My Amazing Modern Blessingway...

A blessingway is a mother centered ceremony that replaces a traditional baby shower and replaces it with a gathering of the closest women in your life. Every ceremony that I have been to has been different and thats what I love about it! My blessingway represented me and what I needed for my journey. I will share all of the particular elements that made my blessing way special to me!

A woman centered ceremony in the sizing a woman strength, dignity, and her metamorphosis as she goes through the process of bringing new life into the world...

I held my blessingway at the Breathing Space in Sarasota, Florida. I wanted an evening ceremony that evoked a magical feel and couldn't have been more happy with the space. In the invitation we asked everyone to bring a string of their favorite color, a plant that best represents them, a blessing bead, and a dish to share. 

My dear friend Erin Ernst did a beautiful henna on my belly! We discussed a mermaid (her specialty considering that she's a mermaid herself) and turned out beautiful. 

I couldn't have been more blessed with the women that participated in this ceremony! Every single one of them made the event special...

We started the ceremony by honoring our mothers..."I am Christian the daughter of Gina and the Mother of Ella..." By doing this we acknowledged the mother presence in our lives. It was powerful! Some mothers and grandmothers had passed on so it was amazing to honor not just the living but also thank God for the lives of those that had passed. It was also neat to acknowledge ourselves as beautiful mamas...

The ladies went around the circle and tied the string around the laboring candle to represent their blessing during labor..

We did a cord binding prayer that connected us as a community-we took a large piece of string and wrapped it around our wrist, said a prayer, and cut the string. Each mama was left with bracelet around their wrist. That way when they looked down at it they could remember to pray for mama and baby...

Each woman was instructed to bring a blessing and a bead to adorn the laboring necklace! Everyone went around the circle and presented their bead and their blessing...it was moving! 

            My laboring candle was lit while I was in labor and it was a huge focal point for me.

Everyone left with a candle to light when I went into labor. Talking to some of them after Andersen Wilde was born confirmed that I had a long labor.."I had it burning for so long, I was getting worried..are you supposed to leave open flame if you have to go to the grocery store?"

    We made a beautiful prayer flag to adorn my birth space! I love having these little keepsakes too.

          To end the night we had delicious food around a gorgeous night sky and open flame.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Ashley Berry Photography for capturing my beautiful event! She has decided to extend an amazing offer to Everyday Axness readers by offering a portrait session for $75 if booked before December 20th!