Filed under: Wedding

"Mr. John Nelson... That's got a nice ring to it."

Disclosure: I stole that title quote from Andrew Bernard on The Office - which happens to be my favorite television show.
 
Well, here I am. A married man. Yeah, I know, right? Woah.
 
I could do like every newlywed blogger does, and tell you about how amazing it feels to be married, or about how the wedding day went or about my new apartment. These are all very valid and interesting blog posts, but I honestly haven't processed everything that has happened to me in the past week. I want to have a clear head and organize my thoughts before I tell you about the most important day of my life.
 
But let's be honest - you don't want nor need to read 1,000,000 words of mushy, narcissistic love talk, so I'll boil it down quickly before I move on:
 
Our wedding day was awesome, I feel awesome and living with Stacy is awesome. Marriage is awesome. Love is awesome. Wearing a wedding ring is awesome.
 
I'm not being sarcastic. It all really is awesome. Ecuse my brevity, but my brain is just a bit tired right now, and I really have some other thoughts to share in this post. Five of them:
 
1. I'm really, really glad that Stacy and I are waiting to honeymoon later this fall (another, near-future post). If I were in Hawaii right now, I'd be sleeping. Not watching volcanoes, eating mahi mahi nor snorkeling. Sleeping and stressing over moving to Sioux Falls. Waste.
 
2. Cleaning ovens might be my least favorite part of being alive.
 
3. I'm really, really happy that my friend Jeremy made it home safely from Yemen this past week.
 
4. I'm really, really proud to have friends like Jeremy - who advocated journalism for three months in Yemen. And Heather - who is currently diving into a two-year service for the Peace Corps in Niger, Africa.
 
5. I'm completely attached to Stacy. I hope she isn't getting sick of me yet. We're having a great start to our new lives together. I'm a very lucky man to be with such an amazing woman.
 
Sorry for that last bit of mushyness.

Staying in Check

With only 11 days until my wedding, I'm taking inventory and getting stuff done. I'm checking things off of my list and also keeping myself in-check to avoid stress-induced mental cloudiness.
 
 
To do:
 
- Pick out some music to be played during the meal/social hour before the band starts playing at the reception (about 3 hours)
- Design and print the ceremony programs
- Pack up my little things (smaller than the back seat of my car) in Brookings and bring them to Sioux Falls.
- Exercise whenever possible to fend off anxiety attacks
- Edit my clients' photos in between all of the above (they're aware of my situation)
- Spend time with my family who will soon be visiting from far-away places
- Blog stuff between/after all of the above
 
 
Not to do:
 
- Play Super Mario Brothers on my Wii as if it were my only purpose in life
- Engorge myself on every meal until August 14
- Manufacture a future stress bomb by procrastinating my to-do list
- Watch Entourage during every waking moment of my life (it happens)
 
 
Thank you for sticking with my blog as I get all this stuff done. I plan to start cranking out awesomer posts after the wedding. There's always plenty of subject matter to write about (and/or photograph).
 
Eleven days to go!

One Month

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Photo: The first photo of Stacy and me together. Snapped on Dec. 21, 2005 - one week after our first date. 

With 31 days of singlehood left, I find myself thinking about weird things. Not about bachelor-party-ish things, but about obscure things like jazz music and photographer organization memberships. When I'm not in my cubicle, I'm still playing Wii and taking pictures. I'm not morphing into an obsessed groomzilla. I'm just John.

Call me naive or ostentatious, but I honestly feel like I'm half-ways ready for marriage. I've done my homework (12 hours of marriage counseling and additional hours of reading articles like this one) - and becoming one with my other half doesn't scare me. It quite literally completes me. Pardon the flowery language, but my forthcoming unity with Stacy gives me certitude and confidence in my life's purpose. It feels right. 

I rode the real emotional roller coaster back when I proposed to her. In those days, I was still waiting for the fog to lift. I didn't know exactly what I was getting into, but that's part of the rush. To put it in practical terms, I just knew that I had to move things along. It was quite obvious that we were meant to be together. God put it right in front of me and I liked it, so I put a ring on it. I was ready to commit myself to this girl and this future. 

Now that most of the wedding plans are in place, I'm feeling very well. We've got a great list of vendors lined up to serve us and our guests. Although we've got a couple phone calls to make, the plans are all done. Things are falling in place, but these 'things' are only temporary, largely ceremonious things. August 14 is going to be a great day, but it's the subsequent lifetime with Stacy that I anticipate the most.

For those of you who will take the time to join us on our wedding day, I want to thank you in advance. No matter how many thousands of dollars we may drop on photographers, catering, dresses, tux rentals, cake, booze and music, your kindness and support are really what will make the day special for us. 

See you in one month!

John