Old Bride

I wasn't ever one of those little girls who always dreamed about getting married. I would occasionally secure a white towel to my head with bobby pins to play bride, but only because I thought a veil was an awesome accessory. As a teenager, I told anyone that would listen that I was NEVER getting married, that I would NEVER have kids. I'm still on the fence about the whole having kids thing, but I'm getting married in a few months.
I know that this story is not really groundbreaking. I met Josh, we fell in love and somewhere in my early twenties, I think right around twenty-three, I knew I wanted to marry him. I was determined to marry him. I had known long before then that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, but that didn't mean marriage to me until that time.
It really didn't help that the average age for marriage in New Mexico, where we grew up, is twenty-four for women. By the time that I had my marriage epiphany, a lot of my high school friends were already married and had at least one baby. It seemed like everyone around me was getting married or engaged and starting their families. Everyone was growing up, except for me.
Josh hadn't made that same decision yet. He was cautious. Both of us had heard so many stories of people getting married "too young" and not being able to work through certain situations. Both of us had seen how painful divorce could be for everyone involved. He felt that we weren't ready. I am embarrassed to admit this, but I nagged him continuously. I knew it wouldn't help my case, but I still hoped. Part of me was afraid that if we ever got married at all, we would look like this:

 Freaking adorable couple via Dress2Sale

When he did propose, we set a date twenty months away and exactly three weeks before my thirtieth birthday. I know that first marriages for people our age are pretty common in other parts of the country, but it's not really common around New Mexico (where we're getting married) or Texas (where we now live).  I've been called an "older bride" by a couple of vendors and I almost lost my shiz. I'm not bitter because I'm young at heart and that's all that matters, right?!?!
Are you going to be an "old bride"?