- Not long before my wedding, I decided to look at an apartment to see what our future could be like.
- We ended up falling in love with it and decided to take the plunge.
They say two of the most stressful things you can do in life are moving and getting married, and whoever they are, they're usually right. So, since I move through the world needing to try things firsthand in classic Gemini style, I had to find out if I could handle the two events together when I unexpectedly decided to move a week before my wedding.
With my fiancé Kyle's and my big day on the horizon, I questioned if I would feel stressed about my move. I wondered if everything would work out according to plan. Could I unpack my things, make my new home feel put together, and still get married without a hitch?
After paying thousands in deposits and choosing what to pack and what to donate, my husband-to-be and I looked at each other and said, "Are we really doing this?" Surprise, surprise: We did. This is what happened.
Moving so close to getting married is not for the faint of heart
Originally, it was my idea to relocate. We'd been living in our current apartment for four years, and our lease still had another year to go; we only went to view the apartment to scope out what could be down the line. But of course, after touring, we fell in love with it. It was our dream apartment in a beautiful brownstone, complete with heated floors, eight closets, and a backyard.
Walking hand in hand afterward, I pitched the idea of applying for it, thinking Kyle wouldn't agree. We'd only have two weeks to find a subletter to take over our old lease, and we were getting married a week later; I was sure it would be a no. But instead, he just looked at me, smiled, and said, "I trust you. I trust us." We decided to pull the trigger with the assumption that we'd figure it out. And figure it out, we did.
We were approved within three days, hurriedly packed our boxes, and found someone to take our old apartment. On moving day, only a week later, I think I was more nervous than he was. There were a few things we still hadn't packed up yet. Because I often travel for work, I hadn't had time to get absolutely everything together before our movers arrived to haul off my little NYC studio apartment into a much bigger one-bedroom. But again, he just smiled and said, "Everything will be OK."
And he was right. All of our boxes were in the new place within two hours, leaving an entire day to unpack, unwind, and get settled in. My little sister came from California to help us, which lowered our stress even more. In moments when I felt overwhelmed, which came later that night when I realized everything was in disarray, looking at Kyle calmed me down.
We had also never lived together full-time before living in the studio, which was mine before we shared it, so this was our first move into an apartment we'd found together. I wanted to remember it as something special, because it was, and is. It was time to make our home together. And now, that's what we get to do forever. We celebrated by hugging and dancing in the empty living room of our new home.
We hit a snag just before our wedding, but we made that work, too
While we were still settling into our home and getting ready for our wedding, something else happened. A few days before our wedding, we got notice that the state of New York hadn't accepted our officiant's paperwork. So amid our move, we made an appointment to head to the courthouse the day before the wedding to get hitched officially. It felt like if we could do all of this before our wedding without falling apart, we could do anything.
When the wedding day arrived, we both felt calm. Everything went according to plan, more or less, and we managed to do it all together. The day flowed as it should, and with my new husband by my side, I felt like we arrived there together, a good sign that we'll continue to do so in every area of our lives.
Before the night's end, when my dad stood up to give his speech as the father of the bride, he smiled and said, "When Hayley wants something, she goes for it, no matter what it is. And I think her husband loves that about her." I like to think that's true.