Collards, Black-Eyed Peas & Hog Jowl

New Years Day is fast approaching, and according to folklore, collards, black-eyed peas and hog jowl, when served together, promise a year of good luck and wealth. Sounds like a great way to start the new year. Speaking of, that means in less than 14 hours we will be arriving in 2010, and in just over 8 months we will be attending our wedding! 2010, here we come! (We are still so excited!)

Our Christmas holiday was lovely. We saw family and friends, had lots of good food, and had lots of good fun enjoying each others company, playing games, and lounging by the fire. We also had a white Christmas which we haven't had in a long time. We tried to build a snowman but the snow was so powdery that we really couldn't form anything or pack it down so we left him to lie on the ground. All in all, it really was a beautiful holiday weekend. We really couldn't have asked for more.

Polar Express

It's Christmas Eve. Less than 24 hours til Christmas, and the holiday is well underway. With a festive 'ugly christmas sweater' party under our belts, we are in full holiday-go for the countdown to Christmas. Ironically, we ran into Santa last night fulfilling some last minute gift wishes in Columbus, OH.

Fortunately enough, Brian and I will be spending the holidays together! He is flying in to Maryland on Christmas and I am very excited that he will be able to join in all the fun!

With that, we are ready! Full steam ahead! Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight! (Santa asked me to pass that along last night...)

Due Amici

In Italian, due amici means 'two friends'. In Brian & Erin talk, due amici means 'we've got a rehearsal dinner site'! Both meanings fit the title well because not only have we really found a great rehearsal dinner site - Due Amici (had you any idea that it would be called that?!), but Brian and I both are two wonderful friends to each other. So, with 228 days til the wedding (227 til the rehearsal dinner) and 5 days til Christmas (4 til I fly home), we are still making headway with our wedding planning!

What's even better, folks, is Due Amici and The Venue at Smith Brothers have some very similar characteristics which Brian and I have both been drawn to. The exposed brick, the lovely lighting, the elegant atmosphere, and without really even trying I think we're kind of stumbling upon a 'theme'...almost. (I suppose it could just be a common atmosphere...)

Nevertheless, we are excited to have one more item checked off of our list of things to do. Still on that list are the DJ, the florist, the bridesmaid dresses, the groom and groomsmen attire, oh, and the honeymoon, among other things. With 2010 right around the corner, I think we are doing quite well with our planning.

On another note, as 2009 is wrapping up, we have decided to expand the family with the addition of a new puppy!

He will be arriving on January 8th or 9th, and along with our preparation of a new puppy - gathering of toys, putting away shoes, reading about puppies, thinking of names, purchasing a bed, rearranging for a kennel - we have also been preparing Bun for his new puppy friend. We've yet to determine Bun's reaction to the situation, time will only tell, but it's sure going to take some transitioning to get used to this one.

All in all, we are extremely excited for our puppy to be here. Even though we still don't have a name picked out, and we will be house training and walking our new puppy in the middle of winter, we are just ecstatic about his arrival, and are looking forward to introducing him to Bun and all of our other family members.

(And hopefully, just hopefully, we will later be able to add a new dynamic duo to the due amici list: Bun & Puppy. Either that, or the title of our next blog post will be Due Nemici - two enemies.)

Holiday Spirit

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had a wonderful Columbus Thanksgiving this year. We celebrated with Brian’s Dad and family first, and then headed to his Mom’s a bit later. It was so nice to see everyone. We had some delicious food and were all around grateful for the day. We even got to see the first snow flurries of the year!

And speaking of holidays, we’ve decided to spend our Christmas holidays with our own families this year. We figured we’d deal with the swap thing next year when we actually have to! I’m looking forward to heading to Maryland and having a Christmas Eve sleepover. There’s no way to not be in the Christmas spirit then.

So, in lieu of us celebrating our holidays apart, we decided to put up our Christmas decorations so that we can fully enjoy them for the entire month of December. I’ll tell you what - it’s amazing how simple decorations can transform an everyday living space into the North Pole. Every time we turn on the Christmas lights I smile. It’s just so warm and cozy, and such a fun time of the year. Now, it really feels like Christmas!! Happy Holidays!

Three Little Words

Dress. Kleinfeld's. New York. (Technically four words.)

And not little at all. I found a dress! It's unbelievable and so surreal. I can't believe that I found one, but I am so happy with it!!!

Let me explain.

My best friend, Shanna, lives in New York. She suggested that I come up there to take a look at some wedding dresses as there is quite a selection. (Plus, it's been forever since we've seen each other.) So, I booked a flight and arranged an appointment at the infamous Kleinfeld's. (This store is featured on the TLC show called 'Say Yes to the Dress'.)

