In the two years since college, the time living at home with my parents has been great. As I try to pack for the honeymoon and get my stuff in order, a scene from my favorite wedding movies replays in my head. In Father of the Bride, Annie packs up her room and says goodnight for the last time. This movie has always reminded me of the close relationship I share with my parents and is making packing so much harder. I honestly didn’t think I would get emotional tonight, but part of me wants to sit and relish in the last of many nights in “my room.”

While all this goes through my head, I am excited for tomorrow. I’m curious how it will all turn out and wonder how this long engagement dramatically sped up. All of a sudden our wedding day is here and it’s very real. It’s difficult to wrap my head around it, while also knowing I have some more things to do and need to get some good sleep.

So before I sign off for the last time as Ms. Atwood, I want to thank everyone that lent their support, love, patience, generosity, time and prayers to Matt and me. As we embark on this new life together, I can’t help but suddenly feel unprepared, yet confident because we have many loved ones surrounding us, and many with great examples of a godly marriage.

Short sales are the step before foreclosure where the house is being sold for less than it is worth. This particular little house is experiencing a three-way tug-of-war: between a bank, credit union and a seller. In the three months since our initial offer, it seems that no one is “winning.” Everyone will lose money and we’re waiting, ready to sign papers and trying to be patient.

At our Bible study last night, one of our friends said, “Don’t people say that getting married, buying a house and moving are the three most stressful things to do? And you’re doing them all at once!”

It definitely gave me a chance to laugh at our circumstance, because yes, our situation sounds absolutely crazy. Adding to it, we won’t be back in the area for three weeks as we take our honeymoon and a quick stop in Orange County to be a part of my brother’s wedding.

Like the planner I am, I am easily frustrated that our Plan A didn’t work out and that we were being told that a Plan B wasn’t necessary because the banks were going to get it figured out soon. Yet, Matt has reminded me that we need to have faith that God will guide us through it all:

Matthew 6:25-27: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

While we are finishing programs and other wedding details in the days to come, we will also be looking for an apartment, furniture and able bodies and trucks to help us move. And if the short sale is settled before the wedding, we’ll still be waiting on an inspection before we decide if we will officially become first-time homebuyers.

So if you think of it, pray for us that it will all come together. And if you have an affordable month-to-month house/apartment for rent or unwanted furniture–let us know!

Needless to say, the game of Ultimate plays a major role in our lives, so it wouldn’t make sense to keep it out of our wedding festivities. That said, we hope to have a pick-up game the Saturday morning (around 9 a.m.) before the wedding. Ideally it will be held near the wedding venue, but that will likely be decided last minute.

We welcome rookies, veterans and enthusiasts to come out to play and cheer for a bride vs. groom game, or something to that effect.

If you want to be notified of the games, leave a comment below (be sure to include an email address) and we’ll keep you in the loop. Hope to see lots of you there!

Why is this shirt so significant? A close-up:

This is my handy new shirt from Wifeville.com! You see, not only am I a winner of an amazing fiance, but also a contest held on Hostess With the Mostess! They sent me the shirt all wrapped up with that lipstick pen. How cute! How nice! What a great way to make me feel better after forking over a small fortune to have my car fixed!

Sadly, the cute shirt (official description here) will go unworn until I’m officially a wife. When it is finally worn, I will be happy because I snagged a great shirt (and guy!). I imagine I’ll look something like this:

After almost four years of dating, it seems like a lot of it has been apart. The first year and a half years, I was in school in SoCal and he was up here. At first we were overjoyed at the thought of being in the same county. Nearing two years later (wow, has it really been two years?) the 10 minute drive between houses is getting to be unbearable. We already spend the majority of awake hours at work and now we’re forced to squeeze segmented hours together between Bible study, Frisbee and the like.

Apart from all the other exciting things marriage can bring, I am definitely looking forward to saying good morning instead of goodnight!

Everything ran smoothly and that was in large part due to the calm demeanor of the couple! The ceremony was especially touching as the groom also made a vow to Jincy’s sweet daughter, Estella. Then after a few photos, everyone ate some great food and celebrated with the new couple. It was a quick, but very fun and personal day that everyone enjoyed. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take pictures, so maybe I’ll get some later.

I was glad to have the experience of being a maid of honor under my belt going into this wedding. It’s pretty common for brides to think about going into the party planning business, and I am no exception. Maybe I just like bossing people around? It was definitely a fun experience and it helped that everyone thought I was a professional. No, I’m just a professional engaged person!

 
At the rehearsal dinner

Bachelorette dinner at Macaroni Grill

The Maid of Honor with the Groom and the Best Man with the Bride.

Matt & me — we’re next!

The last photo was taken by Joel, and was part of the slideshow shown at the reception. Check out the slideshow!

If you witnessed the event first hand you may want to watch (and better yet, listen to) the FULL 10 minute video to commemorate that great day

One of our newer friends, Patty, shared a New Years family tradition with us: adding grapes to your champagne glass for good luck in the year to come. Someone said we needed 12 grapes to symbolize the coming months. But the grapes were running low and my cup was pretty small. (Picturing months in grapes also made me panic when I realized how fast time was going!) So I was able to fit 5 plump, purple grapes into my plastic cup–we’re so refined!

Making a wish with each bubbly crunch of champagney grapes, Matt remarked that he only had good luck for January through May. Would that mean bad luck for our wedding? Not at all, I said. Because I designated grapes as “July, July, July, July, July, March.” (The last is for Megan and Matthew.)

So, I think we’re covered.

Yes, three years ago today, Matt asked me to be his girlfriend at Hume Lake! This anniversary may be replaced with the wedding anniversary and the honor given back to the day’s rightful owner, Matt’s mom, whose birthday is Sept. 4. We’ve never really done anything super special for our anniversary, and this year we’re continuing to pinch pennies for the big day. So as Matt’s family celebrates tonight, we’ll sing happy birthday but share a wink over a slice of cake.

(Two years, by Emily. One year, by Emily. One year, by Matt.)