Monday, August 30, 2004

In Honor of Our Second Anniversary, Part 2

We never did set a date to get married. The following summer, I had taken an internship in northcentral Kansas at a newspaper. I came back just about every weekend to spend time with Ron. Oh, and my family, too. But by this time, I was having trouble being around my family too much. I just didn't feel like I fit in with them anymore. I'd had a taste of freedom from them, and I started getting sick in my stomach when I thought of moving back in with them at the end of the summer.

I still couldn't find work in or around Wichita, so I couldn't afford to move out on my own. But I couldn't stand the thought of moving back with my parents. So one warm evening at the end of July, Ron and I were talking on the phone about my situation. He said, "We still haven't set a date for our wedding. Why don't we just get married?" It made sense. We were ready. He had a great job and was making enough money to support both of us. "We'll do it over Labor Day weekend," we decided.

On July 31, Ron called me and said, "Okay, I've talked to Pastor Hoger and reserved the church. We're getting married on August 31."

"But that only gives us 31 days to plan the wedding!"

"That's Labor Day weekend," he said.

I called my best friends and asked them to be my bridesmaids. I called my grandma and asked her to make my dress. Ron's youngest sister, Josie, decided that she would make our wedding cake as a gift for our wedding, and bring the layers down in crates from Wisconsin.

The month flew by. Ron and I made our own invitations and all the arrangements, and I put all of the bouquets and corsages together in five hours while sitting on the floor of my parents' living room. My grandma had my dress sewn together in one week! All I had to do was visit her for a final fitting.

Ron and I paid for everything. My mom was really upset that she didn't get to do much with me to plan the wedding, and that we didn't have much time to do a lot together. I wish we could have, but I knew that if I gave my parents the opportunity to do much, they would insist on doing things more their way than ours.

My sister, two girlfriends and my mom and I all went to the mall on the east side of town looking for the perfect bridesmaids dresses. We got the best deal we could have ever gotten. Von Maur had just opened. It's a very classy department store where almost everything is overpriced. But downstairs, we found one dress that was just the perfect color and style for my wedding. But there was only one. My sister and two bridesmaids tried it on, and it looked great! The sales lady called a couple of stores in other states, found the same dress at each, and had the dresses sent to my bridesmaids' doors for nothing. The best part: the dresses were originally about $160, but were on sale for $38 apiece! It was meant to be!

The wedding was beautiful. My dress was gorgeous; Grandma did a wonderful job. We even had everyone lined up on the steps outside the church after the wedding, and they blew bubbles at us as Ron and I stepped down to the truck. Everyone was so very happy for us, and we were so very extremely happy.

And even though Ron was laid off from his wonderful-paying job six months after we got married, we've managed to remain happy together, in spite of financial difficulty.

Two years have gone by since we got married. Some have asked when we're going to start a family. We just tell them that this is not the right time to start a family; we need to be able to take care of us first, get a place to live where we would actually have room for more than just one of us, be able to buy clothes once in a while, etc. (The apartment we live in is meant for just one person, not two.)

We have the rest of our lives together, and when it's the right time, God will allow us to conceive and give life to a new generation of Olsons. Until then, we're giving thanks to God for giving us the years he has and for all the years he will give us together in the future.

2 comments:

TKls2myhrt said...

I loved reading your story about getting married. I could really relate to the comment that if your mother had had the opportunity, she would have overtaken your plans. That sure happened to me, but I was too overwhelmed by all the plans to object much. It still turned out fine, but I am much more of the do-it-yourself, creative type. I would have liked to have done things exactly like you did. However, in the long run, it doesn't really matter how the wedding was. Ten or twenty years into marriage, you don't often think about your wedding day. Love and commitment play a much bigger part. Thanks for telling the story!

Anonymous said...

Hi! I came across your blog when I googled "LCMS Pre-Marriage Counseling"... and I wanted to say thanks. First, for being a writer: I'm one as well, and know how good it feels to know what you've shared has made a difference. My boyfriend and I are not "officially" engaged for financial reasons (even though I'd be PERFECTLY happy with a 25 cent plastic ring from the local Pizza Hut), but we are meeting with my Pastor tonight to talk about pre-marriage schtuff. :) Anyway, I'll stop going on about me and finish saying what I intended to five minutes ago! Thank you for sharing such an important part of your relationship. It's helped me re-focus my prayer today, and maybe even push off an anxiety attack! :) Thanks, again, and God bless!
~Olivia (livanneluv@yahoo.com)