Hello World!!! It has been such a long time and in the weeks since I posted last, I have finished my junior year, I have become Mrs. Oshiomogho Atogwe, and jet-set across the world to Fiji, Australia, and Bora Bora. It has truly been the happiest time of my life. In order to fully share everything, I decided the best way to approach this was to blog a little bit piece by piece, dissecting all of it so this special time can be swirled around the glass, inhaled and sipped slowly- I will do my best do return to every day and dive into the joy and bliss that surrounded it. Let’s take it all the way back to wedding week.

The curve ball of this week was that Oj decided long before we were talkin’ marriage that he didn’t want to see me for the entire week before our wedding. Yes, to everyone thinking “What about the rehearsal?!? He had to have been there, right?” Wrong. And, “What about when guests came, you both went to meet and greet them together, of course.” Wrong again. We said goodbye after church on Sunday and had a well oiled machine of friends and family making sure we didn’t see each other until I walked down the aisle on Saturday, May 21st. I will be honest, throughout the entire process I was sad and missed him very much. Something happens that week before the wedding, where although there are a million things to do, the ever present thought is, “You and I will be one in T-7 days.” I may or may not have cried a few times, and may or may not have had three silent tantrums after I couldn’t see any of our guests because they were staying at the same hotel as Oj, but Saturday afternoon, My Lord… God is so good.

It was as if Oj was a character I had seen in a movie, but never really met before. He had been putting off shaving for the months (yes, months) before the wedding, and combing his hair also went out the window. We had been busy with wedding plans and pre- marriage counseling and guests lists and such for the last moments we were together, and though we talked throughout that week, I just missed seeing his face so much. When my dad had given me a long hug and calmed me down and I gave my planner the cue to start the music and open the doors, I caught that first glimpse of my husband to be. The most handsome man in the world, my love, my everything. My heart overflowed with joy and gratefulness and I would not have it any other way. That week without him truly had my heart missing his presence (cheesy, I KNOW, bear with me…) And as tears streamed down his cheeks, I knew his decision had made our special day that much more special. That’s all you get for now!