[ F R O M T H E E D I T O R ]

EDITOR’S NOTE

Lydia Earhart

I made a big mistake.

It was only days after being engaged; I went into wedding planning mode.

I read all the websites and started checking off items on every signature wedding list I could find.

I was determined and headstrong to get my wedding planned and win at it. Week after week I checked off more items on each of these lists. Photographer – check. Venue – check. After adding up all my check marks, I still felt like something was missing.

Every wedding list I went through left off the most important item you must do before you get married.

Enjoy your engagement.

The best man in the world just made the biggest commitment to have me in his future, and all I could do was talk about invitations. I wish I would have sat down and stopped to enjoy that time in my life.

From the moment an engagement begins, that time is so special for you and your fiancé.

The world around you becomes engaged with you and your love. I wasn’t prepared for that part.

It takes a lot during an engagement not to talk to your fiancé about the wedding. And wedding planning is no easy task. But, enjoy being in love and committed first. Talk more about your marriage than the wedding. Your wedding is only a few hours out of a day. A marriage is a future and a lifetime together.

Halfway into planning, I paused to enjoy it. We went on dates and had long talks about what we wanted our marriage to be, and I fell deeper in love with John.

As most brides will tell you, there is always something that happens to throw off your day.

However, there are also a few saving graces.

Katy Larsen was one of my saving graces. Her act of kindness brought me to tears in the middle of her store the day before my rehearsal dinner. It was at that time when the weight of the world was on my shoulders. Family was in town, and John was missing his tux. All I needed was a ray of sunshine, and it was Katy.

Another was our officiant. Our ceremony was intimate and perfect thanks to Mr. Tom Moore. He shared our story with our friends and family and his words eloquently opened up the next chapter for our future together. We will spend a lifetime remembering those words that started our family.