You know what's funny? That song is the ring tone on my phone for all my wedding vendors when they call me. Seriously. :)
5 months ago
Showing posts with label proposal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label proposal. Show all posts
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Seriously High Tech Proposal
This guy put a ton of thought into this proposal...with a little help from his friends:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Saying I love you is really unnecessary
You've seen this, right?
In yesterday's post, I shared about how Mr Fix It didn't say the words "I love you" to me until a trip to Cabo almost five years into our relationship! So this poses the question, how long is too long to wait to say "I love you" to someone? Or even better, how soon is too soon? Or if you really want to go there, is it even *necessary* to say I love you to someone?
For me, it wasn't. And here's why:
After the first couple months of dating, Mr Fix It and I talked about his ex-wife and divorce and previous relationships. I remember one very specific conversation where he casually mentioned, "I will never again tell a woman that I love her until I know for 100% certainty that I am going to put a ring on her finger." He probably never thought much of it again. But I stored it in the file cabinet in my brain.
It struck a chord with me. I appreciated it. I respected it.
I think in today's world, we use those words way too lightly. I remember in high school a pastor saying that "Guys use love to get sex, and girls use sex to get love." I didn't want to be one of those girls giving it up just to hear my guy say "I love you." And I respected that Mr Fix It wasn't going to use those words casually. As a Christian, many biblical passages speak truth to me about humanity, relationships and what it means to 'love' others. There is a verse in 1 John 3:18 that reads: "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." You see, to me, Mr Fix It had a hundred other ways that he let me know how much he cared about me in actions. The words he spoke were amazing and nice and were something I desired for sure. But you know what truly showed me how much he loved me? The first time we went on a camping trip with his family.
We were camping at Trinity Lake in No Cal and would go wakeboarding every day. To get onto the boat, you had to walk down the bank of the lake and through this super muddy, orange, murky water. It was gross. Well, as we headed down there one day with Mr Fix It's brother, sister-in-law and some friends, Mr Fix It stopped at the bank and picked me up over his shoulder. At first I screamed thinking he was going to throw me into the lake. But then I realized, he was carrying me over the water and gently set me on the boat so I wouldn't have to get all dirty. The other wives and girlfriends made a few jealous comments about their guys doing the same for them :) That little chivalrous act meant more to me than simply saying "I love you." He proved it.
I could go on for days about all the little things that I appreciate so much more because I recognize them as his 'loving gestures' instead of taking them for granted. As I mentioned yesterday, we split up for a while in the middle of our time together. And once we got back together, I immediately started telling Mr Fix It how much I loved him. And one of the very first times I said it to him, I told him "Don't say it back to me." He asked me why and I told him about when we were first dating and how I remembered his comment about how he won't say those words again until he's ready to put a ring on a woman's finger. He just smiled.
It may seem awkward to say I love you to someone and get responses like "You're so sweet," or "Thank you so much," or "I know you do." But for me, it didn't matter. I knew how he felt about me. And so on that day in October, 2008 when we were strolling along the white sands of a quiet beach in Los Cabos and he looked at me and said "I know you've been waiting so long to hear me say this, but I do love you." Oh man, I just melted. I knew it was forever.
It took 5 years for him to get there. And for some, that may be way too long to wait. But I knew he had been hurt. I knew he had been taken to the cleaners, had his heart ripped out and stomped on. I knew he was jaded and unsure of whether he could trust a woman again. And I knew that we loved each other. So I was willing to let him get there in his own time.
In all honesty, I had actually given him an unspoken deadline. I had told myself a little earlier on that if we hit our five year anniversary and he hadn't at least started talking about marriage, then it was probably gonna be time for me to move on...I mean I was 36 at the time (37 now)...I wasn't a spring chicken anymore! :) So I found it funny that 4 months before that 5 year deadline, he finally brought it up...and it was all on his own. I never once said anything like "So when are we gonna talk about marriage?" And just two months before our five year anniversary, he put the ring on my finger :)
So, tell me about it, ladies. How long would you wait to hear (or say) the words I love you? Is there any way you can possibly put a 'deadline' on it or a timeline?
In yesterday's post, I shared about how Mr Fix It didn't say the words "I love you" to me until a trip to Cabo almost five years into our relationship! So this poses the question, how long is too long to wait to say "I love you" to someone? Or even better, how soon is too soon? Or if you really want to go there, is it even *necessary* to say I love you to someone?
For me, it wasn't. And here's why:
After the first couple months of dating, Mr Fix It and I talked about his ex-wife and divorce and previous relationships. I remember one very specific conversation where he casually mentioned, "I will never again tell a woman that I love her until I know for 100% certainty that I am going to put a ring on her finger." He probably never thought much of it again. But I stored it in the file cabinet in my brain.
It struck a chord with me. I appreciated it. I respected it.
