How planning a wedding is sort-of like writing a master's thesis.

Via StyleMePretty.com

It's true, I met my future husband on only the second week of grad school. If I hadn't moved to Delaware, we would have never crossed paths on OK Cupid. Still, I don't like to think that the purpose of those two years in the library were just to get my Mrs. degree. When I applied to my grad program, I had never been so sure that God was calling me to a place where I could develop the gifts and talents He gave me. My M.A. helped me grow intellectually and aesthetically. Even if I haven't found a job in my field yet, the benefits of grad school go beyond the ring on my finger.

But, I have to admit, writing that vestment thesis was really good training for getting hitched. Sure I can do this wedding planning stuff; I spent an entire year on a massive project that required organization, calls to dozens of sites, and hundred of images for inspiration. As I told The Betrothed last week, it's like we have our thesis statement and rough outline, now we have to do background research.

Preliminary literature review = the pile of wedding and marriage-prep books on my mom's end table
Advisor meetings = Pre-Cana
Dozens of emails to Episcopal churches asking if they had any cool old vestments = the almighty Google docs spreadsheets of potential venues and caterers
Taking pictures of every potentially useful archives document = Pinterest, Pinterest, and more Pinterest (There are DRESS SPOILERS on that last one.)
Navigating the graduate office's page format template = figuring out if the parish music director will let us use the music we want
Footnotes that I fixed in the last month = what the table centerpieces will actually look like

Next week The Betrothed flies off to London for two months of dissertation research. I'll be here, writing him letters and hoping all these spreadsheets distract me from loneliness. Along the way I'll know we are both preparing for our life together, the greatest long-term project we could ever undertake. I'm sure God will continue to use our talents in unexpected ways.