Behind the Story: Church building

I have been in many, many church buildings through the years. Perks of being a preacher's daughter, among other reasons. Apparently, though, some of them stuck with me more than others, and they're sneaking into my writing.
As I was rereading Saving Grace during edits, it hit me that I'd pictured a particular church building from my past when describing the one in the story. Greg is the youth minister, so several scenes take place there.
The church building in my head is the one I was married in. Since I can't go running off to Arkansas right now to do a walk-through video and show you this charming building, I am doing the next best thing and showing pictures as I describe it.

The main door s lead to a little foyer right off the auditorium. The first time I walked into the auditorium, my breath caught. Sunlight sparkled through the stained glass window up front and mesmerized me. Right then, I decided I had to get married at a time of day when the sunshine lit up those colors above us. And I did (4:45 pm on June 11th, in case you were wondering).

From the foyer, you can go down this hallway. The nursery, bathrooms, old kitchen, and classrooms all line either side. When we first moved there, that was it, but then they added a larger fellowship hall at the end, to the right. It was perfect for our wedding reception.

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And here's the fellowship hall, from right after it was built. Nice and big. The only part of the building described in the book that's not like this one is the office area. I think that must have been based on the church office my grandfather had in Cookeville, TN for years and years. Isn't it funny how different church buildings stick with us in certain ways? 

Keep scrolling. I'm going to include a few of my wedding pictures just for fun. :-)

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