Setting a Date

It is DONE!! We have a wedding date (for 2013...enough time for even me to plan...) and we have a wedding location:

This will be my dressing room:

Wedding to take place in the courtyard...

Then appetizers & wine inside while giving staff an opportunity to transform the courtyard to something like this:

Hopefully with evening lighting provided by overhead white lights and these babies, complements of an Etsy seller:

We haven't decided on much else (we hope to have acoustic guitar during the ceremony & dinner)--but we have decided that the food will be the main event (that is: No Dancing. None)...with formal dining and deserts served rather than wedding cake, and blood orange martinis for toasting rather than champagne.

One of my bridesmaids is working with the caterer on menu, another bridesmaid has taken over procuring all of the wine & making wedding invitations (holy shit, have I mentioned that my friends are amazing??), and my maid of honor is running the show on setting up a bachlorette party, AND has offered to come to town 2 days early to help with any last minute needs. The best part is that I finally get to marry my fiance. I actually tear up when I think of how special he is and how much I'm looking forward to this day, and to being his wife. I might be a total mess at the wedding, but I'm sure my friends will bring handkerchiefs.

Getting Engaged Made Me Prettier

A little over a week ago, the man I have loved for nearly 2 years (in March--wow)! asked me to marry him. We have talked about marriage a lot, but the question still came as such a surprise that it took a few moments (okay, days) to sink in that we were actually engaged.

He asked on a Wednesday, and we went ring shopping the following weekend. By Monday we had picked the ring (and isn't it beautiful??!!) and by Friday it was on my hand.

Since this date, I have been pretty stinking happy. Nobody I pass on the street knows my huge smile is correlated to the ring on my hand, so they reciprocate with a big grin and say things like, "My, you have the most beautiful hair!" Or on the more benign end, "Good morning! Beautiful day, isn't it?!" It's true that we tend to find people who smile more attractive. Thus, I have concluded that getting engaged made me prettier. (Okay scientist friends, don't point out the errors in deduction on that one--I am savoring this!)

My heart feels light and happy. I haven't yet written "get engaged" or "get married" on my "Before 30 Bucket List;" (which I am still writing...it's a hard list to make!)however, there was a big part of me that wanted to reach this milestone in my 20's. I think it is my 12-year-old self, who once wrote in a journal a life plan that looked like this:



17 - Graduate High School
21 - Graduate College
23 - Get Married
24 - Have First Baby


Despite my huge diversion from this life plan; I think that if my 12-year-old self met me today, she would have been pretty proud. And that makes me feel good inside.