Why so soon?

That seems to be the question from almost every person who hears that Jeremy and I are getting married on January 20th. I don't have a real answer to give, but I seem to always jokingly reply with "Well, haven't we all waited long enough?" And yet, so many people haven't heard that we are getting married January 20th, yes, January 20, 2012. It will be here so soon and we are so excited about that day. There's so much to do, but it's been a very relaxed preparation. Counseling has started, the wedding party has been decided, dress purchased, songs selected, invitations almost ready to send out, cake ordered, wedding shower date selected, even the honeymoon is done... everything is coming along nicely.

But this whole thing has felt so surreal to me until this past weekend. Up until now this has seemed like a lovely dream... something I've always thought about but still didn't feel real. On Saturday Jeremy and I had the privilege of attending a wedding for some friends from our Sunday school, Sherman and Stephanie. I was excited to see how this wedding would go because it was at our church and they also had the reception planned for the Fellowship Hall. As I was anxiously awaiting the wedding to start it dawned on me that it would soon be my turn. Even as I recall this weekend, my stomach is in knots from nervousness. Many people know I have a tendency to get really nervous. I don't have an appetite, I sweat like a boy, I bite my nails, I think non-stop, and I just don't sleep. I analyze things, I make lists, I keep myself busy, I just overwhelm myself. Our wedding is a month and a half away, literally.

As the weekend progressed I kept asking myself, why are we getting married so soon? And I was reminded over and over again of the incredible gift God was giving us. We aren't married, yet, but the preparation of this gift is an incredible time. I've decided to stop freaking out, even if it was just a few days, and remind myself constantly that God has called us into this incredible union. We are thrilled! It's been exciting to see how conversations have changed, how Jeremy has changed, how our lives are changing because of this marriage God has called us to!

So, with that being said... You are invited! Everyone is invited! As soon as our invitations are done, I will post it on my blog. It's a video, what else would you expect from a media specialist?! We wanted to have fun with this whole process! I can't wait to post it, but until I do, here are the details.

When: Friday, January 20th at 8:00pm
Where: Blaney Baptist Church in Elgin, SC
Dress: This is always a big question, so I thought I'd answer it. It's pretty casual. Bridesmaids are wearing black dresses of their choosing with TOMs and the Groom and his men are wearing black pants and Guayaberas (you can see what those look like online).


Reception: It's BYOD: Bring your own dessert to share! It's a simple reception immediately following the wedding in the fellowship hall/gym. Nothing fancy, we've waited a long time for this day and we're excited to get our marriage started ;)

The thing we are most excited about is having the people we love most all in 1 place! We look forward to seeing you! If you don't mind, continue to keep us in your prayers and we prepare for this special day!



Here are some of our engagement photos, courtesy of Lauren Sykes Photography!