I think in today's world, we use those words way too lightly. I remember in high school a pastor saying that "Guys use love to get sex, and girls use sex to get love." I didn't want to be one of those girls giving it up just to hear my guy say "I love you." And I respected that Mr Fix It wasn't going to use those words casually. As a Christian, many biblical passages speak truth to me about humanity, relationships and what it means to 'love' others. There is a verse in 1 John 3:18 that reads: "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." You see, to me, Mr Fix It had a hundred other ways that he let me know how much he cared about me in actions. The words he spoke were amazing and nice and were something I desired for sure. But you know what truly showed me how much he loved me? The first time we went on a camping trip with his family.
We were camping at Trinity Lake in No Cal and would go wakeboarding every day. To get onto the boat, you had to walk down the bank of the lake and through this super muddy, orange, murky water. It was gross. Well, as we headed down there one day with Mr Fix It's brother, sister-in-law and some friends, Mr Fix It stopped at the bank and picked me up over his shoulder. At first I screamed thinking he was going to throw me into the lake. But then I realized, he was carrying me over the water and gently set me on the boat so I wouldn't have to get all dirty. The other wives and girlfriends made a few jealous comments about their guys doing the same for them :) That little chivalrous act meant more to me than simply saying "I love you." He proved it.
I could go on for days about all the little things that I appreciate so much more because I recognize them as his 'loving gestures' instead of taking them for granted. As I mentioned yesterday, we split up for a while in the middle of our time together. And once we got back together, I immediately started telling Mr Fix It how much I loved him. And one of the very first times I said it to him, I told him "Don't say it back to me." He asked me why and I told him about when we were first dating and how I remembered his comment about how he won't say those words again until he's ready to put a ring on a woman's finger. He just smiled.
It may seem awkward to say I love you to someone and get responses like "You're so sweet," or "Thank you so much," or "I know you do." But for me, it didn't matter. I knew how he felt about me. And so on that day in October, 2008 when we were strolling along the white sands of a quiet beach in Los Cabos and he looked at me and said "I know you've been waiting so long to hear me say this, but I do love you." Oh man, I just melted. I knew it was forever.
It took 5 years for him to get there. And for some, that may be way too long to wait. But I knew he had been hurt. I knew he had been taken to the cleaners, had his heart ripped out and stomped on. I knew he was jaded and unsure of whether he could trust a woman again. And I knew that we loved each other. So I was willing to let him get there in his own time.
In all honesty, I had actually given him an unspoken deadline. I had told myself a little earlier on that if we hit our five year anniversary and he hadn't at least started talking about marriage, then it was probably gonna be time for me to move on...I mean I was 36 at the time (37 now)...I wasn't a spring chicken anymore! :) So I found it funny that 4 months before that 5 year deadline, he finally brought it up...and it was all on his own. I never once said anything like "So when are we gonna talk about marriage?" And just two months before our five year anniversary, he put the ring on my finger :)
So, tell me about it, ladies. How long would you wait to hear (or say) the words I love you? Is there any way you can possibly put a 'deadline' on it or a timeline?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The relationship timeline
In 10 days, Mr Fix It and I will have been together for 6 years! And in just about 60 days it will be our wedding day! So I thought it'd be fun to share a quick rundown on the timeline of me and Mr Fix It's relationship:
* Feb 19, 2004: Mr Fix It sends me an e-mail via match.com. Being the computer addict that I am, I of course respond immediately.
* Feb 20, 2004: Mr Fix It is *NOT* a computer addict and hates them...thus he instructs me to call him or there will be no further communication. :)
* Feb 26, 2004: After having talked on the phone several days in that first week, we meet up for our first date at the Cheesecake Factory at the Irvine Spectrum. We have a great conversation and walk around the shops and Mr Fix It has no problem showing his affection by wrapping his arm around my waist. Though I was not used to this kind of 'forward' behavior on a first date, I felt oddly attracted to him and the night did end with a little smooching.
* August, 2004: For the past 6 months, Mr Fix It has still gone on a few more 'first dates' from some online women he met but was up front and honest with me about the fact that we were only 'dating' during that time. I was okay with it...patience is a virtue. But now, he has told me that he is done with dating and I am officially his girlfriend (smiles all around!).
* Spring, 2006: For whatever reason, Mr Fix It and I are both feeling unfulfilled in our relationship. Though we have no major problems or issues between us, we discuss this and decide it is best to part ways. However, we do remain in touch via phone calls over the next year.
* Sep 2, 2006: Mr Fix It attends my sister's wedding and though we are 'just friends' he sits at the main table with my family.
* March, 2007: Mr Fix It and I are now in more regular communication and even hang out once in a while. After close to a year apart as official boyfriend/girlfriend, we casually decide to start dating again.