Then, Tamara (another best friend) decided to meet us up there and join in on the fun! (The three of us went to high school together and we are never short of fun when we are together.) AND, my Mom, my grandma, and my sister Amy all decided to meet us, too.

So, on Friday night Tamara took the train from Baltimore, MD to New York, and I flew in from Columbus, OH to New York. On Saturday, my Mom, Gram, and Amy all drove up from Columbia, MD to make the 11:00 am appointment at Kleinfeld's. Unfortunately, Shanna was feeling a bit under the weather so she needed to stay home and rest. (She was scheduled to perform later on Saturday - a special performance just for her guests in town!)

On Saturday morning, Tamara and I met up with my Mom, Gram, and Amy at the hotel that they were staying in, and then all took a cab to the bridal salon. When we arrived it didn't look like much, but when we walked in we knew we were in for a treat! The place was beautiful, and there were wedding gowns everywhere. It was bustling with excitement, and there were lights, and sparkles, and tulle, oh my!

My appointment was with a consultant named Judith. (That's the same as my Gram!) And she explained that she gets all the 'Erin's' because her granddaughters name is Erin. (Could be a sign?!) Nevertheless, we all went in to the dressing room, and after discussing what I was looking for - budget, ideas, etc, Judith returned with some options. I tried them on and liked them but didn't love them.

Off Judith went again in search of some more options. When she returned again she had a 'Goin' Fishin' ' gown (we named it) with lots of tulle that looked like netting. That one was not for me. Once again, she was off.

The third time she returned I was immediately drawn to a gown that she had. I loved it. And when I put it on I loved it even more. It's not what I originally thought I was looking for, but I love it, and am so happy with it. Everyone with me loved it, too, which made the decision that much easier, and since it was definitely in my budget...it was a no brainer. We bought the dress!

It's beautiful. It's lovely. It's comfortable. It's me. I can't wait to wear it on our wedding day, and I can't wait to see Brian's reaction as I walk down the aisle. It's going to be incredible.

The dress arrives in May in New York, at this point. Shanna was definitely disappointed to have missed the dress appointment earlier that Saturday, but put on the most incredible performance at her gig later in the afternoon. We all felt so special to be there and to be able to see her perform. She has such an amazing voice and her music invokes so much emotion. She did an awesome job!

The rest of Saturday was a bit surreal. I still couldn't believe that I had just purchased my wedding dress! And that I was in New York! After Shanna's gig we headed to a cool cafe called Cafe Orlin where we got a bottle of wine and just enjoyed each others company, chatted, and laughed. And, after so much talk of New York cupcakes, we then headed to Crumbs to satiate our palates. Crumbs takes cupcakes to a whole new level, as you will see in the photos.

On Sunday, Tamara had to leave early and Shanna still needed to rest up, so I met up with my Mom, Gram, and Amy at a place called High Line Park in Manhattan. It's an elevated park that follows the route of an old freight train line, and you can see incredible views of the city.

The entire trip to New York was a highlight. It was so nice to see my family and friends, it was awesome to see Shanna perform, and it is so exciting to have found a dress.

Those three, ah hem, four little words are actually quite big! AND, we have a dress!!!

Pursuit of Happiness

We've received our engagement photos! We are speechless. The images are incredible. They capture us; they show our love for life and each other; they make us smile; they are us in our entirety.

We spent the day at Lynd's with Kim & Eric, and aside from dealing with a weird bout of poison ivy (I am so allergic) we had an awesome time. I had no idea I was anywhere near any poison ivy. I know I'm allergic to it so I'm usually pretty conscious, but I guess I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't notice it. (I'll have to peruse the photos a bit closer to see if I can find any culprits.) It's been nearly 3 weeks since I first noticed it, and I am happy to say that I'm almost through with it.

Anyway, right, our images. Incredible. Breathtaking. Lovely. Our words won't do them justice, you'll just have to see for yourself!

Día de las brujas

This Halloween Brian and I dressed as Germans in lederhosen and dirndl complete with beer steins, aka 'boots', and braids. Bun was a bumblebee, and had he not have been so pissed that we dressed him up he would've fit in quite well with our attire. We met up with a few of our friends at Gresso's in German Village to support a March of Dimes charity event (Bun stayed home), and then headed downtown to a couple bars. It was freezing.

Fortunately, since Halloween is the absolute best time to people watch, we saw quite a few hilarious costumes. We saw Homer Simpson with the Burger King 'King' hanging out with a bird lady. We saw the entire cast of Family Guy, close to fourteen Michael Jacksons, a few pirates, and the tooth fairy just to name a few. The best part about the entire night was seeing all of these people interact. On any other day of the year you would never expect to see Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz dancing with Dr. Suess. Nevertheless, it kept us entertained.

We captured a few funny moments from the night. Check them out by clicking on the photo below.

