picture this...

So I am definitely a “visual person”.  I need visuals in order to describe, understand, and communicate.  I can’t even tell a story if my hands are occupied because I use my hands just as much as my mouth when I talk.  And because I am such a visual communicator, I decided to dedicate a blank sketch book to my wedding thoughts.  It helps me to visualize the thoughts in my head, and it helps me to effectively communicate my thoughts to others.  I put everything in there--my ideas (good and bad), my to-do lists, my sketches, and my scraps (...kind of inappropriate, but I occasionally refer to it as my "thought-vomit book"). It’s like my brain has its own external hard-drive devoted only to all-things-wedding.

When I start to describe my wedding, the words “bohemian-country-french” seem to come out of my mouth at some point, and I think that best describes what I am going for... I want it semi-causal, fun, and lively.  I see wild flowers in jars, and tree-branches, and home-made details, and antique books, and suspenders, and lace.  

Just take a look at some of the sketches from the book:

These are of course just thoughts, but I think they give a sense of the "feel" that I am going for. I hope you enjoy!!

A dream come true (seriously)

I am completely aware that the above title seems a bit cliché, but I am completely serious.  A dream came true when Kyle and I chose the location for our wedding—The Little Chapel of Brookhollow in Ransom Canyon.  

For those of you unfamiliar with lovely Lubbock and its surrounding area, Ransom Canyon is an adorable and tiny residential town built into a canyon about 20 minutes from Lubbock.

…so why is this random little chapel a dream come true??

The chapel has been special to me and my family for almost as long as we’ve been in Lubbock.  We used to take Sunday drives down to Ransom Canyon to look at the water and all of the beautiful houses.  It was really great family time just sitting in the car talking and “ooing” and “awing” when we saw something pretty.  But a trip to the canyon was not complete until we parked the car at the base of the hill that leads to the chapel.  

It’s beautiful on the chapel grounds.  There’s a quaint brick path with flowers and shrubs among big stoic trees that surround the path as it twists and winds and climbs up to the chapel. And once you reach the chapel at the top, it greets you with beautifully carved double doors.  All around the chapel is a balcony that overlooks the path and the water below. 

(that's my nice mom in the picture)

When Kelby and I were younger, this was prime imagination land material. I mean come on—huge trees, a cobblestone path, and water below—we just couldn’t help ourselves! And every time we were there, Kelby and I would plan our future weddings at the chapel.  We would imagine walking that brick path in our flowing wedding gowns and meeting our handsome prince who awaited us at the top.  We would imagine our dresses, our flowers, our groom, and our colors and then drift away into fairy-tale world.

And now it’s happening…. I am going to walk that path and marry the man of my dreams in that quaint little chapel (though my dress may not be quite as “flowing” as I had originally dreamed…).  I smile every time I think about how perfect it is.

I found out recently that the little chapel is special to my family in another way as well:

When we were looking at it and considering it for the wedding ceremony, my mom told me that the chapel was a very special place for her and my dad.  She told me that it was where they would go when they needed time alone together—when they needed to make a big decision, wanted to discuss something, needed to pray together, or just wanted some quiet time together.  They saw it as a place of peace and closeness (with each other and with God)

I fell even more in love with the place when I heard that piece of history.  

The chapel is small and a little bit outdated, but the love and the memories that have been forged on that ground are beyond those minor details, and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to become Mrs. Laura Bassett in that special place.  

the Mr. who's gunna make me a Mrs.

WARNING: the following post is lovey-dovey and very mushy, but I feel the content is necessary for benefit of this blog…  

…Therefore I’d like introduce you to the gentleman that I will soon be marrying.  This is Kyle: 

(...that cute little baby he's holding is my sweet nephew Jude)

He's handsome, right?  (you don’t have to reply because I already know the answer).

Back in church groups and at school, when I was asked what I wanted in my ideal husband, my list almost always included the following: a man who loves Lord, a man who can make me laugh with his sense of humor, a man who can fix things on his own (a characteristic that I greatly admired in my dad), a man who is thoughtful, a man who is a little quirky, a man I could feel comfortable communicating with, and (of course) a man who I find handsome.  

Little did I know then that God would one day have a random barista working behind the counter at Starbucks who fit everything on my list—a man who more than fit; he consistently exceeds all expectations.

A little bit about my best friend Kyle:

He’s a student and studies creative writing.  More specifically—he’s a poet, and he’s brilliant at it (I am aware of how bias this sounds, but seriously: he’s amazing).  He’ll be graduating just two weeks before the wedding.

He also loves bicycles…(um, love may be an understatement)…When I say love, I mean he dreams at night about crank-sets and handlebars, chain grease might actually be in his blood, and he’d rather be on his bicycle than do almost anything else even if it means a broken collar bone (which he is currently recovering from).  

But THE thing that struck me most about him and really lured me in when we first met was his complete honesty 100% of the time.  He never tried to impress me; he simply told me the truth (I was impressed anyway).  He is one of the few human beings I have yet to meet who never wears a mask.  He is the exact same Kyle everywhere he goes and with everyone he meets.  He is the same in front of me as he is in front of my mother as he is with a complete stranger as he is with his friends.

He is many, many other wonderful things, and almost everyday I find a new characteristic to admire and another quirk in his personality to love.

Of course he’s not perfect, but he is perfect for me.