Mariah + Ben | Timeless Summer Wedding

A late July wedding filled with simple but meaningful details, a soft color palette, a multitude of family and friends, and the unmistakable peace of the Lord.

During her senior year of college, one of Mariah’s best friends turned to her and said, "I really want you to be part of my family… so you're going to have to marry my brother, Ben."

The idea of dating her friend's brother was absurd for a number of reasons. To begin, he was younger—and he also happened to live in Grand Rapids, MI, while she lived in St. Paul, MN.

Not to mention, she had her eyes on someone else.

When the marriage was initially suggested, Mariah laughed, but five years later she would be doing just that.

In the meantime, as they entered the workforce, both Ben and Mariah began wondering when their future spouses were going to show up.

From the Bride:

About four years after his initial suggestion that I marry his brother, my good friend Rob gave my Snapchat (yes, I know...Snapchat) to Ben and our friendship began. It started with simple, fun snaps back and forth.

Then it became more about sharing our days with each other, and we began talking on the phone. Finally, after a few months, we decided to meet, not for a date, but just to hang out.

We met at a seminary of all places. Our matchmaker was currently in formation at Mundelein which was about halfway between us.

We spent a couple of days walking the campus, making dinner with Rob, and just talking. It was wonderful.

We left that weekend truly happy. However, neither one of us was convinced that this was it.

Unbeknownst to each other, we both told the Lord, "Your will be done," and felt completely free. We kept talking—and snapping—and just a couple of days later, Ben simply asked "Will you go on a date with me?"

A couple of weeks later, I hopped on a plane to Michigan for our first date. I stayed with Ben’s family and enjoyed every moment of my time with him and his family.

I left that visit as Ben's girlfriend. We only did long distance for three months before Ben packed up and moved to Minnesota. And only three months after that, we were engaged.

It sounds simple and in a way it was. The Lord gave both of us the grace to trust in His will completely.

As doors opened, we walked through them without fear or doubt. There weren't any major signs of God's will, but the peace we felt was all that we needed. This was what God wanted.

That peace continued throughout our wedding day. Walking down the aisle towards Ben, standing on the altar, making our vows. I had peace through it all.

This peace allowed us to truly embrace that we were there to give ourselves completely to each other in the presence of God and His Church.

The very first thing we did when planning our wedding day was to reserve the Church. After that, I set out to find my dress.

I knew I wanted something classic with lace. The general feel we wanted for our wedding was classic, elegant, and timeless. So, I wanted my dress to reflect that as well.

I tried on quite a few until finally I picked one. However, I woke up the next morning in a panic realizing this was NOT the dress I wanted to wear. The bridal boutique was amazing and let me come back and find a new dress.

The moment I put on my dress, I knew this was it. I loved how I looked in it. I knew it was timeless. I knew Ben would love it.

For every detail outside of the Nuptial Mass, we strove for simple elegance. We wanted softer colors so went with a slate blue, blush, and gray for our main colors.

One of my favorite fun details were my and the bridesmaids’ shoes. I chose a unique pair of TOMS for each bridesmaid that I felt reflected their personality.

We have a number of mementos from our wedding day. Ben and I wrote letters to each other to read right before the Nuptial Mass.

I received a small purse from my aunt which was made from the fabric of my grandmother’s wedding dress.

My grandmother passed away when my mom was only seven years old. Each granddaughter receives such a purse on the day of her wedding.

It was a gift I had been looking forward to receiving for many years. It was such a beautiful way to feel connected to her.

Our primary goal when planning our wedding day was to make it utterly clear that the highpoint of the day was the nuptial Mass.

In our effort to make the Mass as beautiful and solemn as possible, we asked our presider, Fr. Rob, to chant most of the Mass parts. We were also allowed the use of incense throughout Mass.

The music, the incense, the chant, all of it engaged every sense and brought us deeply into communion with our Lord.

There were a couple of details that Ben and I chose for our nuptial Mass that were very important to us. First, we chose to memorize and recite our vows.

Our intention behind this was that our vows were something we wanted to remember every day for the rest of our lives.

Years and years later, we wanted to still be able to recite our vows to one another as clearly as we did on our wedding day. To help us memorize them, we each read them every night of our engagement.

The second detail we chose to include was to make our vows while holding a crucifix between our hands. We wanted this because we wanted to remember what our vows meant: that we were laying our lives down for one another. The love we want to strive for is the love of Jesus Christ.

A third detail we included was to have our Godparents bring forward the gifts at the offering. We wanted to include the people who had been present at the moment we became children of God.

Ben’s brother, Fr. Rob, gave the homily at our nuptial Mass. In his homily, he shared:

“It is a crazy thing for Jesus to say to us, ‘I want to share an adventure with you. One shared with joys and sorrows, struggles and victories. One filled with life and full of love. I want to suffer for you. I want to live for you, and I want to die for you. I want to love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I want you. I choose you.’”

He then shared, “I said that these words were from Jesus, but actually these words were written by Ben to Mariah.” My heart was flooded with love and gratitude as I realized he had just shared the words Ben had written to me the day he proposed.

Realizing that I had been given a man who was intent to love me as Christ loves me was one of the most poignant moments of my wedding day.

One of our great hopes for our wedding day was to have as many of our friends and family with us as possible. We chose to cut our budget in other places in order to manage this.

We had a beautiful hall which was located at the parish I worked for. We chose a simple, but delicious, caterer, and my maid of honor’s husband did all of our floral arrangements.

I love flowers, especially peonies, and he made my vision come to life beyond what I had imagined. With the help of friends and family, our wedding reception was beyond what we’d hoped for.

The Lord blesses us when we trust in Him. On the day of my wedding, I looked into the eyes of my groom and promised him everything. He in turn promised me everything.

How are we able to make such extraordinary promises? Most certainly not on our own. I could not make such promises to my husband if I did not trust in God and His grace.

That day and all the days since, I have lived in trust that God will continue to give us the grace to live our marriage vows each day. I trust that He will help me to be faithful and loving.