Wedding Gun Exchange

Our non-traditional gun exchange, instead of vows.

Hello campers,

 So as most of you know Chris and I opted out of the traditional vows and wedding speeches that normally come with weddings.

We had our officiant read something we both wrote instead, and it worked out perfectly. 

This will just be a post of the actual document itself, as well as a few explanations as to why we chose what we did. 

As most of you now we had a exchange of guns rather than of swords( like the Vikings) or of the traditional vows. Without being banned for showing the pictures of the exchange I will just tell you the gun specks for each of our guns. 

For Mine: Remington 700 chambered in .243

For His: Remington 700  chambered in 7mm Magnum 

Here is what was said during the exchange. We opted for it to just be read while we exchanged them and then did the ring exchange after this part. 

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. A good marriage is one which allows for change and growth in the individuals and in the way they express their love. In the moment that you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone you change, your heart opens, and you realize that everything leading up to this moment was meant to be. The beauty of marriage is not always the very beginning, but rather a love that grows overtime.

    The coming together of two people does not mean that one ceases to be an individual. Love does not ask you to become small so that your partner may grow. Love asks one thing of you and that is to always remain true to who you are.

     You have become each other’s compass. A compass always points north and serves the traveler as an honest guide and means of orientation, but also serves as a source of support, hope and faith. On a traveler’s journey destinations will inevitably change, their path may sometimes loose their footing. With the right compass to accompany them, they will never loose direction. Marriage is committing to the person who points you north and remains by our side each step of the way. I know you have found the right compass in each other."

For us, this was much for meaningful than vows that we would say to each other. We both felt like this was more for everyone looking in on our love. It speaks to us and about us and gives a very clear image of who we are and what we want our now combined families to be. We did add in some Pinterest worthy quotes about love and the meaning of it. We chose what was best for us. 

As far as to why we chose to exchange guns, we looked at wedding traditions that both represented us, as well as what our lifestyle fits; and we ended up finding that the Vikings as well as Korean traditions fit well for both of us. 

I am Korean, so we opted for having a Kissing Bell as well as Hand carved Geese from my grandmother. This made my part of the wedding special to us because it is a big tradition in Korean Culture for the parents of the bride to gift the groom with Geese( since we were not having live animals at the wedding my grandma gifted Brass versions of the geese to Chris as a sign of acceptance and blessing) 

As far as the Vikings, they usually exchanged a sword from the brides family as a sign of blessing and acceptance. 

Since we plan on having our own Wyoming Homestead, we both are gun owners and because of Chris' military career, we thought instead of swords we would exchange guns and have the other small traditions included as a nod to both of us and what we want our family to look like.

No matter what we chose, we had a blast and it has been the biggest happiness in our lives so far. We both knew we wanted the most relaxed version of a wedding, without just eloping. We paid less than $3,000 on our wedding and it couldn't have gone any better.

Weddings are supposed to be for you and your significant other. So have fun and make it yours! No one should be telling you how and why you need to do things a certain way. It's 2020, lets make it about love and happiness! (even if 2020 has tested our patience) 

We hope everyone is doing well, and staying healthy!

Please continue to follow your areas guidelines pertaining to the Covid 19 pandemic. 

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Comment below: 

"What are some of the traditions that you did/ did not keep for your wedding"

"How are you staying sane in the midst of the pandemic"

"what are your upcoming holiday plans?"

-The Whitten's-

The Wedding

Good Morning campers! Today is the day!

    Chris and I are excited to share our Wedding day with you! 

Originally we were going to have the wedding at a place called Murphy Lake in Wyoming, along the Greys River. However, that was not going to work because there is not a way for us to reserve it, nor was it easy to get to. It is a good hour hike from the bottom of the mountain it sits in. So we scrapped that idea and opted for having the ceremony and the reception at his parents house, to which both seemed very happy and thrilled to do.

We opted for the ceremony to be on the front porch of their cabin home, and then move the reception over to the opposite side of the house for the food and fun. Little did we know it would be raining the day of the wedding. We knew Friday (while getting the girls nails done that it was a possibility) and boy did it come down. So change of plans happened and we had the ceremony and food in the same place on the back porch of the home because the tents and such had already been set up there.

