I said, "Yes, WITHOUT the Dress" by Jazzmen Brown

Initially, I was a bit discouraged to be a part of the SOS's Best Wives Club Wisdom Wednesday's because it highlights a wife's wedding day. But I didn’t have a traditional wedding, I said, "Yes, without the dress!"

 However, I am glad my sister LaShunda, creator of SOS & The Best Wives Club, still gave me the opportunity to share and I hope this encourages other women like me.

I'm Jazzmen Brown, my husband is Lafael Brown. We married on January 15, 2018, exactly one year after our first date. I did it that way so he could remember the dates.

So, about our wedding day, we didn’t have a wedding, we had a; what can I call it? A moment. A moment at our Pastor's home where we shared vows and said I do. There was no wedding dress, no guests (other than our pastors), and no big celebration. We had an AMAZING honeymoon in a beautiful resort suite.

Never did I think that I would get married that way, but we did. Initially, we were planning a wedding, but we did not give ourselves enough time. My husband proposed in September of 2017, and we wanted to get married on our 1st date anniversary. Planning a wedding from September to January would have been a wedding just thrown together. We decided to do a traditional wedding later.

At first, I hated the idea of not having a wedding. Most women want to experience a beautiful wedding day. What I have been learning about God is that He cares more about my marriage as a whole than a wedding day. I have been encouraged that more often than not God gives good things to those wait. Now we get to plan a huge wedding in 2023 for our 5th year anniversary.

Even though things may not have played out the way most people "normally" get married, the best part of my story to saying, "Yes, without the dress" is that my husband and I are in a much better place financially now than when we first married in 2018. Ain't God good!

LaShunda, asked me to share a scripture from God's Word that holds our marriage together. That Word would have to be Ephesians 6:11-13.

"Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in a time of evil. Then after the battle, you will still be standing firm."