Love Story (Countdown To Our Day)

(Part 1: One Plus One)
(Part 2: Two Hearts)

After the proposal, the wedding plans went into high gear.  My mom was homeschooling and caring for my 7-year-old sister and was pregnant with my youngest sister-- not your stereotypical "mother of the bride"-- and Brian and I were both working full-time jobs with opposite schedules so we planned in the cracks.  We ordered bridesmaids dresses from a catalog.  I bought my dress on Ebay (and it needed NO alterations!).  We talked flowers and favors and candles and music on Sunday evenings (one of the only times we both had off). 

We originally discussed a fall wedding, but settled on Saturday, August 11 of the next year which was exactly one week before my 21st birthday.  A woman at work told me I should at least wait until after I turned twenty-one so I could enjoy my birthday as a single woman, but I thought there was no better way to spend the day than with my new husband! 

Four months before the wedding, my mom was hospitalized again, this time for premature labor.  Her water broke at 32 weeks and she spent a week in Labor and Delivery, trying to hold back labor, but on Good Friday (April 13, 2001), my sister, Rebekah, was born seven weeks early, weighing close to six pounds.  Our plans came to a standstill for a bit, but soon we had to carry on.  My mom, now caring for a seven-year-old and a premature baby who was having trouble nursing and gaining weight, told me that the planning was going to have to fall almost entirely on me and Brian. 

Along with organizing the wedding, we were also trying to find a place to live since we were both still living at home with our parents.  Most apartments had a waiting list, but we needed to secure a place. Maybe that's why I don't have lots of romantic memories of the two to three months before our wedding.  I was too busy. I do remember lots of stressed-out tears and a dead car battery and a flat tire and having to be driven to work every day on the week leading up to my wedding. 

The summer of 2001 was beautiful.  Several acquaintances had been married that season and they had lovely, seventy-five degree days.  Me?  Not so much.  The day before our wedding was hot and muggy.  When we arrived at the church for the rehearsal, the pastor said, "Before you come in, I need to make sure the air conditioning is back on.  It was broken this week, but I think the repairmen came today."  Visions of sweat dripping off my wedding gown and sticky, flushed guests flashed through my mind.  But alas, the church was cool and the everything was back in working order.  The actual day of my wedding was hot and rainy.  You know what, though?  It was still a wonderful, unforgettable day.  Brian's dad officiated and we gathered together with co-workers, old friends, newer friends, and lots of family to promise our lives to each other and pledge our relationship to the Lord. 

We often think back on that day and see the pictures of us looking like two young kids and say, "We never could have imagined what life would look like almost ten years later and five kids richer."  Thankfully, Someone knew.