It’s crazy to me that in a few months I’ll be married. I’m not counting down the days until our wedding, I’m counting down the days until I wake up and I’m married because while the wedding sounds awesome (and I’m thinking/guessing/hoping/planning it will be), I’m mostly looking forward to a new chapter in life with Justen.
Here are 10 reasons why I’m so excited to be married to Justen, why I’m looking forward to the days (weeks, months and years) after the wedding way more than I’m looking forward to the wedding itself. ΓΒ π
ONE // FINANCIAL UNITY
Today Justen sent me money for the flight I booked him. and I appreciated that, since I had paid for it, but I really can’t wait to be financially one. No more “you pay for that, I’ll pay for this,” or having to PayPal each other money or remember whose turn it is to pay for something. Not only that, but we can be united in our financial goals. I’m so grateful that Justen buys into the whole financial freedom mindset, because I know that once we get married and our finances combine, we’re going to start tackling our debt and working our way to financial freedom. It’s going to be awesome.
TWO // OUR OWN SPACE
We both live with our parents (rent is expensive, man!) and while we both love our parents (and each other’s parents!) sometimes we just want our own space to coexist. The afternoon before we took our engagement photos, we were alone at his house. Justen was getting ready and I was reading a book and I had this quick glimpse at what a Sunday afternoon could be like just the two of us AND I LOVED IT.
THREE // COMBINED GROCERIES
If I had a dollar for every time we’ve had to make quick stops at the grocery store because we needed to pick out dinner or pick up something for dinner or pick up something (etc) I’d have a lot of money. Buying groceries for one meal at a time (because we never really knew where we’d be for dinner) gets real expensive. In the spirit of Reason #1, I will be so glad to be able to go grocery shopping for the two of us and know what we have and what we need and not have to make daily trips to the grocery store.
FOUR // FOLDING JUSTEN’S TSHIRTS
Yo, Justen straight up hangs up his t-shirts. Like just regular t-shirts. I can’t wait to teach him about folding t-shirts to leave me more closet space. π
FIVE // STAYING IN
Because we both live with our parents, even having a night in means that one of us has to be out. The night is finished with one of us driving back home, and it never really feels like we’re just staying in. I’m looking forward to both of us relaxing in our pajamas, drinking wine and watching The Bachelorette. Not even going to edit that last sentence one tiny bit. Justen’s aware of what he’s in for.
SIX // NO MORE WORRYING ABOUT LOGISTICS
We live like 30 minute away from each other. It’s not a huge deal, could be worse, but there’s a bit of logistics involved in spending a day together. Where are we going to end up, who is going to drive, what to do about food, etc… I’ll be glad to know that we will start and end our days at the same place, making carpooling and such so much easier.
SEVEN // THINGS OF OUR OWN
Again, since we live with our parents, we have limited ‘stuff’ of our own. While we were registering, I was like… omg this stuff will be ours. Our own plates and silverware and towels and coffee pot and dish towels… and I got so excited. From that day forward all of those things will be ours.
EIGHT // SAVING MONEY
It will cost us more money to live together, but we will save so much money in not having to figure out places to go/eat and things to do. When it’s raining we’re forced inside, and most often you have to pay to do things inside (unless it’s walking around the mall, which we often do and gets boring. Paying for housing is an expected and normal life expense, whereas going out to eat or dropping money on movies isn’t.
NINE // WE CAN HANG OUT WITH OTHER PEOPLE MORE OFTEN
This is a weird one, but I’ve often felt like I don’t spend time with people who aren’t Justen because we don’t end up in the same place everything but I want to see him every day. By the time we’re both off work and get/make dinner, it’s like 7 pm and I don’t want Justen to have spent so much time driving to my side of the town and then having to go home. I think knowing that I’m guaranteed to end my day with him will give me space to make plans with other people instead of my daily plan being that I see Justen. This is hypothetical. Maybe I’ll be a person who gets married and turns into a hermit IDK.
TEN // WE CAN ACTUALLY TAKE ACTION ON OUR GOALS
For the past year or so, we’ve talked hypothetically about when we’re married. How we’d handle our money, how we’d handle dirty dishes, what goals we’d have for our finances and our family. and we’re creeping up on the day when those things aren’t hypothetical. How we handle our money becomes a daily reality. Our dirty dishes plan will be put into action. We’ll roll up our sleeves and get to work on our financial goals.
