By the time you read this, my husband and I will be on our way to sunny Jamaica. I will officially be Mrs. Boyd-Smith, and my parents will be able to rest for the first time in weeks. I won’t be able to stop staring at my new engagement ring/wedding band combination, and I as we fly out of the country, I will hold my new husband’s hand tightly, not because I’m afraid of flying, but because I love him so much.

We will enjoy letting the words, “my wife” and “my husband,” fall from our lips – a new, sweet sound, that will one day be second nature. However, I can see us, a little older and a little grayer, still enjoying those sweet words.

Every day, on the week of my wedding, my entire family gathered at my house daily to hang lights, package wedding favors, haul tables, construct various décor…and the list goes on and on. They should go into the wedding decorating business – the Boyd-Goetz-Stewart World of Weddings, Inc.

I’m writing this article on a Thursday, two days before my wedding. This bride is quite anxious at this point – not about getting married, but about my list. It’s two days before my wedding and I still have a list – a giant, looming checklist, without many checks; little details that have to be done. My bridesmaids’ gifts need to be wrapped, my ring needs to be polished, my nails are still an embarrassment, etc. I’ll get it done. I just don’t’ like the fact that it’s there … right now … unchecked.

But by the time you read this, the list will have been conquered, and I will be married. My life will be changed forever, in the best of ways. I am a little sad about tonight being my last night to sleep in my bed at my parents’ home (Tomorrow night, I will stay with the girls at a lodge that the Cortez Byrd family so graciously lent us). However, Jacob and I will be right across the road. We’re not moving off to another part of the state or another state. We love Brookhaven, and plan to stay here forever.

Jacob has been working so hard. He anchored 30 lights in the pond yesterday. He paddled around in that little aluminum boat all afternoon. Daddy has probably worked the hardest in all of this. He’s made benches, built a deck, built an artificial outhouse to cover the water tank, manicured the lawn, poured a sidewalk and many other things. I bet he’s dreading the day Kallie gets engaged.

I’m looking forward to Saturday. The Lord has answered my prayers – it looks like it’s going to be beautiful weather. My greatest fear was that Hurricane Edwina would come through on Sept. 28 and blow away all my tents and pretty lights. However, with highs in the 80’s and clear skies, I think we’re going to be just fine. Tomorrow, my giant bridal party will arrive from Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, and let the festivities begin!

On Oct. 13, I will tell you all about the wedding. Next Thursday, I will be enjoying the crystal clear waters and sunny beaches of Jamaica.

Lifestyles Editor Jessica Boyd-Smith can be reached at The Daily LEADER at 601-833-6961 ext. 134, by email at jessica.boyd@dailyleader.com or you can write to her at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602.