* April, 2007: I am suddenly more in love with Mr Fix It than I had ever felt in our previous 2 year relationship. Being apart for a year has made both of us realize that we just needed some time apart and perspective to see what we really appreciated about the other. Our relationship is now full force back on and better than it had ever been in the past.
* Spring, 2007: I can't help but often tell Mr Fix It how much "I love him." In fact, I say "I love you" to him often. His reciprocation is sweet but never with those words.
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* Feb 19, 2004: Mr Fix It sends me an e-mail via match.com. Being the computer addict that I am, I of course respond immediately.
* Feb 20, 2004: Mr Fix It is *NOT* a computer addict and hates them...thus he instructs me to call him or there will be no further communication. :)
* Feb 26, 2004: After having talked on the phone several days in that first week, we meet up for our first date at the Cheesecake Factory at the Irvine Spectrum. We have a great conversation and walk around the shops and Mr Fix It has no problem showing his affection by wrapping his arm around my waist. Though I was not used to this kind of 'forward' behavior on a first date, I felt oddly attracted to him and the night did end with a little smooching.
* August, 2004: For the past 6 months, Mr Fix It has still gone on a few more 'first dates' from some online women he met but was up front and honest with me about the fact that we were only 'dating' during that time. I was okay with it...patience is a virtue. But now, he has told me that he is done with dating and I am officially his girlfriend (smiles all around!).
* Spring, 2006: For whatever reason, Mr Fix It and I are both feeling unfulfilled in our relationship. Though we have no major problems or issues between us, we discuss this and decide it is best to part ways. However, we do remain in touch via phone calls over the next year.
* Sep 2, 2006: Mr Fix It attends my sister's wedding and though we are 'just friends' he sits at the main table with my family.
* March, 2007: Mr Fix It and I are now in more regular communication and even hang out once in a while. After close to a year apart as official boyfriend/girlfriend, we casually decide to start dating again.
* April, 2007: I am suddenly more in love with Mr Fix It than I had ever felt in our previous 2 year relationship. Being apart for a year has made both of us realize that we just needed some time apart and perspective to see what we really appreciated about the other. Our relationship is now full force back on and better than it had ever been in the past.
* Spring, 2007: I can't help but often tell Mr Fix It how much "I love him." In fact, I say "I love you" to him often. His reciprocation is sweet but never with those words.
* Oct, 2008: Mr Fix It takes me to Cabo San Lucas for my birthday. We have the most amazing time in an incredible suite at a phenomenal resort. Our first night there we sit at a table in a dark restaurant and Mr Fix It tells me that he does not want me running around telling everyone I told him this, but "he can totally envision spending the rest of his life with me." (swoon)
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* Oct, 2008: While still in Cabo 2 days later, Mr Fix It and I take a walk on a beautiful sandy white beach. It seems there is not one other person anywhere in sight and we walk for miles. On the way back down the shore, he takes my hand and says "I know you have waited for almost five years to hear this, but I really do love you." (melting)
* Nov, 2008: After returning from Cabo, Mr Fix It now tells me almost every time he calls me how much he loves me. While laying on the sofa together watching tv one night, he casually says "I guess maybe we should start looking at some wedding venues." I smile quietly and say "That sounds good." (trying not to burst with psycho-future-bride fanatacism and overwhelming plans galore.)
* Mid-Nov, 2008: We begin looking at some wedding venues. The family begins to ask why we're looking at venues when we're not engaged. Shhh! Don't say anything, is what I'm thinking in my head.
* Dec, 2008: Mr Fix It takes me to Los Angeles' jewelry district to look at some engagement/wedding rings. (is this really happening?)
* Christmas Day, 2008: Mr Fix It proposes! Woo-hoo! Hallelujah! It's finally happened...seriously, someone pinch me!
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Stay tuned for tomorrow's post which will explain what I know you are all thinking: Why the heck did she stay with a man who took five freaking years to tell her he loves her?!?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Am I expecting too much of my bridesmaids?
I asked 5 girls to be my bridesmaids and my sister to be my Matron of Honor. (I was the maid of honor for my sister and my best friend who is also one of my bridesmaids.) I surprised each girl by providing them a gift that included a puzzle of a photo of both of us with the phrase 'Be my Bridesmaid?' across it, along with a little silk bouquet of flowers in my color scheme so they'd know what color dress they'd be wearing and a handmade card with a poem in it telling them why I am asking them to stand with me at the altar.
I loved it, they loved it, two of them cried...it was personal and different. I blogged about it here.
Since I asked them, I have had all 6 of them come with me one day back in March to go dress shopping for both me and them. We did it on a day that my best friend would be in town so she could participate - she lives in Idaho, I'm in So Cal. We went to dinner after...it was fun.
I eventually picked dresses out for them to wear with their input and allowed them to select red dresses even though I desparately wanted them in turquoise/blue and I let them know that was my wish but I wanted them to be comfortable. They opted for red.