Chris BBQed our favorite dinner. Steak potatoes and corn. We had all kinds of appetizers.

Everything from Watermelon with balsamic and blue cheese, dipping bread with olive oil and balsamic, cheeses boards and different drinks. It truly was fun and so delicious. My favorite of all the food was the Ice cream bar that we set up. I personally love Ice cream and so does Chris (neither of us really love cake so this was a better option; although his mom surprised us with the AMAZING cake that we had).
 For the steaks Chris grilled them up on our new Camp Chef 3 burner grill that we got from Cabela's. A review on that will be posted soon along with some recipes that we love.

Lets be clear about the next nitty gritty of the wedding......

I'm not going to sit here and tell you how you should do your wedding and such. But I will tell you that I was having a hard time getting everyone else out of my head as to what should be done and how. So Chris basically said "it is for us, make it what you and I want" and so that is what we did. That is the advice I have for other people deciding on how to plan their wedding. Our wedding was very small and intimate but that is what we wanted. Do not let people, even toxic family members tell you how you should have your wedding. It is for you and your spouse and should all there is to it.  

Overall the wedding was amazing and Chris and I enjoyed it to the fullest. We were able to have the ceremony and then the reception inside while Chris BBQed outside on the same porch. It actually worked out perfectly and we still got our enjoyment out of it. Most people, because it was still raining  after the ceremony, were happy that we could go inside to eat and socialize. Angel( our niece) took the photos for us, and she did such an amazing job. We are grateful for her and so excited she got to be apart. 

    When it came to the ceremony we gave it a non-traditional makeover. It is our wedding so we wanted it be special and meaningful to us.

As far as traditions go, my dress was red because in Korean culture the brides dress has red, and she usually has red circles painted onto her face as a symbol of warding off bad spirits. We also had a kissing bell and geese as part of our other "traditions" that related best for us and our family.

The geese(fake, though they used to be real live geese) are a symbol of forever, and being with a soulmate. A goose will mate with only  one goose in their lifetime. Thus the symbolism of receiving them as a wedding gift. Now normally the brides father gives them to the groom as a gift, but my grandma stepped in on behalf. 

As far as the kissing bell, research that I have done says that it is a Korean and Irish tradition. It is usually brass or silver and is rung right before the officiant says "you may kiss the bride" it also is symbolized as warding off bad spirits.

As far as vows go, Chris and I did go down this road, as we did an exchanging of Guns. We both wrote out something to be said during, in place of vows. For Chris and I, teamwork and being apart of each others success is a big thing. So we thought it be best to write something together rather than saying vows. 

We chose to exchange guns instead simply because they are a big part of our lives (Chris being military, and both of us just being interested in them). The Vikings exchanged swords, we liked the symbolism of exchanging weapons as both providing and protecting for our family and With that the rifles we chose to exchange for each other worked best for us. 

Here is an insert of some of what was said during the rifle exchange: 

"...The coming together of two people does not mean that one ceases to be an individual. Love does not ask you to become small so that your partner may grow. Love asks one thing of you and that is to always remain true to who you are.

 You have become each other’s compass. A compass always points north and serves the traveler as an honest guide and means of orientation, but also serves as a source of support, hope and faith. On a traveler’s journey destinations will inevitably change, their path may sometimes loose their footing. With the right compass to accompany them, they will never loose direction. Marriage is committing to the person who points you north and remains by our side each step of the way...." 

Overall, Chris and I really felt that our wedding was for us, and the way we had the ceremony really showed who we are as a couple and as husband and wife. Even if it did rain on our wedding day (rain is a sign of good luck), Chris and I loved every second of it and are so grateful that we got to share our day with loved ones. 

If you take anything from this, remember that this special day is like no other as a couple. You will have a lot of fun filled adventure days, but you will also get on each others nerves and I just hope that you know your wedding day will not make your relationship stronger or weaker. You do. Your wedding day is a day. It is a special day, and its a HUGE deal, but do not loose the fact that after you both wake up the next day, possibly hungover, that the rest is what you make it from there on out. 

