Day 94: the wedding party

So I've decided each time I post- I will post day number it is until we get married- today, it is 94 days, therefore Day 94.  :) because that sounds better than 94 days to me.

Now- I know that the wedding is supposed to be all about the bride- but I really want to give a little blurb about each of the people who will be standing with us on our wedding day.

I really struggled to pick the people on my side, since I have so many friends that I want to be involved- but at the end of the day, I couldn't see myself asking people to be in my wedding that had never met my soon-to-be husband, and so I wanted people that knew both of us and who support Andy and me (together, not just individually). I'll also include short blurbs about the people Andy picked- because they are all pretty special to me too.

Maid of Honor: Hannah Vaughn (aka Twin H)
I don't think anyone who knows me well would be surprised by the fact that Hannah is my maid-of-honor.  Hannah and I have had a very special relationship since we met almost 4 years ago (wow... now that's just weird).  We became incredibly fast friends, and earned ourselves the nicknames of the "ASL twins" amongst our fellow colleagues at John A. Logan College.  We shared everything with each other- and when we moved in separate directions, it was hard on us both.  But thanks to wonderful mothers and airplanes, we've been able to remain just as close.  When I first started talking to Andy- Hannah wanted to get to know him better before I made any serious decisions about dating him (she had met him one other time when she came to visit me briefly).  Over my graduation weekend, they hit it off quite well.  Twin gave her stamp of approval... twice (once when she gave her blessing for us to date, and then he asked for her blessing before asking for my hand in marriage) and has told me how much she loves having Andy around, not because he makes me happy- but because he points me towards being holy. And that's truly a 'maid' that deserves some honor.  ;)

Bridesmaids:

Amber Peavyhouse
Amber is Andy's sister-in-law, and probably one of the biggest supporters from the get go, even before I knew her who she was.  The first time I met Amber was when she invited me to stay at her house on Christmas Eve because Andy had told her that I didn't have any family in the area, was probably going to be alone that Christmas. "I don't think anyone should have to wake up by themselves on Christmas," she said to me and insisted I stay with her, her husband, and her children at Andy's parent's house on Christmas Eve.  I agreed (crazy? yeah I know), which then led to meeting the family in chunks so I wouldn't be overwhelmed on Christmas, and realizing how much Andy's family reminded me of my own.  Amber has been a big comfort and support through some negativity by people that mean the world to me, and she has been just like another big sister for me. I admire her for so many reasons, and she is such a shining example in my life of a Godly mother, wife, and woman.

Katie Silverman
I met Katie at church and we have been singing together in the 20/30 service for a while.  I loooove Katie's style and her ability to cheer me up even when she doesn't realize it.  Katie was one of the first ones to giggle and get giddy when Andy and I started talking, and she has been such a wonderful friend to me and Andy.  She is a wonderful encouragement in my life and I'm so excited that she'll be standing up with me when Andy and I get married.

Ellen Lynch
I met Ellen also while singing in the 20/30 service at church.  Conversations with Ellen usually start the same way: something about shoes.  But her intuition of Andy's feeling "smitten like a kitten" towards me before we started dating was something that deepened my love for Ellen and our friendship.  She and Katie are also like big sisters towards me in the family that is the 20/30 worship band, and she has been so great to me.


Morgan Routh
Sadly enough, I don't have any pictures of Morgan (yet!!) but she is Andy's younger cousin, and someone who I love incredibly.  When I came to the Peavyhouse family for Christmas- I was cautious around Morgan.  She's 13, and incredibly close to her cousin.  I could see the way she looked at Andy was the same way I look at my cousin Aaron- like a brother.  And knowing how defensive and protective I am of Aaron, I didn't want to force her approval of me- I wanted to earn it (Oh, how desperately I wanted to earn it!!!)  My realization of Morgan's approval of me came sometime around the end of February, beginning of March.  I had started coming to the middle school/high school youth night where Andy leads worship (practicing that whole "support my potential-future-husband's ministry" thing at the time now the word 'potential' has been stricken from that role... heheheh).  Morgan came up to me and started talking to me before the middle school group started, and we talked for a good 20 minutes.  You can ask Andy to see what my faced looked like for the rest of the night because I was beaming and I just kept saying "she's my fend (that's my nephew's word for "friend)."

And now...

The Guys

Best Man: Steve Peavyhouse

Andy's dad is hilarious.  I love his sense of humor and he is a great picture of what I have to look forward to in 20-30 years.  He is a wonderful man of God who could not be more proud of his family and what God is doing in their lives.  He has provided Andy and I with wonderful counsel and the relationship between the two of them is one that brings me great joy.

Groomsmen:

Matt Peavyhouse

Matt's approval of me did not come as easy as his wife's or his children's.  As Andy's big brother, he was very cautious of me, as he wanted to make sure that I was going to be good for Andy and that I would be someone he could tolerate in the years to come.  But- as time passed, Matt's approval finally did come in his own twisted sort of way (he shared all the embarrassing stories and said that he will continue to call me Reemy- a name that Aunt Pam accidentally called me when Andy and I were first talking- simply because he can), I'm very excited he'll be standing up with us, showing his support.

Jeremy Silverman

I don't think I've ever met anyone quite as hilarious as Jeremy Silverman.  Not only has he been a huge blessing to Andy, but Jeremy especially since Andy and I started dating- he's been a a great encourager in my life as well.  Jeremy is one of our many musically talented friends, and he gives his all in everything he does, which is what makes him such a great friend to Andy and me.

Angel Rojas

Angel is another one of Andy's best friends that Andy and I love hanging out with, along with his wife Tara (who will be providing our wedding photography, otherwise- she probably would have been a bridesmaid... because she's awesome).  But we really enjoy spending time with them, as they are hilariously sarcastic and incredibly strong people (and I don't mean that in a physical way... I mean they very well could be but this is more as in their character). So Angel will be reppin' the Rojas crew- while Tara will be taking the pictures to prove it. :)

Jody Baglin

It wouldn't be too far off to say that Jody is probably one of the most unique people in our wedding party.  Most people would be intimidated by Jody's appearance, but underneath his rock 'n' roll style is a lovable teddy bear of a man.  Strange? Quite so, but then again, most of our friends are.  But Jody's loyalty is almost unmatched and he has always been there for us, that he's almost like a big brother to me.

So there it is- to all the people who I love that are not included, I'm very sorry.  My intention was not to hurt anyone, because I probably could have had about 12 people standing up with me, but to me- it would have meant more to have the people who support Andy and I jointly standing with us, rather than people who are standing up with me- handing me over to a guy they've only talked to once, if that.