My wedding blog, Chapel Journal, is the culmination of nearly a decade of experience as a floral designer and wedding blogger. The journal combines my rich wedding experience with my background in English Literature and, above all, my faith. For I cannot view weddings in any other light than an everlasting one; as a covenant before God and glimmer of the everlasting union by which the believing heart is wedded to Christ. Chapel is a hymn, an ode, a prayer, my spirit’s song. I love to dwell on its pages and pour my heart out in creating the most beautiful writing and imagery I can possibly share. Weddings have the potential to be one of the most exquisite moments one could ever live: an occasion at once visually arresting and prayerful, glorifying. While we will never arrive at perfection this side of heaven, it’s endearing that in some moments we strive to be as reverent as possible; to plan things with as much care as the occasion deserves; to adorn the moment with outward loveliness and beauty.

My family creates grace-filled, beautiful home spaces in the belief that home should be a heritage. O’Grady Design Group is our family-owned business, through which we offer both new builds and artistic renovations. Our designs are inextricably linked with our family life and belief in the sacred importance of home. We hope to build homes that are more than beautiful—that are filled with the intangible and undeniable presence of grace. No place should be more desired, more filled with simple luxuries, than home.

Through this home design venture, God has caused me to contemplate how to live the unseen, seemingly thankless moments in surrender and grace. The true test of our character is revealed in ordinary places and around ordinary things, especially at home, among our family members. There is such beauty to big, splendid occasions—I like formality and effort, and find the careful planning a welcome change from ordinary or haphazard days. But living with grace on an ordinary day is a nobler effort, more difficult by far. Therefore, writing and designing for home is a wonderful antidote to event work and writing. It prompts me to consider how to create a home, and even an ordinary day, that is ennobled, elegant, and prayerful. I’ve seen the tremendous care that event designers take with weddings and grand occasions; I wonder what would happen if we treated our loved ones with the same diligence, integrity, and care. Surely, they are worthy of it—and undoubtedly, our God is.

In my personal life, I am passionately drawn to artistic movement, having trained as a dancer, figure skater, and athlete. I love elegant, interpretive movement. The characteristics that best define my personality are artistry and discipline, intensity and sensitivity; movement has always afforded me an avenue for expressing these traits. Seeing or choreographing movements to music—this is what my soul loves. It is this artistic impulse that led me to floral design, where I similarly channeled artistic ideas, feelings, memories, and longings through flowers. The same artistic impulse led me also to writing, a discipline which likewise demands equal parts persistence and creativity—a willingness to embrace unglamorous, painful hours in hopes of ascending to enlightened, artistic heights.

I also unashamedly love beautiful things, like pretty homes and outfits, but I hope it is an innocent, delighted love. Luxury for luxury’s sake does not interest me, and I try not to chase the kind of beauty that intimidates, distances, excludes, or isolates others. The homes, interiors, outfits, and artwork I love best simply exude grace and love. They envelop and invite the viewer in. They radiate a certain sweetness.

In design, I have found most encouragement from those things that free me to pursue my individual artistry, rather than pressure me to conform to some standard. The best artists, I feel, give others a sense of permission. Yes, you really can design a room around the color you love best. Yes, you can choose a wallpaper or an object that sets your heart aflutter. Your design process can be guided by dreams. You can wear a dress that makes you happy. Design can be fun. It would be an honor if my content could similarly free others to find their own intangible something, that spark that everyone else is incapable of replicating. My hope is that every reader would walk in and embrace her God-given beauty, her je ne sais quoi factor. And my prayer is that she could see herself as a regal jewel, a ruby set on the highest shelf. Someone of infinite worth, bought at a price, and carefully guarded. Luminous, flawless, lustrous with the very love and light of her Savior.

All of this brings me here, to my personal blog. It’s a diary of all that interests me: an ode to graceful lifestyle, a place to share beautiful interiors, home design elements, and personal style. I passionately love poetry, literature, and fashion—here, I can share these things in a thoughtful way.

I find enjoyment in striving to live a life of grace and poise. I like habits, traditions, and rituals that create a more elegant life. It’s a passion of mine, to try and make life as pretty, as thoughtful, and as graceful as possible. Yet I know that true grace comes freely from Christ, and Him alone. How richly He pours His streams of grace into our days and into believing hearts, settling and gladdening them. Jesus, the Source of all grace, truth, and everlasting life. To know Him, follow Him, share in His sufferings, be rescued by His grace, and conformed to His likeness—the highest and holiest privilege of all. A truly graceful life is made possible in Christ alone.

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