Party Pics

Our engagement party pictures are here! Click on the picture below to view them all. Thank you to everyone who joined us. We had such a fantastic time!

Girls In White Dresses

On Saturday, Mary and I shopped...and shopped, and shopped for a wedding dress! I had three appointments made at three different stores in the area and we got to check out quite a few dresses. From strapless to cap sleeves, A-line to ball gown, chapel length train to cathedral, and then some. The funny thing was, one of the top two dresses I liked was not one that I originally would look at and say, 'yeah, I'd like to try that on,' but it definitely looks good on. In the end, no purchases were made, but we had a really nice time and got to see some beautiful dresses!

Upon my return, Brian was home!! (Hooray!) He asked if he could see some of the pictures. I said sure, and had these to show him:

I know that's not what he meant, but that's what he got! We're sticking with the old fashioned, traditional ways and keeping the dress a surprise!

Imaginary Friends

Brian has been in Las Vegas since early Tuesday morning for 'business'. (Is it possible to be in Vegas for business?!) :) Nevertheless, I'm sure he is making many great contacts at the trade show he is attending, and once again proving that he is an invaluable asset to the company that he works for.

While he has been gone Bun and I have been holding down the fort. It's been pretty quiet. We've cleaned, and cooked, and cleaned some more, and looked at some wedding things, and cleaned, and watched a bit of the tele, and read part of my book, and cleaned, and have kept ourselves pretty occupied. (I'm usually not one that can sit very still.) The other night I was sitting on the chair in our living room and I literally turned to look at the couch to tell Brian something. Not only was Brian not there, but I actually started talking without 100% realizing I was alone. Once I did realize, I just laughed to myself (outloud), and told Bun what just happened (outloud). He had no comment. It started with me talking to my imaginary fiancé, now I'm having full blown conversations with Bun. I've officially lost it. (Come to think of it, I may have lost it a while ago...)

Brian returns tomorrow, and will be showered with lots of love. I have high hopes that he'll be able to set me straight!

Lynd's Fruit Farm

Last weekend we had a blast! On Saturday we went to a wedding, which is that much more exciting for us since we are in the midst of planning ours, and on Sunday we had our engagement photos taken. It was so much fun!! Our photographers, Kim and Eric, met us at Lynd's Fruit Farm in Pataskala, OH on Sunday afternoon. We went faux apple picking, we really picked out a pumpkin, and found lots of cool places within the orchard to take our photos. We laughed and joked around and just had a great time! We are 185% confident that we made the right choice in deciding to go with Kim and Eric. (We've never doubted this, but it really makes it that much more exciting when the time comes down to work with them, and we couldn't have asked for anything better.) We are extremely excited about working with them on our wedding day, too, and having them both there to share such a special moment in both of our lives.

This weekend is also pretty eventful, though not nearly as eventful as last. On Saturday, Mary and I will be headed out to do a bit of dress shopping. Hopefully, we will have made a purchase, but at the very least, it will be fun to spend some time together and really see if my budget and expectations of a dress go hand in hand. It's time for me to justify. (Can anything in the bridal industry realistically be justified?)

While we are out shopping, Brian will be photographing the Ohio State vs. Minnesota game which I know he is excited for.

Every time we decide on something that we are 100% sure of it makes us that much more excited for our day. Everything really is falling into place.

A Big Hit

Our engagement party last weekend was a huge success! It went off without a hitch! Everyone got along, and really enjoyed each others company. It ended up that my family - my Mom, Scott, Amy, and James - drove in from MD, and got in around 1:00 am on Saturday morning. (This was still Friday night for us...) We stayed up for a bit and chatted before hitting the hay.

My Grandpa Jon, Grandma Judy, and Aunt Jennifer then flew into Columbus on Saturday morning, so I went and picked them up from the airport (it was so nice to see them), and we all went to an awesome deli in German Village called Katzinger's. Brian and I also took everyone to Goodale Park (where our ceremony will be held), and The Smith Bros. Venue (where our reception is) for the final approval. (Actually, there's not a whole lot we could've done if 'our places' weren't approved, but we were pretty confident that they would be so we decided to show them off!) We then headed to the engagement party, and by saying that it was awesome would be a complete understatement. It couldn't have been more perfect! Mary and Tom had an awesome spread with tons of great food, and the big screen was set up in the garage to display the winning prowess of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

On top of it all, there was a Hokie bird and a Buckeye that adorned the table with their mascot spirits! (Pics will be posted soon!! Brian and I didn't bring our cam along so as soon as we gather up the lot we will post them!) Being a Virginia Tech graduate, I am extremely proud to be a Hokie. (We're ranked number 4, by the way!) And for all of you who've been wondering, I'll be decked out in maroon and orange come 2014 when OSU plays Virginia Tech!