I let 2 of them pick different dresses than the one the other 4 will be wearing...my cousin who is a very large chested woman and my daughter who wanted a different color and needed a different style since she doesn't fully have a woman's body yet. I had no problem with letting them pick different dresses...they're by the same designer, color and fabric.
I tried to keep the dress and shoe cost to a minimum...The dresses were $152 including tax and the shoes were another $15 total. So far, they all will only need to have the straps adjusted on their dress. Two of them may need their dresses let out a little bit and one will need her dress hemmed a bit. So alterations will not be super expensive at all...for my sister, it's only $15 to have her straps adjusted.
I booked a stylist to do my hair and makeup and negotiated a great price for her to do the Bridesmaid's hair and makeup for only $70 each total. I let them know that it was their decision as to whether or not they wanted to use my stylist and pay or do their own hair and makeup. Two of them opted to do their own, four opted for using my stylist.
One bridesmaid offered to let us use her house for both my bridal shower and bachelorette party since she lives around the corner from me and has the biggest house. My sister is throwing the shower and has asked for the other girls' input but has done most stuff on her own. My mother and her are paying for the bulk of my shower I believe and trying to keep it pretty inexpensive.
Other than that, there's not much more they have to do for me other than show up to my shower, bachelorette party and the rehearsal and wedding. My one friend from Idaho obviously has to pay for airfare out here but she was more than willing to do so to be in my wedding and is coming alone without her husband or three kids to save money. It's not that expensive to fly here.
So do you think I'm asking too much of them? I hear horror stories of brides who want to 'fire' their friends or family for not helping out with much or for causing problems with their wedding plans and adding extra stress. I am so lucky to not have that problem. I LOVE my girls and though I don't get to see them much, they're excited about the big day and I know they'll make me feel special and loved and keep me laughing and try to ease my stress or anxiety.
Though due to my Type-A perfectionist personality, I am not asking them to help assemble invitations or anything like that. But closer to wedding day I will ask them if any can come over to help me stuff favor boxes and tie ribbons on them and such.
Even the guys (groomsmen) and our immediate family were in my initial wedding related thoughts as I had visions of them having to carry votive candles, wedding gifts, dresses, etc all over our venue and loading up cars and such. I imagined them trying to run around during the reception telling the Photographer that the DJ was about to announce the cake cutting and I instantly knew it was time to hire a Day of Wedding Coordinator! There is no way I wanted any family or friends doing errands or running tasks during the wedding.
So I think my girls have it pretty easy. But I know some brides can be demanding. I found it funny, however, when Rachel (Pink Love Bird) over at Get Married's Blogger Brides site posted about how she asked her girls to be her bridesmaids. She made them all binders and included a contract inside for them to read and sign. I wish she had gotten engaged before me because I totally would have included this in my little gift package for my girls had I seen it.
I, ____(Bridesmaid)_____, do solemnly swear:
______ My hair will remain at whatever length I want, but if it’s past my shoulders, it will be put in a beautiful up-do.
______ If I change my hair color, I will consider consulting Bride because she loves sassy hair.
______ My nails will be painted a delicate, light color of my choosing and will be at my preferred length (…with the exception of them being so long they curl over at the tips).
______ Bride will love me and appreciate me being in her bridal party regardless of my weight, but I will do my best to be in great shape and health. I want to look my best!
______ Assuming there is a shower or a bachelorette party, I will be as involved as I can be and party it up with Bride for as long as I can stand.
______ I will hold Bride to her promise that the bridesmaid dresses will be fabulous and won’t cost an arm and a leg. I will provide opinions on the style because I know Bride likes input and gets overwhelmed by options.
______ If I get pregnant, YAY! Bride loves babies and pregnant people. If I am not pregnant, the reception will provide a fully stocked bar in which to imbibe in front of said pregnant people.
______I will dance the night away at the reception and all other spontaneous dance parties. If Bride is not around for the sporadic dance parties, I will take a picture or a video to show her.
______ I will tell Bride when she is being crazy/unrealistic and why, specifically. I will not let Bride go off the deep-end.
______ I will freely give hugs and lend my support to Bride to help relieve stress since she is such a perfectionist. Bride loves friends’ hugs.
I do hereby swear that I will adhere to the entire above & other stated bridesmaid “duties” for the wedding on (date).
X________________________________ ___________________ (Signature) (Date)
What do you think ladies? Are you asking too much of your Bridesmaids or wedding party? Have you had some unfortunate issues or fights or frustrations with anyone regarding your wedding? Do share! Let it all out...
I loved it, they loved it, two of them cried...it was personal and different. I blogged about it here.
Since I asked them, I have had all 6 of them come with me one day back in March to go dress shopping for both me and them. We did it on a day that my best friend would be in town so she could participate - she lives in Idaho, I'm in So Cal. We went to dinner after...it was fun.