109 days until our first day married. Not that I’m counting or anything.
Also. I’ve never been married. and I’m sure there are a bunch of other things to look forward to regarding being married, but this is just what I’m looking forward to being different in 4 months. Feel free to share your own experience (or hopes/dreams) in this area. π
These pictures were by Sophia Rose Photography, who I am so excited to have photograph our wedding!
You’ll get to share a coffee pot! That’s such a cute point!
omg i know right! we’ll spend a bunch of money on coffee beans but WORTH IT! ;D
these photos are SO cute! love them!
and number 5 is REAL! during dating/engagement i felt like we lived in the car and it got old! it is so nice to just chill and then walk into the next room to sleep!
didn’t april do an AMAZING job?! i love them and i am so excited to see what our wedding photos look like!!!
i’m definitely ready to just be like… k i’m going to bed night. and justen doesn’t have to drive to the other side of town or anything because of that. ugh i can’t wait.
Yes to all of these things! Speaking as a newlywed (married for 52 days now…i totally just counted I’m not that crazy lol) Just having it be official is the best feeling ever. Not to mention the fact when people call me Mrs. Barros my heart goes all atwitter every time π Might wear off, might not. but it’s a great feeling to be family π
aw i LOVE THIS. i’ve only briefly kind of thought about being mrs. martian (hahahaha i literally laugh when i write that because lololol) but when i do i kind of get silly, maybe because of how it looks and maybe because it makes me get all fluttery. π π π i can’t wait!!!
Okay the shirts thing cracks me up! It’s so much fun be married and finally loving together. 109 days will fly by before you know it!
who even hangs up their t-shirts?! someone who doesn’t have dresses or cardigans to hang up, that’s who! lol. i seriously can’t wait! π π π remember when you made a wedding board on pinterest (or just started pinning to it a lot) and i was like… wait what?! but you weren’t engaged yet?! now you’re married! ;D
Right?! And now you’re getting married. Crazy! Good things come to those who wait. π
I have to laugh at the T-shirt thing as well. My husband hangs everything up. He complained the other day about my lack of hangers and then I looked in the closet and my shorts were all hung up. Will I appreciate the effort I don’t share his vision of having everything hanging, organized by style, color, etc So we for the most part do separate laundry and separately put things away. But it is still fun to read your hopes/dreams and I hope they all come true for you.
as long as i have space for all of my cardigans i’m fine! haha. i’m excited for this next chapter and i can’t wait to see what life looks like next year at this time! maybe i’ll be folding my cardigans and justen will still be hanging his t-shirts lol ;D
This is beautiful Stephanie!! Money and household chores are 2 of the 3 most common causes of strife in a marriage; you guys are way ahead of the game by being open with earth other and talking about it! Dirty dishes are real. They’re not part of romanticized happily-ever-after, so many couples don’t talk about how they’ll handle it all… but they need to!!!! You have such a beautiful heart Stephanie! I wish you guys all the best; I’m so happy for you both!! Γ’Β€ï¸ΒΓ’Β€ï¸Β
Being married is the best, and you’ll find so many more things to love. I’m talking things so little you never realized you could love them so much. Lazy Saturday brunch in bed, annoying him with huge bursts of energy right before bed, impulse outings to get ice cream at midnight, finding new and unexpected ways to serve each other and make each other smile. And I feel you as — much as I loved the wedding thing, in retrospect, I’d ditch it in a heartbeat if it meant that I got just a little more time to be married.
I love this! So much! And I agree with Jami … the little things that you have no idea are coming. Ken & I were long distance for a year and then we lived next door to each other for 3 months before marriage. They were both equally hard. Im so happy for you both!
I love your perspective on this! I LOVED my wedding day. It was perfect and one of my favorite, most special memories ever. But, in the grand scheme, that day isn’t what really mattered. The next day and every day after are what it’s really all about. I get that people want a nice wedding day, and they should! But, when people spend so much energy agonizing over napkin colors or appetizer choices, I just want to tell them, two years from now when you’ve been in the weeds and had great times, the napkin colors won’t matter one tiny bit. Prepare for the marriage, not the wedding!! Can’t wait to follow along on your journey!!
I totally agree! I couldn’t wait to be married to Andy so I could move out of my mom’s house (and he move out of the military barracks), have a space of our own, and work on our goals together!