happy happy happy

I need to share my own personal wedding-related list of things that are overwhelming me with joy:

1. We officially have a chapel- Downtown Presbyterian Church's little blue chapel
2. We have a venue sight held for us! Cannery Ballroom. How legit is that?! It's gonna be such an awesome party.
   
3. I HAVE A DRESS!!!!! I'm obsessed with it. The dress-shopping process was a complete blast. I had my mom, my sister, and 4 of my best friends with me. I couldn't have asked for a more special day. I thought I found "the one" early in the day, but later I came across a dress that was even MORE of "the one"..... it seriously had everything I wanted... mature, elegant, sophisticated yet simple, womanly, feminine, beautiful, and NOT sparkly. =)
4. We have photographers! They're a wonderful, talented, sweet married couple named Josh & Amber Ulmer (www.Ulmerstudios.com). They've already been extremely helpful & encouraging, and we're SO excited to get to work with them & have them capture the most important day of our lives.
   
5. We have a DATE. Obviously an important detail. But it's more than just a day. My grandpop died this year, so it's been a really tough year for my mom & granma. My Grandma has also had some trouble adjusting, and we discovered she has alzheimers, which has put even more stress on my mom. My family is really important to me, and my mom's parents have taught me SO much about life & love. It seems fitting to be getting married on their wedding anniversary, June 3rd. I feel so honored & blessed to be able to marry the man of my dreams, with whom I have the privilege of spending forever, on the day that my grandparents married each other. And, to add to the family history, my mom & dad actually got married on my mom's grandparent's wedding anniversary. So I feel like I'm carrying on some sort of tradition. I also plan to have a yellow rose in the center of my bouquet so I can have a piece of my grandpop with me the whole day (there were yellow roses on his casket, and I still have one dried yellow rose from that day).
6. I have the perfect man. Really, I'm constantly amazed that I was able to find Nathan this young. I'm going to be married at 22, and, though many people think that's a bit young, I couldn't be more excited and sure of this. Maybe I'm going to miss out on "fun times" and my "youth".... but if that means giving up random hookups, partying, and misdirected passion, then I'm FINE with that. I want my "youth" and "fun times" to be shared with the person I love more than anyone in the world. I want to grow in my 20's, and give back to my community. I want to be invested in something and seriously care about my actions. I don't want to spend all my money partying & having a carefree time. I want to make my life something seriously worthwhile- not just for myself, but for others. So, that to say, in no way do I feel like I'm "too young" to be getting married. I think I'm at an age where I need to begin acting responsibly & maturely. And that means that I should recognize the blessing I have in Nathan Dryden, and commit myself to be totally and overwhelmingly his & him mine forever. It's not going to be easy & always super fun, but we know that. And loving each other is more important than being constantly comfortable. Marriage won't always be comfortable. But it will be meaningful. And I, somehow, get to marry Nathan Dryden. I almost can't even believe it. There will never be words to express how deeply I love this man.
7. I'M GETTING MARRIED IN 293 DAYS!!!!! (but who's keeping count??)

Also, I *might* be crying a little (out of joy) while writing this post.'

PS- To my extremely supportive friends: I will never be able to tell or show you how much your friendship and support means to me. I LOVE YOU ALL. (Steph, we'll send you confidential pics of my dress..... just gonna say, it's kinda hot.)