I'm not just excited about having a wedding; I'm thrilled about spending the rest of my life with Ryan. We make such a great team. My favorite memories of things we've done together often involve times when we cooperated to make something, accomplish something complicated, or make major decisions together. Examples: gingerbread castle, Thanksgiving dinner, cooking in general, moving from Cornell to Syracuse, planning trips to St. Thomas and Washington, buying two cars, apartment-hunting, moving from Syracuse to Jersey, house-hunting, ring shopping, and now wedding planning.

The best aspect of all of this is how we are equals and when you love someone as much as we love each other, compromising to make the other person happy feels just as good as getting what you want. It's not all that often that we have to compromise, though, because we seem to see eye-to-eye on most things.

I got a good lesson on how a marriage should not work from my parents. My father rules the household by authoritarian means, and when, growing up, I told my mom that she should have as much say as he did in family decisions, she would always tell me that the Bible gives husbands the right to be "the decider:" "Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord" -Colossians 3:18. My mom always wanted me to grow up to be a good Catholic, but I don't know how she ever thought she'd be successful if I had that kind of marriage to "look forward" to.

So. Ryan and I are not at all like my parents, and have no intentions of becoming so. We're happy. We're the perfect team. We love each other more than words can express. It's going to be hard to write my vows.