All posts of flourish

Who to Invite: Create the guest list of your dreams

By Nicolette Baker When Chelsea Fletcher of Cape Girardeau began planning the guest list for her Sept. 26 wedding, she envisioned an intimate ceremony surrounded by the closest of family members. For the nuptials themselves, she chose to include only her and her fiancé’s immediate family members. The guest list for the “big party” reception […]

Saying “I Do:” Quiansha + Joseph Pierce

You’ve found the person with whom you want to spend your time as you live through this life, and you’ve made it official: You’re getting married. Congratulations! Now, it’s time for planning your wedding.  Here, five couples with ties to Southeast Missouri share the unique details of their journey of saying yes to each other […]

Saying “I Do:” KK + Tanner Beussink

You’ve found the person with whom you want to spend your time as you live through this life, and you’ve made it official: You’re getting married. Congratulations! Now, it’s time for planning your wedding.  Here, five couples with ties to Southeast Missouri share the unique details of their journey of saying yes to each other […]

Saying “I Do:” Anna + Chazz Upton

You’ve found the person with whom you want to spend your time as you live through this life, and you’ve made it official: You’re getting married. Congratulations! Now, it’s time for planning your wedding.  Here, five couples with ties to Southeast Missouri share the unique details of their journey of saying yes to each other […]

Saying “I Do:” Brooke + John Schnurbusch

You’ve found the person with whom you want to spend your time as you live through this life, and you’ve made it official: You’re getting married. Congratulations! Now, it’s time for planning your wedding.  Here, five couples with ties to Southeast Missouri share the unique details of their journey of saying yes to each other […]

Saying “I Do:” Brynna Downing + Tyler Boardman

You’ve found the person with whom you want to spend your time as you live through this life, and you’ve made it official: You’re getting married. Congratulations! Now, it’s time for planning your wedding.  Here, five couples with ties to Southeast Missouri share the unique details of their journey of saying yes to each other […]

Postcards to Nowhere

By Monica Obradovic As a journalist, I’m constantly surrounded by messages: emails, press releases, interview transcriptions, story drafts. Two years ago, I wanted to find a way to curate words of my own. It started at an antique mall in Cuba, Mo. In the time it took for my mother to walk through the entire […]

Dating App or Dating Game?

By Jasmine Jones “I’m talking to this guy…” my friend responds after I ask her what’s new. “Oh, is this the social science major?” “No, this one’s new,” she says while showing me a picture of a generic, emaciated white boy on her phone. “Doesn’t he look like Timothée Chalamet?” Her eyes beg me to […]

Saying Yes to Forgiveness

By Sarah Geringer It only took me 20 years to learn this lesson: Saying yes to forgiveness every day in your marriage is a prescription for peace. How I wish I had started practicing this in year one — no, week one — of our marriage. I would have experienced much less heartache and much […]

Paddling Into Adventure

By Missy Nieveen Phegley When I was nearing my 40th birthday, lots of people asked how I wanted to celebrate this milestone. I really wanted to take a vacation by myself, but when I shared this with family and friends, their responses were, “You don’t want to do that,” “That doesn’t seem safe,” “That wouldn’t […]