Devil was very busy attacking me all over through people whom I thought loved me and that was so difficult and I am so thankful for those who were there and let me do a lot of crying on their shoulders. I saw the true colors of many people during that short time. But two of the people that I couldn't have made it without were Alicia and Rachel. They kept me together so much and were such an encouragement with their words and actions. The entire Claytor family really rescued me in a time I needed to be cared for. The Claytor family made a wedding happen in 4 days. They were pretty amazing. Of course, I am getting ahead of the story.

Getting back on track...

Okay so Isaiah and Rachel came to pick me up and we packed my stuff into 2 cars and then headed to Chili's for supper. I couldn't even eat. I cried a lot of the meal and I cried most of the way to Steelton, PA and prayed for comfort. The day I left the family was very hard. I knew it was the right thing to do, but it wasn't easy at all. I stayed in my room most of the day. Only to venture out to eat and use the restroom. Most of the conversations I had with Shull Mom were unpleasant and what I remember most was her telling me I wasn't allowed to come to Sarah's graduation. She was very mean to me; she didn't even say goodbye or give me a hug or anything. This was the person who was supposed to be my mom and she couldn't even do that simple thing for me, zero support. That wasn't unlike her at all though considering the past, but that's another story

Anyway, before I left I remember every encounter I had with each of the siblings. Jessie gave me a hug and said goodbye and even had a few tears. I felt like she was really going to miss me. Emily gave me a dirty look and said bye and wouldn't hug me and she was in the bathroom with two other sisters, Sarah and Chelsey who followed suit. Hannah was with Dad working on the deck, she hugged me and said bye. Jacob hugged me as well and said goodbye and that he couldn't wait for the wedding and to wear his nice suit. Caleb was outback alone and I went to seek him out because this boy means everything to me and there was no way I'd leave without a hug and I knew he'd hug me because of all of the siblings, I had no doubt about his love for me and I love that boy so much and I beg God that one day He will allow me to be in his life again. But I have to trust him into God's hands. I just hope that all of the lies that are going on about me now won't poison the love Caleb once had for me. Elijah hugged me as well and then the last person was Shull Dad. He hugged me and got a bit teary-eyed and told me I was making a mistake and I let him know once again that I was doing exactly what God wanted. It was a rough day and the hardest thing that God has ever asked me to do, but I followed Him and He gave me the power to give up everything I knew to walk into a much better life that was filled with His blessings! I praise Him for that!

It took 2 hours to get to Steelton and when I arrived, every Claytor sibling was there to see me and ask me how I was. It was pretty late too and I got many hugs and we chatted a bit and then I went to lay in bed. I didn't sleep much. I didn't sleep much at all that week and the night before the wedding I slept only 2 hours and still looked awesome and somehow got through the day with enough strength. The grace of God is all I can give credit to for that.

So that next 4 days are really a blur for me. I saw very little of Isaiah because I was busy with the girls and he was busy with the guys. We worked non-stop getting everything ready. We did some work at our apt, and got everything together that a wedding has to have in 4 days; I will spare you the nitty gritty details of what I remember and just let the pictures show you how it all came together.

The night before, we went bowling with Rachel and Mikey, but neither Isaiah or I bowled because we hadn't been together for days and just wanted to talk, so we went where it was quieter, in the bar, and chatted for awhile. When Rachel and Mikey finished, they came to find us and when they came in, the bartender asked if we were old enough to be in there. It was pretty funny.

We went our separate ways that evening and I tried to get to sleep but all I could do was cry and pray. The morning of I woke up and just cried and Rachel held me in her arms while I got it all out. Next, I went to get my hair done and that was nice and relaxing; I took a short nap while I was there because I was so out of it. Then went to get my dress on and the wedding was at noon. I walked down the aisle with none other but the Lord of my life, which was super hard, but the pictures show that I looked great. I wanted to cry a lot, but God kept me from doing so. The wedding ceremony was a day to be remembered and was beautiful and turned out better than I could have ever imagined it and we got married! It happened! God won! Satan lay in the dirt watching God have victory yet again and I could praise His name in the front of all of my enemies and I could say that HE IS MIGHTY!

The reception was amazing too and God was all over there too! There were so many testimonies of what God did and what people saw through us. It was so encouraging! I got Isaiah on the nose with some cake and made everyone laugh. No one was expecting me to do that, not even I was, but I had the idea and did it and it was awesome. I never leave a crowd without making people laugh; that is just who I am and half the time I don't even try.

We had a fantastic picture time after that and then drove away in our butterfly mobile to our apt because we were just so tired and decided to wait to do the traveling to our honeymoon cabin in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia on Monday. And that was our wedding day. One of the best days of my life! Thank you so much for that day, God!

If you would like, you may view our wedding album here