I eventually picked dresses out for them to wear with their input and allowed them to select red dresses even though I desparately wanted them in turquoise/blue and I let them know that was my wish but I wanted them to be comfortable. They opted for red.
I let 2 of them pick different dresses than the one the other 4 will be wearing...my cousin who is a very large chested woman and my daughter who wanted a different color and needed a different style since she doesn't fully have a woman's body yet. I had no problem with letting them pick different dresses...they're by the same designer, color and fabric.
I tried to keep the dress and shoe cost to a minimum...The dresses were $152 including tax and the shoes were another $15 total. So far, they all will only need to have the straps adjusted on their dress. Two of them may need their dresses let out a little bit and one will need her dress hemmed a bit. So alterations will not be super expensive at all...for my sister, it's only $15 to have her straps adjusted.
I booked a stylist to do my hair and makeup and negotiated a great price for her to do the Bridesmaid's hair and makeup for only $70 each total. I let them know that it was their decision as to whether or not they wanted to use my stylist and pay or do their own hair and makeup. Two of them opted to do their own, four opted for using my stylist.
One bridesmaid offered to let us use her house for both my bridal shower and bachelorette party since she lives around the corner from me and has the biggest house. My sister is throwing the shower and has asked for the other girls' input but has done most stuff on her own. My mother and her are paying for the bulk of my shower I believe and trying to keep it pretty inexpensive.
Other than that, there's not much more they have to do for me other than show up to my shower, bachelorette party and the rehearsal and wedding. My one friend from Idaho obviously has to pay for airfare out here but she was more than willing to do so to be in my wedding and is coming alone without her husband or three kids to save money. It's not that expensive to fly here.
So do you think I'm asking too much of them? I hear horror stories of brides who want to 'fire' their friends or family for not helping out with much or for causing problems with their wedding plans and adding extra stress. I am so lucky to not have that problem. I LOVE my girls and though I don't get to see them much, they're excited about the big day and I know they'll make me feel special and loved and keep me laughing and try to ease my stress or anxiety.
Though due to my Type-A perfectionist personality, I am not asking them to help assemble invitations or anything like that. But closer to wedding day I will ask them if any can come over to help me stuff favor boxes and tie ribbons on them and such.
Even the guys (groomsmen) and our immediate family were in my initial wedding related thoughts as I had visions of them having to carry votive candles, wedding gifts, dresses, etc all over our venue and loading up cars and such. I imagined them trying to run around during the reception telling the Photographer that the DJ was about to announce the cake cutting and I instantly knew it was time to hire a Day of Wedding Coordinator! There is no way I wanted any family or friends doing errands or running tasks during the wedding.
So I think my girls have it pretty easy. But I know some brides can be demanding. I found it funny, however, when Rachel (Pink Love Bird) over at Get Married's Blogger Brides site posted about how she asked her girls to be her bridesmaids. She made them all binders and included a contract inside for them to read and sign. I wish she had gotten engaged before me because I totally would have included this in my little gift package for my girls had I seen it.
I, ____(Bridesmaid)_____, do solemnly swear:
______ My hair will remain at whatever length I want, but if it’s past my shoulders, it will be put in a beautiful up-do.
______ If I change my hair color, I will consider consulting Bride because she loves sassy hair.
______ My nails will be painted a delicate, light color of my choosing and will be at my preferred length (…with the exception of them being so long they curl over at the tips).
______ Bride will love me and appreciate me being in her bridal party regardless of my weight, but I will do my best to be in great shape and health. I want to look my best!
______ Assuming there is a shower or a bachelorette party, I will be as involved as I can be and party it up with Bride for as long as I can stand.
______ I will hold Bride to her promise that the bridesmaid dresses will be fabulous and won’t cost an arm and a leg. I will provide opinions on the style because I know Bride likes input and gets overwhelmed by options.
______ If I get pregnant, YAY! Bride loves babies and pregnant people. If I am not pregnant, the reception will provide a fully stocked bar in which to imbibe in front of said pregnant people.
______I will dance the night away at the reception and all other spontaneous dance parties. If Bride is not around for the sporadic dance parties, I will take a picture or a video to show her.
______ I will tell Bride when she is being crazy/unrealistic and why, specifically. I will not let Bride go off the deep-end.
______ I will freely give hugs and lend my support to Bride to help relieve stress since she is such a perfectionist. Bride loves friends’ hugs.
I do hereby swear that I will adhere to the entire above & other stated bridesmaid “duties” for the wedding on (date).
X________________________________ ___________________ (Signature) (Date)
What do you think ladies? Are you asking too much of your Bridesmaids or wedding party? Have you had some unfortunate issues or fights or frustrations with anyone regarding your wedding? Do share! Let it all out...
