Love song summer.

Listening to: Charlie Brown by Coldplay. (Played about a million times at our wedding. :)

Wow, has it been forever since I have posted on here. A wedding, work, and life will do that to a girl. :) I plan to make this blog a place of peace and inspiration, more for myself, and anyone who feels like reading. Work and school this fall will inevitably make me feel like a crazy person, so hopefully this will help me to escape and breathe a bit.

It seems fitting to make my first post "back" about my wedding day.

I married the man I have been in love with for four years (Will be five years in August!). We met as lifeguards at a local pool in the city, sixteen years old, shy, funny, and both passionate for Jesus. We spent that summer getting really tan, going on a sand dates, flirting, and talking for hours on the pool deck. On August 5, 2007, Tucker asked me to be his girlfriend, very sweetly and nervously. I said yes and from that day on, we lived life together. We went to a countless number of movies, ate at Earl's Barbecue about ten thousand times, spent lots of time at each other's houses, and frequented our local Starbucks. We lived at Border's bookstore, went on a family road trip to Tennessee for his brother's wedding, and started attending church together. We served together, laughed together, shared loss together, learned how to listen to each other, had college classes together, and learned how to make a relationship strong and loving. We learned to fight fair, to ask for forgiveness, to speak when needed and when to keep silent; we learned how to compromise, to stand firm in what we believe, and that people all change. We are different from our younger selves, but not by much. We are wiser and more mature and healthier. We know how to save money, make a budget and prioritize time. We still go on dates, take time for ourselves, and learn from the Godly examples of marriage and relationships all round us. We still attend the same church, pray together, and try our honest best to put God first about anything else. Five years ago, I never thought I would be married at 21. I had met this incredibly cute, sweet, amazing guy and I was head over heels for him, but I was in no way thinking about marriage. But after being with him for a couple of years, I began to think about what it would be like to spend the rest of my life with him. The idea thrilled me and scared me, and I worried quite a bit about it. I prayed, and journaled, and daydreamed, and prayed. I realized, after months of worrying if I was ready for such a commitment, I finally made a decision. God brought Tucker to me for a reason. We were placed at the same pool, in that same summer, in that same city for a reason and there was no ignoring that. I loved him and I knew that, and knowing both of those truths, I knew I could marry him without a doubt.

The same year I decided that, Tucker asked me to marry him. July 1, 2011, on a very hot summer day, in the same park where we met, I said yes to an amazing man of God. After almost of year of planning and stressing and saving and stressing and more planning, the day came.

I still keep thinking about how perfect that day was. Friday, June 1, 2012. It was a cloudy, rainy, high seventies kind of day (which if you live in OK, that is not normal for a summer day). I personally love the rain and both Tucker and I were kind of excited about the weather. (Before you girls freak out, our wedding was indoor, and the sun came out several times that day, so we were able to get beautiful pictures. :) My sister and I got up early and went to the hair shop where one of my beautiful friends did my hair for the wedding. Then we ran to Target (me in my veil-earned lots of funny looks) and got lunch at Panera. Then came time for us to go to the church. Let me talk about the church for a moment. Tucker and I began attending Lifechurch.tv in 2007 when we met. Originally, we started going to their Youth services on Wednesday nights, but after realizing how much we loved the church, and after convincing our parents, we began going on Sunday mornings as well. We made friends and mentors within the church and began serving, each in our own areas. I serving with the 5th and 6th graders and Tucker on what we call the Host Team, being a friendly face on Sunday mornings as a door greeter. It seemed like a fitting place to get married; at the place where two young people, passionate about God, found a church where they felt free and more in love with God and each other. The decision was made.

Back to the wedding day....We arrived at the church at about 2pm that afternoon and being that the wedding wasn't due to start until 6:30, we had plenty of time to relax. My bridesmaids arrived and we began taking pictures. Our photographer was amazing. I mean, amazing. Her name is Esther, and peeps trust me, the girl can take pictures. She is brilliant and we were so excited to have her as our photographer. (www.photosbyesther.com; Seriously?! She's good.) After pictures, we ate, and hung out until it was time to go. I put on my beautiful, (cheap!) dress, and checked hair and makeup one last time. Now, up until this point, I wasn't nervous. Maybe it helped that for one I am a typically very laid back, calm person and two, I am not crowd shy. Everyone lined up and the procession began. Our grandparents and moms were escorted in (to "No Such Thing As Time" by Elenowen--Tucker and I only agree on a few bands/singers. Elenowen is definitely our favorite!) and all the bridesmaids lined up. My sister kept running around behind me, fixing my dress, and right before she went in she smiled a knowing sister smile, and walked on in. I took my dad's arm and stepped up to the door. My heart might have exploded at this point. At the perfect point in the song,  ("There's a Place for Us by Carrie Underwood--For Narnia!--Was suggested by my mother in law, after watching Voyage of the Dawn Treader, that this would be the perfect wedding song, and as soon as she said, I wanted to use it. Thanks, Ellen!) we walked in. And EVERYONE was crying. I wasn't, which sounds bad, but I never cry when I am happy. But everyone else does apparently. I saw Tucker, and my pastor who were both teary eyed and we finally made it to them. Then my dad gave me to Tucker, and from then on, I have been in his hands. :)

The ceremony was beautiful (and short! ;) and the rest of the night is sort of a blur. We took lots of pictures, ate, danced, laughed, talked to as many people as we could, and listened to toasts by our friends. We left the wedding loaded down with food, gifts, and lots of well wishes from our families. It was the most perfect day. Beautiful, and focused on the most important thing: the gift that marriage is between two people who are committed and dedicated. It's been almost two months since that day, I am more in love with Tucker everyday.
 
Hope you enjoyed my novel of a love story. I'll post more about the honeymoon, and my summer later on. :)