OMG Weddingz

I haven't written much about my upcoming wedding, have I? I'm not sure exactly why that is. Perhaps because I've found that no one really wants to hear about your wedding planning (exceptions: Other engaged people and your mom). Perhaps there is part of me that considers it to be a private subject (oh, who am I kidding?). I think maybe it's more likely because life has been in a state of upheaval for an extended period of time.

But I've been pretty focused on (and freaking out about) wedding stuffz this past week. We already have some of the big important stuff taken care of:

• Venue? Check.
• Caterer? (BBQ!) Check.
• Dress? (Eeeee, not telling you about it) Check.
• Shoes? (UPS expected delivery date: Monday) Check.
• Wedding rings? (Ooooh, shiny) Check.
• Save the Dates (Sent out!) Check.
• Celebrant? Check-a-roonie!
• Registries? Started them. So a half-check there.

But, right now I'm freaking out about the following:

• Photography. I know that people have to make a living doing this, and that there is a lot of effort put in to editing, etc after the hours spent taking pictures, and I truly believe that talent and skill should be paid for, but holy crap! Wedding photography costs more than a year's worth of car payments for me. Not sure what we're going to do about this.
• Cake. Cupcakes, actually. I'm going to tasting soon to see about the sweet stuff. If I had my way though, we'd have wedding ice cream, not wedding cakes...
• Hotel Rooms. We're going to have quite a few people coming from out of the area (we hope!). So we have to block rooms (and I'd prefer to do it sooner rather than later). What if I pick a hotel that is close and has great group rates, but when my family all gets there, turns out to be a hole? What if they run out of rooms before everyone has made their reservations? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
• Menswear. Guys, I love Chris so much. But, if he had his way, he'd be wearing cargo shorts and crocs and possibly his Mountain Dew hat on our wedding day. So I have a feeling I'm going to have to take point on the clothes for him and his groomsmen. Problem is, I know zero about men's clothing. And the groom looks that I tend to like, Chris doesn't. Oy.
• The guest list. I know this so cliche, but seriously, this is stressing me out. We're already over the number we want to have, and it seems like people are finding new significant others, etc by the day, adding even more. Stop it! 

Anyways, the other most recent exciting thing is that my mom is throwing us an engagement party. I can't wait for this. I kind of feel like the "yay, we're getting married!" steam has faded a bit of late, as we've both been busy, dealing with the loss of Coltrane, and trying to figure out some other big life decisions. I think the engagement party is the perfect excuse to be all kindsa focused on the whole pledging-to-be-together-forever thing.

So yeah, there's your dose of wedding-related blogging. I'm sure there will be more to come, but I promise not to hit you over the head with it.

Dress Shopping!

On the Monday after Mother's Day, my mom and I got into her bright red Mini Cooper and headed up towards Annapolis. Our mission: Secure kick-ass wedding dress.

I had been looking at dresses online for awhile, as had my mom, and we sent each other some ideas via email. I'm supremely picky about pretty much everything I wear, and I had a few criteria I knew I wanted my dress to meet. I LOVE the way lace dresses look and I knew I wanted a short dress, not a long, heavy, beaded, blingy thing. I want to be able to be comfortable on my wedding day!

Anyways, I found a picture of one online that I thought might be it, and I sent it to my mom, who loved it. She then proceeded to call every bridal store in a 100 mile radius that carried the line that this dress belonged to. Not one of them had a sample I could try on; most bridal boutiques don't keep short dresses in stock, because I guess not too many people want them.

Finally, a little store in Annapolis said they would see if they could order the sample in! A ray of hope! Woo!

And they did.

So, as I said, on that Monday, we got into the Mini Cooper and headed to Annapolis, as the sky dumped three bazillion tons of rain on us. My mom and I, alike in many many ways, left early and brought the GPS. It's a good thing too, because we hit horrible traffic.

But, we made it to the bridal store, and there hanging on a hanger, was THE dress. It was beautiful.

I was pretty nervous walking into the store... thank goodness my mom was there with me... she seemed cool as a cucumber. They let me try on the dress, and then I came out to the three mirrors and the podium thingie. Annnnnnnnnnnd, I did that super cliche thing and started crying, which is a little embarrassing. It just sort of made everything feel real. And when I looked at my mom, I could tell that she was very happy that I loved the dress, and that she loved it as well.