Friday, December 18, 2009
How to announce you're engaged!
So a fellow blogger friend asked me if I had any ideas on how to announce via today's technology that you're engaged. I was flattered she wanted my opinion and thought I'd share a few quick thoughts I came up with off the top of my head. And plus, by putting it out here to you lovely ladies maybe you'll have some ideas of your own!
1) I am a big fan of videos. With today's technology it's easy to quickly edit together a movie trailer, slide show, or little skit about the story of your relationship or announcing your engagment or wedding. Many people are using sites like their blogs and YouTube to send out Save the Dates. I'm sure you've seen a few of these throughout the blogosphere:
2) If you don't have the time, software or knowledge to do something like that though you can always use free sites like photobucket.com or slide.com to create a simple slideshow of photos with captions. Or get even more creative and actually make signs to hold up in your photos. I quickly threw together this mini slideshow in Photobucket for an example. You could post this on your blog or e-mail the link to friends and family. You could take it a step further by typing something like this in the e-mail:
1) I am a big fan of videos. With today's technology it's easy to quickly edit together a movie trailer, slide show, or little skit about the story of your relationship or announcing your engagment or wedding. Many people are using sites like their blogs and YouTube to send out Save the Dates. I'm sure you've seen a few of these throughout the blogosphere:
2) If you don't have the time, software or knowledge to do something like that though you can always use free sites like photobucket.com or slide.com to create a simple slideshow of photos with captions. Or get even more creative and actually make signs to hold up in your photos. I quickly threw together this mini slideshow in Photobucket for an example. You could post this on your blog or e-mail the link to friends and family. You could take it a step further by typing something like this in the e-mail:
You can't run!
You can't hide!
From the relationship that just.......won't......DIE!!!!
The Story of Us
Stacey & John are ENGAGED!
Coming soon to a church near you...
Stay tuned....
3) Another idea is if you have a niece or a friend's daughter you know you will want to ask to be your flowergirl. You could take a photo of her throwing flower petals in the air and write a caption over the photo (or put a sign in the photo with her) that says "I'm going to be a flowergirl in Aunt Jenn's wedding!" E-mail (or mail) the photo out to friends and family and maybe even write the story of the proposal in the e-mail. You can do something like this with just about anything: Pets, children, friends or even the happy couple. Just have them hold up photos and create a photo strip or 'card' spelling out the exciting news.
4) Along the lines of the slideshow above, you can use a site like http://www.shutterfly.com/ to create an online photo album where you can write out your love story next to the photos. Send the link to family and friends with a note that says "We created a fun online photo album that we wanted to share with you." Then next to the pics put things like "Here's us on our cruise to Mexico." "Here's the first time John ever told me he loved me." The very last one will be a pic of you two with your engagement ring or with him on one knee proposing and you write out "And here's John proposing to me! And now we're engaged!"
5) Sites like theknot.com and jibjab.com also have these silly e-videos you can create by uploading a photo of yourself and framing your face in it. They then put your faces on someone else's body and have you doing a silly dance or something like that. You can e-mail the link to the e-video to friends and family or embed it on your blog as a silly way to announce your engagement! Here's some silly examples I quickly created:
Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!
6) Sites like http://www.motionbox.com/ allow you to upload videos and send them as e-cards to people. Using a web cam, video cam on your photo camera or cell phone or an actual video camera, you can create a simple video message, skit or whatever and then upload it to these sites and add messages to e-mail to friends and family.
Using a site like onfuego.com (a little more risque but totally usable), you can do something like this where those who view your card can even leave comments about it:
7) One of my FAVORITE simple e-card announcements is this one from bluemountain.com: http://www.bluemountain.com/display.pd?prodnum=3103161&path=83058
So, what do you think? I just quickly tried to throw these ideas together...what are some ways you announced your engagement or suggestions for Jenn on how to use technology to do so? We actually told most of our family and friends over the phone or in person. But for those we don't see as often, we created a wedding website and then sent an e-mail out to all our friends and family telling them to check out our new site. It had all the info and stories about our relationship, proposal, etc. Check it out here: http://www.staceyandjohn.weddingwindow.com/. The plus to this feature is that I can use it to collect RSVP's for all kinds of wedding related events and on the back administrative end of it, I am able to keep track of things like addresses for guest lists, budgets, to-do lists, vendor contact info, etc.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Our proposal on one of the saddest days of my life
I was never one of those girls to want to start questioning her boyfriend as to when 'we were gonna get married' or start talking about marriage. I just always trusted that God would work it out if it was meant to be...though after almost 5 years together, I was starting to get antsy.
