Overwhelming Gratitude

Posted on December 18, 2013 by christygiardino

“The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessing.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

After months of waiting for all of the pieces to come together, this week I was finally able to sit and write the “Thank You” cards for our wedding. It was a beautiful journey through the many people who blessed us as we joined our lives. The best thing about it is that it wasn’t gifts or monetary blessings that I found myself treasuring. With each card, I could recall the many ways someone supported or prayed for us as we walked this journey. Each stroke of my pen brought another reminder of someone who helped carry the burden of our heart ache when we were apart from one another. Each addressed envelope represented someone who rejoiced when God brought our paths back together. And, my heart was flooded with gratefulness.

There are so many more people to whom we owe this debt that we will never be able to repay. We owe a great debt of gratitude to our families, our church families, and the friends who held our hands, dried our tears, and laughed with us. The emotion is too great for words. So many people spoke God’s Truth to us and over us. His mercies are never failing, and even when we couldn’t see His path, He gave us wonderful angels to hold our hearts. The list is endless and we could never thank everyone enough.

As our wedding verse, Nick and I chose a passage that we have come to cherish:

“This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes! This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” – Psalm 118:23-24

Nick and I hold this to be true with every day we are given together. Every morning, we open our eyes to another day gifted to us by the Lord. Each day brings its own opportunity to love each other well and pay forward the love and mercy that has been given to us. As a couple, we are doing all we can to honor the sacrifices made in order for us to be here today. So, for the many loved ones who have prayed for us, walked with us, cried with us and rejoiced with us, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You have loved us like Jesus. May the Lord return blessing upon blessing to you.

With Overwhelming Gratitude,

Mr. and Mrs. Nick Giardino

Our Story (In Video)

Posted on December 17, 2013 by christygiardino

If you’re looking for our story, the folks at 3 Ring Weddings told it so well as part of our wedding journey. Check out our Story Video, Same Day Edit, and Cinematic Trailer here:

https://thegiardinos.com/media/

Happy Veterans Day!

Posted on November 11, 2013 by christygiardino

“In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day [The 1 year anniversary of the end of World War I] with the following words:

‘To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…’”

In June of 1926, Congress made November 11^th an official holiday by saying, “it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations”.

Today is the day we celebrate, thank and encourage those who have stood in the gap and on the wall in our behalf. May we ever remember those who paid the ultimate price and honor their sacrifice. But, today, let’s take the time to thank those who have served our country in the armed services. Let us be grateful to the families who have sacrificed time with their loved ones and waited anxiously for their return.

Thank you to all who have served! If you know someone who has served our country, I hope you’ll find the time to give them a call today and thank them for their service. ( I plan to!) We may never understand the sacrifice that is required that we may have peace. Freedom isn’t free.

Happy Veteran’s Day!

Source: U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs

Our Story – 3 Ring Weddings

Posted on October 30, 2013 by christygiardino

When Nick and I began the wedding planning process, we were unsure of some things. There are a lot of details that go into planning a wedding, and while some seem of absolute priority and importance (choosing the date, the place, the people), other things seem less so. As we talked about whether we’d like to hire a videographer or not, we went back and forth. Neither of us particularly loves to be in front of the camera, so it seemed like something we could forego.

I am so thankful we made a different decision! From beginning to end, the team at 3 Ring Weddings has been amazing! They offered a take on wedding videography that we didn’t find with other vendors, they treated us like family right away, and they were extremely pleasant and professional. Because we wanted our wedding day to focus on the story God has given us to tell, it was amazing to have the option of a same-day edit of our wedding video to share. They told our story beautifully. It is clear that they listened to us and took great care to give us a keepsake that we will treasure forever.

So, if you ever know anyone who’s in the market for a wedding videographer, I highly recommend 3 Ring Weddings! We couldn’t be happier with all they did for us!

Now, having said all of that, we’d love to share “Our Story” with you! The video is below, but you can also check out their sweet blog post here. You can also check out our Same Day Edit and our Cinematic Trailer here.

Thanks for taking the time to hear our love story! The Lord has been so gracious to us and we just can’t stop telling the tale!

3rd Time’s The Charm: A Story of Nick & Christina from 3Ring Weddings on Vimeo.

Wedding Rehearsal

Posted on October 29, 2013 by christygiardino

Nick and I were so blessed to have our friends and family travel to Rome, GA to take part in our wedding. For the Giardino family, that meant coordinating travel from Kentucky, Seattle, Illinois and Oklahoma. That’s no small feat! We were so honored by everyone who made the time and made the trip.

Since it doesn’t often happen that we are all in the same place at the same time, we took the opportunity to capture some family photos the night of our rehearsal. We asked the wonderful and talented ladies of Alight Photography to capture these moments for us. (You can check them out and read the blog here.

The song in the video is one I wrote for a rehearsal dinner several years ago, so it seemed an appropriate soundtrack for our photo collection. I was asked to write a song from the groom’s parents as a blessing the night before the wedding. “Choose Love”, no matter what else comes, always choose love.

Have a blessed and wonderful day!

The Giardino Journey

Posted on October 27, 2013 by christygiardino

On July 6th, 2013, Nick and I began our journey together as husband and wife. We are so excited about the Love Story the Lord has written for us and we are creating this page to share it with anyone who will listen.

If you want to read a little more about our story in the meantime, you can visit the post about our engagement day.

And, here’s a little preview of July 6th:

After 17 years of waiting for the promise God had given, Christy stepped into her glass slippers (hand made by The Amazing Amy Adkins)…

Headed to Frost Chapel at Berry College…

And, surrounded by some amazing and lovely people (only a few of which are pictured here)…

She married her Prince, Nick Giardino…

Happier than two people ever thought they could be, they stepped out into the blessed rain (that kept everyone cool on that July day)…

And headed off to their “castle” to celebrate (Otherwise known as Ford Dining Hall at Berry College)…

Come back for more installments (and more pictures!) of this Giardino Journey.

“This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes! This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!” Psalm 118:23-24