Ashley: Well, Adam "popped the question" two weeks ago just this past Saturday....and yes, I can't stop staring at my bling! This shiny little token of love and affection is just so much prettier than I anticipated, and it's nice to have it there as a reminder that Adam and I are wholly committed to one another and on a wild and crazy adventure together: WE'RE GONNA GET MARRIED!
The proposal couldn't have been better, and wedding planning is in full swing now. We took a look at a few venues on Saturday, and while we fell in like with The Barn at Gibbet Hill, we're just not sure it's in our budget, so we need to explore other possibilities. We would absolutely love to be married on a farm or in an orchard, but there are so many facets involved in conducting a wedding ceremony and reception (ideally in the same place); it's proving to be harder than I thought it would be, not to mention time consuming and not just a little stressful!
Oh, so I already found my dress----yahoo!! One important thing down, many more to go....! The dress is not one I anticipated liking or wanting, but once I put it on, saw myself in the mirror, saw Jackie's reaction, and saw the price tag, I knew that was the one. It made me feel beautiful and bride'ish (and thin!) I had kind of been dreading the whole wedding dress shopping thing, for fear of feeling and looking like a moron, but I wound up having a pretty good time, just me and my Maid of Honor. I'm so pleased to have found and purchased my dress (and veil...and fabulously supportive strapless bra!) already....though now I find myself wanting to put it on and dance around the living room! Maybe I will...when Adam's not here.... ;o)
I'm anxiously awaiting the wrap-up of my Masters program with Lesley University---just 4 more weeks!!!---and THEN I can really dedicate myself to organizing / planning all this wedding whoopla. We still have a lot to discuss / investigate, but I feel like we're doing a pretty good job thus far----we have a tentative theme, some tentative dates picked, and plenty of connections to consider. Glee!!
Adam:
It's been 4 days since I popped the question, and it still feels a little surreal. I feel like we've hit the ground running. We're looking through wedding magazines (not that Ash wasn't before), discussing potential dates, travel arrangements for friends and family, and even visiting a vineyard as a potential venue. The reality has only been amplified by having Ashley's parents here from California for a week.
To be honest, I'm surprised at how fast things are moving. I guess I expected a latent period while Ashley is finishing up her Masters. Still I couldn't be happier with how wrong I was. It turns out that thinking about our wedding is a really exciting and enlivening thing! Trying to manifest our love and uniqueness in one event is such an awesome task, that I'm only slightly terrified of the price tag associated with it. :)