October, 2008 was a turning point in our relationship. In Cabo, he told me he loved me for the very FIRST time after having dated for almost 5 years! Wait, I need to do a little time out from the proposal story:
What I love most about him is the fact that he told me in the beginning of our dating relationship that he would never tell another woman he loved her until he was ready to put a ring on her finger. I began telling John I loved him a few years ago, but I never wanted him to say it back. The day he finally said I love you to me (which was in October, 2008 in Cabo), I knew that we were going to be together forever. I never needed to hear the words from him...John always lets me know how much he loves me with his actions and in subtle ways that God has allowed me to appreciate so deeply.
So anyway, in Cabo, while walking down the beach with not another soul around (except for the person who took this picture right before we started our stroll) he told me he loved me for the very first time and he also shared that he could completely envision spending his life with me. One night after we returned from Cabo, while we were cuddling watching tv, John simply said to me: "So I guess we should start looking at wedding venues probably." In his own way, it was how he let me know that the proposal was forthcoming.
In some ways I feel like John proposed several times because over the next few weeks, John would often bring up wedding comments and talk of me being his wife soon. He started talking about remodeling his home to prepare for me and my daughter, Jordan moving in and stuff like that. I would nod or smile or make a simple comment in response but didn't really make a huge issue of it. However, within a month I started booking appointments at wedding venues for us to start trying to get together a timeline and budget needs. And in December we began to shop for wedding rings.
A lot of our family started asking why we were making these plans without officially being engaged, but I knew that we were heading towards the inevitable question so it didn't bother me.
Christmas morning 2008: John knew that my mom and I were pretty bummed about the fact that we were going to be spending the first Christmas of our entire lives away from my sister, Julie. I mean I was really sad. In my 36 years I had spent the 34 years that I had my baby sister with her on every single holiday of our entire lives! And to top it off, my Grandma, who is always with us on Christmas morning was getting tired in her 93rd year and had decided to spend Christmas morning in her own home. So we spent a much quieter Christmas morning with just my mom, John, Jordan and I.
As we started to open stockings, John directed me to a box of Godiva chocolates he brought with him. He told me to open them because he bought them for me (he prefers See's Candy over Godiva). When I opened the box, I noticed a note wrapped around something. I unwrapped the note and out popped a ring. The note was short but sweet; it simply read:
I love you and you're always so sweet to me. We have so much fun together so why not spend a lifetime like this? Will you marry me?
I knew the proposal was coming (I mean we had already shopped for rings) so I didn't think I'd be too emotional, but suddenly I found myself completely choked up with tears rolling down my cheeks. My mom looked over at me and asked me why I was crying. I held up my hand with the ring on it and she immediately started getting choked up and fighting back tears. As I looked at John and leaned to kiss him I think I managed to squeeze out the words "Of course" but they sure didn't come easy since I could barely speak.
My mom thanked John for letting her be a part of the experience and he told me later that he really wanted to make sure my family and specifically Jordan was a part of the proposal. Of course, my sister was not happy when I texted her an image of the ring on my finger and she realized that the first Christmas she had ever been away from her family her big sister gets proposed to - and she wasn't there!
So the man of my dreams made the hardest Christmas in my life the most memorable one and I will be forever thankful to God for giving John the heart to provide me with a thoughtful and loving surprise.
October, 2008 was a turning point in our relationship. In Cabo, he told me he loved me for the very FIRST time after having dated for almost 5 years! Wait, I need to do a little time out from the proposal story:
What I love most about him is the fact that he told me in the beginning of our dating relationship that he would never tell another woman he loved her until he was ready to put a ring on her finger. I began telling John I loved him a few years ago, but I never wanted him to say it back. The day he finally said I love you to me (which was in October, 2008 in Cabo), I knew that we were going to be together forever. I never needed to hear the words from him...John always lets me know how much he loves me with his actions and in subtle ways that God has allowed me to appreciate so deeply.
Us in Cabo (Oct 2008) visiting the wedding chapel...
little did we know we'd be looking for venues only 2 months later!
So anyway, in Cabo, while walking down the beach with not another soul around (except for the person who took this picture right before we started our stroll) he told me he loved me for the very first time and he also shared that he could completely envision spending his life with me. One night after we returned from Cabo, while we were cuddling watching tv, John simply said to me: "So I guess we should start looking at wedding venues probably." In his own way, it was how he let me know that the proposal was forthcoming.
In some ways I feel like John proposed several times because over the next few weeks, John would often bring up wedding comments and talk of me being his wife soon. He started talking about remodeling his home to prepare for me and my daughter, Jordan moving in and stuff like that. I would nod or smile or make a simple comment in response but didn't really make a huge issue of it. However, within a month I started booking appointments at wedding venues for us to start trying to get together a timeline and budget needs. And in December we began to shop for wedding rings.
A lot of our family started asking why we were making these plans without officially being engaged, but I knew that we were heading towards the inevitable question so it didn't bother me.
