Mr. and Mrs. Terry Heinrich!

We're married! Of course we will blog all the details later, but I felt the need to post a little something before heading off to our honeymoon. The weekend and the big day absolutely surpassed every expectation we held. Our parents, bridal party, family, and friends showed us incredible love, and we are still glowing from the big day.

Today, in about an hour, we jet off to Europe for our honeymoon. We feel so blessed that we get to enjoy two weeks exploring such storied destinations. We promise to share pictures and all the adventures when we return!

Meanwhile, thanks for reading, and here's to an incredible adventure in Europe and in marriage.

And here we go...

Here we are, the night before our wedding. I feel a surprising sense of peace and calmness, especially now that the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner wrapped up a few hours ago. Terry's parents hosted a wonderful, fun dinner (albeit emotional), and we loved everyone's toasts. We held the rehearsal at Campo di Bocce, a bocce ball place that doubles as an Italian restaurant. It was perfect for our little party, and everyone loved the bocce ball games!

The last few days were at times stressful, emotional, frustrating, funny, exciting, and difficult. Mostly, I've loved spending so much time with my family and putting all the finishing touches on our projects. Terry and I are so excited to see everything put together tomorrow.

As for the real part - the marriage part - we just can't wait. It's finally here, finally time to relax and enjoy our nuptials. While we've planned every detail from the dress to the meal to the music, the important part will happen right at 5:00, when our pastor invites our family, friends, and God to witness and bless our marriage. I feel so lucky to have such supportive family, such loving friends, such generous in-laws, and such an incredible man in my life. So until after the wedding, thank you for reading, for supporting us, and for hanging in there throughout The Olive Theory!

Here's to an incredible journey together!

All the loose ends

No matter how much time you have to plan, it's crazy when you get down to the final days and realize you're actually getting married. All the planning, all the e-mails, the meetings with vendors, the money, the trips to the venue...it seems impossible that the end result has arrived. Granted, we still have a few days, but I can't help thinking about the fact that it'll all be over soon. It's bittersweet, but mostly sweet. (Plus, with chocolate, bittersweet is WAY better than sweet! In life, you should compare all things to chocolate.)

The last few days have felt like a blur. Terry headed back to LA, I went to the delta with my parents and some friends, Terry worked, I worked on wedding projects like crazy. My future sister-in-law, Ashley, did a trial run on my hair today (I'm so excited! She did an amazing job!), and I've purchased a bunch of new makeup for the day (I'll do my own makeup) with the help of two amazing bridesmaids, Heidi and Jenn. My parents have been a huge help with all the projects; tonight we had a program-assembly party, and tomorrow we'll organize and assemble the welcome bags for out-of-towners. Tomorrow also includes several errands, a few appointments, and picking up Terry at the airport (yay!). It will be wonderful to have him here to help with all the details.

Everyone I run into asks how I'm feeling, and honestly, I'm a little overwhelmed. While we have all the big stuff in order, the little details are what will make the wedding ours, and I hope we'll be able to pull it all together the way we're envisioning. I think the toughest parts this week have been:

• the seating chart
• trying not to forget anything for the wedding or honeymoon
• answering the seemingly endless questions that just keep coming
• figuring out everyone's schedule and all the logistics for the whole weekend
• not having Terry around (that silly work thing gets in the way!)

Thankfully, I have the world's most supportive parents, and Terry will be here tomorrow. My bridesmaids have been incredible about asking how they can help and being super generous with their time. And again, we're just really trying to focus on the big picture - that whole marriage thing! Only three days...

It's July!

Rabbit, rabbit! We say that phrase for good luck at the beginning of each month. My family has always done it, and last year I explained the ritual to my students, and they got all excited to do it too. Unfortunately, one of my students had a horrible month when he tried it out, so I'm not sure how fool-proof it is. Regardless, my whole family made sure to say it this morning. Try it at your own risk!

Terry, Scout, and I drove up last night with quite the car full of wedding paraphernalia. Terry heads back down to LA tomorrow for another few days of work, and I'll stay up here to finish the last projects before the big day. Today, we met with our DJ to finalize the reception schedule, our florist to confirm the flower details, and my seamstress for my final dress fitting. Obviously Terry didn't join for the last part, but my mom did, which was so fun. Now the dress is at the bridal shop, J'aime Bridal, where I purchased it, for some steam action.

Tonight I made (started, rather) the final to-do list for the next week. It's a full page so far - finish the programs, assemble the place cards, confirm the honeymoon reservations - wish us luck! Rabbit, rabbit!

15 days!

By the time you realize (and come to terms with the fact) that you're only fifteen days away from your wedding, everyone else seems to realize it, too. In the last two days alone I have received close to a dozen e-mails from our vendors, confirming details, setting up final meetings, gathering information. I LOVE that our vendors are so organized, efficient, and prompt with answering our questions! I've said it before, but seriously - work with experienced vendors! It has made wedding planning a complete breeze knowing that we will be in such good hands at the wedding.

Terry and I have tried to balance wedding with non-wedding to keep ourselves from getting: a) overwhelmed, b) stressed, c) exhausted, or d) too excited! Last week I had a Diet Coke and then couldn't sleep, so soda is out until the big day. Apparently I'm just too hyped up! So this week, we enjoyed a great dinner with Terry's family, visited the Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA, and even squeezed in a few new recipes. We're also getting into great running shape, which helps me relax, feel good, and energize as we get close to the big day. (Of course, I'm also hoping it'll help me look all pretty in my dress!)

