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GETTING
FRAMED
Submitted by: Jill
B
Long on love and short on funds, I was delighted to think of a truly
special anniversary gift for my
husband for our 5th anniversary. With some time
and effort, I gave him the magic of our wedding ceremony through the
words of the powerful message we heard together that day.
While planning our wedding, Greg shared he really wanted the
homily/message to incorporate his favorite
text -- the Parable of the Sower. Admittedly this is not a common
passage for wedding services
but our college pastor did an excellent job.
(In brief: Sowing seeds and becoming married are both acts of faith.
Though you face untold challenges, countless blessings are possible.)
Though difficult to condense here, it was an especially meaningful
message for us. It was thought-provoking and unique.
Something we'd always comment on during our wedding reminiscences.
For our anniversary, I contacted the pastor and requested a copy of the
text of his message. He was unable to locate this, so when I was
alone I listened to the video of the wedding sermon (over and over) and
I quickly typed into the computer. (The remote control was my friend!)
Once the text was in place, I worked with a friend to format it into
something easier to read. We broke it into three columns and
spotlighted different sections by changing the font and centering the
text within that section. Over the top of it all we printed our
full names (similar to the wedding invite) and said "joined in
marriage" then listed the wedding date, followed by the anniversary
date.
Using a publishing program, we planned the final piece to fit into a 11
x 14 frame (something standard I'd picked up at the local
"everything" store). We "enclosed" the text with a
simple border and put floral embellishments at the corners. In
these "pre-inkjet" times, my friend used her artists pens to
color the flowers and give it a little life. Screened images of doves
underscored the text without making it harder to read. It also gave it a
little more visual focus.
I had to buy some 11x17 paper
to print the finished piece, but that was still rather cheap. The paper
and the frame were my only real expenses. My time was a gift of love,
and my friend and I bartered services for her contributions. I teased my
husband that I had the perfect anniversary gift and it didn't cost me
much of anything (beyond my time!).
When he opened the framed gift and realized what it was, he was
speechless. The promise of our wedding day was captured and
available to read anytime we wanted. It's held a place of honor on our
walls ever since.
On a side note: My sister-in-law liked the idea so well that when she
married, she and her husband asked their pastor for a copy of their
message right away. He gave it to them both on paper and diskette!
This is probably a good idea -- even if you don't plan to tackle this
project right away. The audio quality on our tape was rough in one or
two spots where I never felt comfortable that my transcription was
accurate.
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