So. I decided to try on a couple more, since we made the trip and all. So, without further ado, here is a picture of me in a wedding dress (don't worry for those of you who are superstitious... this is not THE dress):

Please excuse my bra straps and that super uggo belt thingie the consultant put on there!

So, we decided to get the first dress I tried on in ivory, and that was that!

I took my mom out to lunch as a small "thank you" as she bought my dress. We went to the Ram's Head and had great food and just enjoyed our Mother/Daughter day.

It's all happening!

A Very Important Date

When Chris and I first got engaged, I kind of assumed this blog would end up as a wedding planning blog for a year or so. I've tried to keep it from becoming that. BUT, I thought I'd share a few details (mainly because I'm excited!).

First off, we are getting married on June 1, 2013 in Fairfax, VA. So, we have a little less than a year to go! In some ways, a year seems like forever, in others, it seems like it's coming quickly!

The venue we picked has a space for the ceremony upstairs (full of books!), and a hall for the reception downstairs. Currently, we are working on figuring out the food. Chris and I have a BBQ and beer bash in mind.

Secondly, I have found a dress! Yes, already! I found a beautiful little number online, and my mom worked very hard to find a store that could get a sample in for me to try on. She and I drove up to Annapolis, I tried on the dress, and I instantly knew it was the one. And yeah, I had that cliche experience where I cried. What can I say? I could just see myself walking down the aisle to marry Chris in it. I'll show it to you all sometime after the wedding. Anyways, I have to wait many months to actually get MY dress, so I'm glad that got done early.

Anyways, that's about it for now!

An Engaging Week

Oh boy (girl!), where do I even start??? I know it's been longer than a week, but, SO much has happened in the last 7 days, so I'm going to focus there, in chronological order. Sound good? Good.

First off, I chopped ALL my hairs off. Not like last time. Like, pixie-cut style. Annnnd, I LOVE it. So much. I seriously should have done this years ago. It feels so incredibly comfortable!

Secondly, Chris got into an oyster aquaculture program he was hoping to get into. We're both really excited, and I am a very proud lady. It's 6 months long, and he has to go away for it. But, we'll see each other on weekends. It's going to be difficult, but I think we're both looking at it as an investment in the future, which I think is a pretty healthy outlook. AND, oysters are filter feeders, so Chris will be working to keep the Chesapeake Bay healthy. AWESOME! And, I'm hoping that he can maybe sneak me home some oysters for to eat. Yums.

Thirdly, I got a raise.
Lastly, I'd like to take this opportunity to officially announce to the blog world that Chris and I are engaged. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

This past weekend, we decided to go to Williamsburg for two nights and camp. We'd both had crazy weeks and knew that we'd have very little time together before Chris leaves for the oyster program, so we decided to get away. We decided to go to Williamsburg because we both went to The College of William and Mary, and it had been too long since we had been back to visit.

On Saturday morning, we went and got coffee at the coffee shop I used to work at on the William and Mary campus. Ah, memories. Then, we decided to walk around campus to check out our old haunts. As we walked down the hill on campus that goes by the Crim Dell bridge, Chris grabbed my hand and guided me down the path that takes you over the bridge.

Now, if you didn't go to William and Mary, you might not know what the deal is with the Crim Dell bridge. Here's what Wikipedia says about it: "It is rumored that if two lovers cross the bridge together and kiss at the crest of it, they will be together forever. If that couple separates at any point thereafter, however, the lady must throw her ex-lover off of the bridge and into the water to break the curse of being forever single."

Anyways, so as we were walking that way, I got a little nervous and started joking: "Are you going to push me off the bridge?" I asked.

He said that he had something better in mind. And then he got down on one knee, pulled out a ring box, and asked me to marry him. And of course, I said "yes."

It was awesome. I put on the beautiful ring he picked out, and then we hugged, and then I cried a little.

Then, we walked around a bit, grabbed a drink to celebrate, and then started the insane number of phone calls we had to make!

Here's my new shiny:

The diamond belonged to Chris's grandmother. He got it put into a beautiful, modern setting that is simply perfect. It's amazing, he's amazing, and I'm amazed.

Ok, now I'm tired. Goodnight blog-world!