In
an effort to allow my bride to focus on Saturday, I, the groom, have decided to
take over this week. I promise Jordan
will be back next week so bear with me as I write my first ever blog post….Here it goes…
“When
you know, you know.” That was a line I must
have used literally 500 times to describe why and how I was able to make the
biggest decision of my life after just seven months of “officially” dating my
bride-to-be. As some of you may know,
Jordan and I started talking via Facebook in July 2013 and met for the first
time in late August. I was as nervous as
I possibly could be and even had to change shirts after the flight to Orlando
because well….I’ll just blame it on the humidity. The first time I saw her, between the awkward
hug and the zero personality I showed during dinner with her and her friends, I
was awestruck. She was and still is a beautiful woman that just makes everyone smile and laugh until it hurts. Of course I was too busy rehydrating from the
“humidity” and being a complete dud to be captured by the smiles and laughter. I knew that things were off to a rough start
and of course thinking I already blew my opportunity, I was pretty quiet the
entire 25-minute drive to her house, which felt like 2 hours. Erika, who introduced us and came with me on
the trip, was supportive, but I think even in the back of her mind she was
thinking that I had squandered away this opportunity. The next morning in an attempt to get back
into the good graces, I did what every man should do; get her and her roommates
Starbucks. Later that day we headed to
the parks and maybe it was my childish reactions to everything Disney that
melted her heart…or made her feeling sorry for me being 26 years old and still
enthralled by things meant for 5-10 year olds, but either way she made me feel
an excitement and suddenly a good nervousness that I had never felt
before. We watched fireworks under the
stars at Epcot and as they began I started to video them and she swiftly took
the phone out of my hand and said, “No.
You watch them and I’ll record.”
The thing was, I watched them for about 15 seconds and the rest of the
time I tried to steal looks at her and of course playing the game to not let
her see me. It was at that very moment
that I just “knew.”
The first, of many, Rosa Regale toasts.
It
is now 2 years, 1 month, and 3 weeks later.
We are preparing for the biggest
day of our lives in just 3 days and I’m trying to wrap my head around the
flurry of events we’ve already experienced and the ones that lie before
us. Our move to Atlanta was tough at
times and tested our relationship along the way, the planning of this wedding
was the one constant that we would look forward to, put our tribulations aside,
and just talk about things sometimes as small as ‘what candy to have’ and as
big as, ‘who do we invite?’ Everyone
asks, “Are you nervous?” My reply is
always the same, “Not at all about who I’m marrying, just about the things I
can’t control.” Jordan has planned a
beautiful wedding and the things we can control, I don’t stress about because she
has an answer and emergency plan for everything (I feel like that will be a
trend in our marriage).
I
am a blessed man. Truly blessed. Not only do I have a wonderful woman by my
side, but I have the upbringing of the two best role models a guy could ask
for. This past June, my parents
celebrated 33 years of marriage and recently a close friend and pseudo family
member told me, “I saw your Dad today and we got to talking about your parent’s
new camper and he said “all I want is to make Laura (my mom) happy.” My parents have overcome a lot in their
marriage as most couples do, but they were always a rock for my brother and
me. My parents were dating seven weeks
before they got engaged so I knew just who to call when I knew Jordan was “the
one.” I asked my Dad if I was crazy for
falling so quickly for a girl 700 miles away and he promptly said, “No. Because I knew with your mother and I wouldn’t
let anything get in my way” (Even my 6 ‘4” 275lb NFL alumnus grandfather). He
was determined. For me, if I wanted
Jordan I needed to be there for her and support her just as if I was in Orlando
with her, so I vowed to always support, care, and strive to make her smile and
laugh…unlike I did the first time I met her.
I can’t wait to make that vow official on Saturday.
Our first Christmas together was spent at Disney.
In
closing, for all future grooms, this is a day that we probably started thinking
about shortly after we dropped to one knee. However, for our other half, this
is a day they have thought about and imagined since the age they probably first
scraped their knee. Respect their vision, listen when they want to talk, and as
Jordan says, “be in the moment.” It goes
a long way. It is our job to love and
support them, through times such as the day they find THE dress, but also
through the days when they find out that a loved one won’t be coming to the
wedding or that planning a wedding 775 miles away may be just the most
frustrating task of all-time…Okay maybe that last one only applies to .01% of
you. However, if we can’t handle and
support them at the worst of times, we don’t deserve our brides in the best of
times. Thanks for reading this week and
don’t forget to follow our hashtag #SchiffJustGotReal on all major social
media! See you at the altar!!!
-Brian