I've mentioned before that we're down to the last few projects, but I realized I never posted about the day we got our marriage license. And it was such a fun day! However long ago, on a quick visit to Santa Barbara, Terry and I wandered through the Santa Barbara Courthouse, which is simply stunning. They host weddings all the time, and the gates around the property remind me of The Sound of Music when Maria goes through the gates to get married. So while we knew a Santa Barbara wedding would not fly, I asked my wonderful fiance if we could at least do the marriage license thing there. True to his word, Terry made sure we found a day to do it.

Getting a marriage license in California is ridiculously easy. You go online to whatever county's website, find the Clerk-Recorder's page, and fill out the online application. They ask for very little information, and they don't even require blood tests in our state. Then you show up (in our case, no appointment was necessary), hand over your ID, and pledge an oath. Did you know you have to pledge an oath? We felt a little silly, but you literally raise your right hand and read off a note card. And then you sign a few papers, pay a fee (around $85-$95, depending on the county), and get your license! One of the most frequently asked questions, according to our clerk, is, "So...are we married now?" Maybe a silly question, but obviously a common one. The officiant still has to marry you, and then he or she signs the license after the ceremony and sends it in to the courthouse. After they process the license, you can get a certified copy (again, for a fee).

After we got the license, we found a stranger to take this single picture.

One cool aspect of applying for a license is that you can change your name through the license if you so choose. I will be taking Terry's name, and I'll also change my middle name to my last name. That was a big decision for me. I really love my name, Julie Michelle, and I love that I have the same initials as my mom. But since I'll be changing my last name anyway, I like the idea of keeping Lanier connected to me. My family has a lot of history in which I've grown increasingly interested throughout the last several years, so keeping my name while still taking Terry's felt like the perfect solution. So after we get back from the honeymoon, I'll begin the process of shifting from Julie Michelle Lanier to Julie Lanier Heinrich. Yay!

Old, new, borrowed, blue

You know the old tradition, but I looked up the origin just for fun. The best explanation I found was from Yahoo! Answers:

The next line of this old saying actually hints at its origin. The complete phrase is:

Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

A sixpence is a coin that was minted in Britain from 1551 to 1967. It was made of silver and worth six pennies. So this wedding tradition is definitely English, and many sources say that it began in the Victorian era.

Each item in this poem represents a good-luck token for the bride. If she carries all of them on her wedding day, her marriage will be happy. "Something old" symbolizes continuity with the bride's family and the past. "Something new" means optimism and hope for the bride's new life ahead. "Something borrowed" is usually an item from a happily married friend or family member, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride. The borrowed item also reminds the bride that she can depend on her friends and family.

As for the colorful item, blue has been connected to weddings for centuries. In ancient Rome, brides wore blue to symbolize love, modesty, and fidelity. Christianity has long dressed the Virgin Mary in blue, so purity was associated with the color. Before the late 19th century, blue was a popular color for wedding gowns, as evidenced in proverbs like, "Marry in blue, lover be true."

And finally, a silver sixpence in the bride's shoe represents wealth and financial security. It may date back to a Scottish custom of a groom putting a silver coin under his foot for good luck. For optimum fortune, the sixpence should be in the left shoe. These days, a dime or a copper penny is sometimes substituted.

How fun! Here are my items for the wedding:

Something old: As you might remember from a previous post, my aunt Dawn Lynn gave Terry the diamond for my ring. The diamond is from my great-grandmother, so we think that's old enough. :-) Plus, the "something old" is supposed to connect the bride and groom to the bride's family and past, which this diamond does perfectly!

Something new: Pretty much everything I'm wearing - dress, shoes, veil, earrings.

Something borrowed: I'm supposed to borrow something from a happily married woman, so I will be wearing my mom's tennis bracelet.

Something blue: I love the origin of the "something blue" part. The fact that the color blue has been an important part of weddings since ancient times gets me all giddy. So my blue, like most brides, is in my garter. I'm attempting to make my own, and we'll see how that goes, but no matter what I'll have blue in my garter.

I hadn't heard of the "silver sixpence in the bride's shoe" part of the rhyme, but I like it! I'll have to see if we can find a sixpence in the next three weeks!

Ceremony Readings

We have two readers for our ceremony. Our pastor helped us find some unique passages that we both really love. I'm really looking forward to hearing Pastor Frank's reflection on these passages during the ceremony.

Colossians 3:12-17

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Philippians 2:1-5

¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. ⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

Our readers are two of our closest family friends, Alan Byard and Diane Johnson. Terry has known Alan as long as he can remember; Alan was one of Terry's mom's students when she taught high school history. Alan then became like a big brother to Terry and Kevin, babysitting them, playing video games, even coaching them in swimming. Despite his allegiance to U$C, we've stayed close to Alan and always enjoy a good tailgate or sporting event.

I have known Diane since I was five years old and playing Little League with her younger son, Matt. Our families have grown incredibly close, and Diane is my "second mom." She is my mom's best friend and has always been so supportive of Terry's and my relationship. I feel so honored that she will be speaking in our ceremony - it wouldn't be complete without the "Awesomes" making an appearance!