During our ceremony our officiant gave us the 5 love languages book, (I have read before, but Chris has not but gets the gist.) and we were told to learn each others love language. and I can not stress enough that a relationship is two people wanting what's best for each other. Thus making it not 100% all the time, but being able to give your partner the rest of what they need on any given day.  A relationship is two people coming together and cheering the other on, it's making sure they feel ok, and being apart of the process. It is not one sided, it is not toxic, it is not waiting till they get home to tell them what they haven't done all day, right as they walk through the door. I am not really religious but the one thing I do follow is that Love is patient, kind and forgiving. Unconditional love is what we are striving for, and what will help a relationship last. 

We hope you feel apart of the family, as this is what we are striving to accomplish. This is a community of love and acceptance for who you are.

Remember to stay safe and healthy during these trying times with Covid. 

- The Whitten's -

Bride and Groom Q&A

Hello campers,

 Today Chris and I are answering your questions from our Instagram, Twitter and some random ones we thought would be fun to share so you can get to know us.

So lets get started shall we: 

Q&A With Chris and Ashley

1: Where and When did we first meet?

    On the moon Alice, on the moon.....

    Ok in all seriousness, we met in Fallon Nevada right after I had moved there for a hospital job and he was stationed there. We met through a mutual friend, and we hit it off right from the beginning.

2: When did you meet his family?

    Our first date and when I met his family all happened at once, We took a road trip to Cherry Hill water park to hang out with his parents and also meet his nieces. I was kinda nervous because it was our first official date and also meeting the parents is a BIG DEAL, but when I met them everything basically just fell into the right places. We had a blast and I knew right then that this was going to be a great story. 

3: Who said "I Love You" first?

    ummm, bandit? actually I believe it was Chris who said it first, or it was both of us, we don't really know I call him "love" when I am trying to get his attention anyways. So for the question we will say both of us. 

4: What is she good at?

    Umm, everything? Is there a list i'm supposed to pick from? what kind of question is this? You do everything I ask of you and more I cant really pick one thing you're good at.  

5: Nicknames for each other?

    He calls me M&M (mighty midget) and I call him Love. 

6: What is your favorite resturant?

    His: Spaghetti Factory

    Hers: Olive Garden

7: Complete this sentence: "You're my...."

    Him: "You're my.... *insert silence*

    Hers: "You're my...sugar pie honey bunch"

8: Who's more romantic?

    His: "no, crying at children movies doesn't make you romantic"

    Hers: "I am, and that's mean"

9: Who's the best driver?

    Her: umm I don't know I don't drive anymore

    Him: Sooo me, that means me

10: Who's more likely to talk their way out of a speeding ticket?

    Her: HIM!!!

    Him: "I don't know what you're talking about.  *insert commentary* (Sir where you speeding?) 

11: Who's the best chef?

    Both of us agree it depends on what is being cooked, he is a master of the grill and makes the most amazing spaghetti, while I cook more for the daily and for crowds.

12: Who's the picky eater?

    Both of us agree it is him. Though I do not consider him picky.

13: Who's more likely to steal all the covers on a cold night?

    Him: You

    Me: no

    Him: Ahh yes you

    Me: noooo

    Him: oh yes I see its... You

14: Who wakes up first?

   Him

15: Who stays up later?

    Him

16: Who is the better singer in the shower?

    Furgus, he sings the song of his people when we have to bathe him

17: Who's Clumsier?

    Sadly her and the dog

18: Who's chattier?

    Her

19: Who's funnier?

    He is 

20: Who's more dramatic?

    That would be her, since shes laughing at the question

21: Who's more stubborn?

     HIM

22: Who's more organized?

    It depends on the situation

23: Who's more of a thrill seeker?

    Both of us 

24: Who would last longer on a deserted island?

    What kind of question is this? It depends on the island? If we are separated he would have more skills to use where as I would depend on my smaller body frame to slowly die. But if we are together then both of us would have our strengths and abilities to help each other.  

This wraps up the Q& A for now, 

keep sending us more questions and we will make another post or maybe a video this next time of us answering them. 

Thank you for all the questions we have received so far. 

-The Whitten’s-

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