Christmas morning 2008: John knew that my mom and I were pretty bummed about the fact that we were going to be spending the first Christmas of our entire lives away from my sister, Julie. I mean I was really sad. In my 36 years I had spent the 34 years that I had my baby sister with her on every single holiday of our entire lives! And to top it off, my Grandma, who is always with us on Christmas morning was getting tired in her 93rd year and had decided to spend Christmas morning in her own home. So we spent a much quieter Christmas morning with just my mom, John, Jordan and I.
As we started to open stockings, John directed me to a box of Godiva chocolates he brought with him. He told me to open them because he bought them for me (he prefers See's Candy over Godiva). When I opened the box, I noticed a note wrapped around something. I unwrapped the note and out popped a ring. The note was short but sweet; it simply read:
I love you and you're always so sweet to me. We have so much fun together so why not spend a lifetime like this? Will you marry me?
I knew the proposal was coming (I mean we had already shopped for rings) so I didn't think I'd be too emotional, but suddenly I found myself completely choked up with tears rolling down my cheeks. My mom looked over at me and asked me why I was crying. I held up my hand with the ring on it and she immediately started getting choked up and fighting back tears. As I looked at John and leaned to kiss him I think I managed to squeeze out the words "Of course" but they sure didn't come easy since I could barely speak.
My beautiful ring:
My mom thanked John for letting her be a part of the experience and he told me later that he really wanted to make sure my family and specifically Jordan was a part of the proposal. Of course, my sister was not happy when I texted her an image of the ring on my finger and she realized that the first Christmas she had ever been away from her family her big sister gets proposed to - and she wasn't there!
Some pics right after the proposal on Christmas morning:
So the man of my dreams made the hardest Christmas in my life the most memorable one and I will be forever thankful to God for giving John the heart to provide me with a thoughtful and loving surprise.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Proposing to your potential bridesmaids
So I don't want anything about my wedding to be traditional...not even the stuff that half the guests will never see or know about. So when I began to select my bridesmaids I knew I wanted to come up with a fun and creative way to ask them to join my wedding party. I mean afterall, your man asked you the jump start question "Will you marry me?" and for me, the next thing that followed was offering a similar question to my closest family and friends: "Will you be my bridesmaid?"
I found greeting cards with the question on the internet but I didn't like the packaged card idea. So I decided to incorporate a few things I found online and then create everything myself to make it more personal and unique to each girl.
The first thing I did was find a photo of me with each girl. I then photoshopped it using my wedding colors and text that asked them to 'Be My Bridesmaid?' (For my sister, who would be my Matron of Honor, I used the question 'Return the Favor?' since I was her Maid of Honor.) I then had the photo converted to a jigsaw puzzle. Only about 30 pieces and an 8x10 so that the girls wouldn't need to 'see' an example to be able to put it together. The surprise was putting the puzzle together to find the question. (For reference, this site is where I purchased the 8x10" 30 piece puzzles from for $11.95 each)
Within the packages (I wrapped them and either personally delivered or mailed them) I included a small bouquet of silk flowers in my colors and using flowers I like and want to include in floral arrangments. I told them in the note inside that this would give them some idea of what colors they'd be wearing and types of bouquets they'd have.
I found greeting cards with the question on the internet but I didn't like the packaged card idea. So I decided to incorporate a few things I found online and then create everything myself to make it more personal and unique to each girl.
The first thing I did was find a photo of me with each girl. I then photoshopped it using my wedding colors and text that asked them to 'Be My Bridesmaid?' (For my sister, who would be my Matron of Honor, I used the question 'Return the Favor?' since I was her Maid of Honor.) I then had the photo converted to a jigsaw puzzle. Only about 30 pieces and an 8x10 so that the girls wouldn't need to 'see' an example to be able to put it together. The surprise was putting the puzzle together to find the question. (For reference, this site is where I purchased the 8x10" 30 piece puzzles from for $11.95 each)
Within the packages (I wrapped them and either personally delivered or mailed them) I included a small bouquet of silk flowers in my colors and using flowers I like and want to include in floral arrangments. I told them in the note inside that this would give them some idea of what colors they'd be wearing and types of bouquets they'd have.
Ok, so a couple of them cried when they opened it...that's always the response I am looking for...tears or laughter! For those of you who are interested, below is the poem I included:
The day, the dress
The bride, the groom
The joy, the tears
Will all come soon
Professing true love
To my husband-to-be
With family and friends
All watching me
The Father will be watching
From up above
Pray that our ceremony
Is filled with Jesus' love!
But there's just one more thing
That there needs to be
And that's to have you
Standing with me!
The bride, the groom
The joy, the tears
Will all come soon
Professing true love
To my husband-to-be
With family and friends
All watching me
The Father will be watching
From up above
Pray that our ceremony
Is filled with Jesus' love!
But there's just one more thing
That there needs to be
And that's to have you
Standing with me!
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