About the Bride
Julia Elizabeth O'Neill was born on June 14, 1978 at St. David's Hospital in Austin, Texas. She thinks it was a Wednesday.
As a child, she loved Strawberry Shortcake, the Care Bears (and their Cousins), Sean Astin and orange sherbet push-ups. She took ballet and tap dancing lessons at Tinka's Dance Studio and played the court jester in a production of "Alice in Wonderland."
In seventh grade, Julie wrote her first newspaper article, a scathing critical review of "Beverly Hills, 90210" (she always felt Dylan was misunderstood). She was quickly promoted to editor-in-chief, spending her lunch hour every few weeks photocopying the newspaper in the school office, and deciding to devote her life to becoming a journalist. While attending McNeil High School, she worked for the newspaper and yearbook, winning all sorts of awards and traveling to far-off places like Waco and Addison. She was also a member of the marching band, forced to wear unflattering spandex costumes while she twirled a five-foot pole with a flag on one end. She played the clarinet, too, but she was never much good at practicing.
In 1996 Julie headed off to Abilene Christian University, majoring in print journalism and minoring in English. She edited the campus newspaper, the Optimist, worked off campus for a small web-development company and still found time to keep marching with the band, this time wearing unflattering sequined polyester outfits. After four years of journalism classes, she decided she didn't want to be a journalist. Instead, she kept working for that web development company and eventually decided to move back to Austin to seek her fortune. Her fortune turned out to be a nine-month turn as a cashier at Central Market, where she worked for $9 an hour and got to try things like shark and feta.
Not satisfied with the direction her career was taking, Julie packed up and moved to Dallas. Within a week she had a job at a printing company doing digital prepress. One month later she celebrated her 24th birthday. Two days later she met Jason.
With the print industry hit hard by an economic recession, it was only a matter of time before Julie was out of work yet again. Seizing the opportunity for a fresh start, Jason and Julie moved to Broomfield, Colorado (Boulder, but with a lower tax bracket). It took her three excruciatingly broke months, but she finally found a job - marketing buyer for an educational services company. She's not sure if it's the career she wants, but the pay is decent, the work environment is stable, and her income allows her to support Jason in the lifestyle to which he is accustomed.
In her free time, Julie starts short stories and craft projects she never seems to finish. After years of failed attempts, she can now make superb chicken and dumplings that taste almost as good as her mom's. She eats salads now, although only Casear. Her mom still says she needs to have another color in her closet besides blue. And she finally learned to drive.
