Anyway. I figure I should start with the basics, as most people I've talked to didn't even know I was dating someone.
The Boy (TM): Matthew Laird
We met when I was in 10th grade and he was a senior. I had a huge crush on him, but he had a girlfriend. He did take me to Wendy's for my sixteenth birthday, though. ;) We always ate lunch together, and hung out a couple of times, but then he graduated and I figured that was that. He went into the Navy (stationed in Iceland, Italy, and Washington state) for four years, and just came back in May. We started hanging out soon after, and began "dating" in September.
Matt officially proposed on Friday, January 23rd. I knew it was coming sooner than later, as he'd let me pick my ring, but he managed to surprise me anyhow. He picked up the ring without telling me, then came to my house to bring me food before work. He brought the food itself, but also had three cups from Coldstone (the kind that the shakes come in). I just started talking to him when he came over, and didn't really think about it. He handed me one of the cups, which felt empty. I kind of stared at it for a minute, then deduced that it was just an extra cup that needed to be tossed out.
Yes, I threw away my ring.
Needless to say, it was easily retrieved, and is now a good story and laugh. He'd propped the ring box open in the cup and even cut the straw so it'd fit without looking odd. Very sweet, as I wasn't expecting any sort of surprise. I'd figured we were going to go pick them up together, and that'd be that.
The Ring:
The Ring:
We officialized the wedding date for April 17th at The Victorian in Layton. It's this really pretty Victorian house that's been remodeled into a reception center. It's really charming, and the people who own it are great. We just tell them what we want and then show up in our dresses/tuxes.
I chose red, black, and white for my colors. So far I've decided to have the bridesmaids wear black dresses and I'll get them each red jewelry and red shoes (that match). Boys will be in white shirts, black pants, black vests, and red ties/arm garters. I ordered these really cute 1928 jewelry sets for the bridesmaids:
Both will be red, but I forgot to save the picture of the one set before it went out of stock.
I went to a dress shop out of curiosity after setting up the reception center, and discovered (to my horror) that dresses take forever to order and alter. I really wanted sleeves, and since sleeved wedding dresses didn't seem to exist in any semblance of 'pretty', I was going to have to have it fixed. This led to a bit of store-hopping, and I was starting to give up. Then a random woman told us to go to a random store called Mary's Bridal. I told them what I wanted, and the first dress that they handed me was absolutely perfect. If that wasn't awesome enough, they gave it to me for half off. :D I also got this gorgeous hand-made tiara with little white flowers and crystals and such. I may get a picture of it if I can work up the motivation to fight with my camera.
It's not the exact dress, but it's close. Mine's ivory with beading across the bodice and a lace train. :)
