Santa Claus for grown-ups

That's what registering for your wedding is like, you know. You make this big long list of things you want and then presumably, on a certain date, you get the things you asked for. Although I don't think a big fat guy in a red suit is going to be bringing them to us. I hope not, anyway.

I guess it goes without saying that we registered this afternoon. And let me just say this: whenever you go to register, wear comfy shoes. Bed Bath and Beyond is a BIG place. It took us two and a half hours. Luckily, it was a lot of fun.

Clearly I was very excited.

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While registering, I noticed a trend that keeps occurring in the wedding planning, much like in life: I had this vision in my head of how things wanted to go. And when it comes down to making choices, I keep choosing exactly the opposite of what I thought I wanted (like my wedding dress...and venue...and on and on). I had my heart set on Kate Spade "Chapel Hill" patterned china (for obvious reasons). But when I saw it in person, I just didn't like it. So we chose something different, and I love it. Even better, we chose it together. We chose EVERYTHING today together, and that's what made it special.

Because after registering, after having dinner at Korean BBQ, after taking Luna on a walk and checking the mailbox, we found this envelope. That right there - that's why I -- no, WE -- chose what we did, why we walked around a store with a scanner gun for two and a half hours. Because this is US. This is our new life together. While we know we are on the same page about life's big things (finances, kids, politics, etc), this was the first time we had really stopped to think about little things such as, "What color are we going to paint the bedroom when we get a house?" "What kind of drinking glasses do we need?" and "Do we REALLY need a gravy boat?" (the answer, apparently, is yes).

You might ask, "Who CARES about a gravy boat?" You might ask, "Why do these things even matter?"

Because I am The Future Mrs. Brian Stevenson - that's why. We're planning a life together and we're gonna do it in style.