So, on behalf of Brian, myself, (and Bun), we would just like to extend a humongous thanks to Mary and Tom for hosting an engagement party for us, and another humongous thanks to all of our families and friends who were able to celebrate the day with us! We really had a blast with everyone, and are, once again, so thankful to have you all in our lives!

Believe

"I'd like to make myself believe

That planet Earth turns slowly..."

-Owl City 'Fireflies'

But it's already October!! And tomorrow, Brian's Mom and stepdad, Tom, are hosting an engagement party for us! We, once again, are so excited! This will be the first time our extended families will meet, and we are definitely looking forward to it. We know everyone will get along really well, and we truly will be one big, happy family. We've got quite a few people coming in from out of town, and more than anything are just so lucky to have so many loved ones here to celebrate with us. That is what's most important.

I do have to admit, while it's only been one month since I last saw my Mom, Scott, Amy, James, and my grandparents, I am really looking forward to seeing them. Sometimes it feels a bit lonely in Ohio with my family so far away, but knowing that Brian's family is here makes it that much better. Still, it will be so nice to see them.

On top of it all, the Ohio State Buckeyes play the Indiana University Hoosiers on Saturday night, and we've got quite the set up to make sure we are all able to watch the nuts versus the natives. (As we all know, or should know, a buckeye is a nut. If that's not intimidating, I don't know what is. And according to Wikipedia, a 'hoosier' is a resident of Indiana. That's ... creative, Indiana.)

Anyway, so we are all set for lots of laughing, drinking, and having ourselves a jolly good time on Saturday night. I'm sure we will have some good pictures to post when all is said and done!

Go Bucks!

Picture the Love

We have our photographer (well, photographers!), and we are nothing short of super excited to have the opportunity to work with them! Kim and Eric, our photographers, seem like awesome people and their work is simply incredible. They definitely have an eye for photography, and we look forward to Picture the Love capturing our special day.

So we figured since we knocked out our photographers, we should just knock out our videographers as well. (Not literally, of course!) We spoke to and viewed quite a few wedding videos and could not find anything we liked, until we came across Indy Productions. Indy Productions is based out of the Atlanta area, and are not your run of the mill videographers. Their work is breathtaking, and they really capture the emotions of the day. Check Indy Productions out, and tell Dustin we sent you!

To and Fro

We've decided on our transportation! Not only will we be rollin' in style but we will be rollin' in old school style! We've rented a trolley to shuttle us around Columbus for our some of our wedding pics and to potentially transport some of our guests to and fro from the hotel/ceremony/reception. (We still have to figure the deets out on that one.)

Here's our new, aka "rented for 4, maybe 5, hours on August 6, 2010", whip:

We've officially put a deposit down so it's 100% ours!!!

Forever

-Adverb: for everlasting time; eternally.

-How long it takes to get anywhere when you're a kid...

-A great song by Chris Brown.

-Another great song by Ben Harper.

-A key component in 'BFF'.

-How long it feels like until our wedding...

-How long I will love Brian.

Two Big Spurts

In reference to wedding planning, for all of you whose minds have already wandered into the gutters, they say that the planning comes in two big spurts: the booking at the very beginning and the coordinating toward the end. This is comforting seeing as the first few weeks of our engagement, and arrival home from Jamaica, have been quite busy. We've got the ceremony site booked, the venue booked, and are now looking into our other 'big ticket' items like photographer and/or videographer, chair/linen rentals, catering, etc. It still feels like we've quite a bit to do for this first 'spurt', but it's all still very exciting.

All in all, I'd say we are ahead of the game. Brian and I are both very organized people and have researched, and possibly inquired, about pretty much every aspect of the wedding so far...

THINGS WE'VE DONE:

-Spent countless hours researching the ins and outs of wedding planning.

-Made a binder with organized tabs of everything we need to keep track of.

-Made a guest list. (We still need to perfect this a bit...)

-Attended our first bridal show at the Aladdin Shrine Center. (Unfortunately, there weren't any magic carpets or genies that granted you three wishes which I was really kind of hoping for...)

-Made our 'Save the Dates'! (I can't wait to receive them and post one! - I told you we were ahead of the game!)

-Talked and have almost decided on colors and the 'look' of the wedding we want.

-Traveled to MD to look at wedding dresses...Ok, so we traveled back to MD to visit the family, but it just so happens that there is a store in Tyson's Corner (northern Virginia) that has some dresses that are definitely my style, so my Mom, my sister Amy, and I had our first wedding dress appointment and have found two very promising options. (More on this later...)

-Set an appointment with a potential photographer tomorrow night and are very excited to see what they've in store for us!

-AND, we have an engagement/OSU vs. Indiana party to attend on October 3rd - hosted by Brian's awesome Mom, and my future awesome MIL!

Sometimes I still need to pinch myself to be sure that this is really real.

August Rush

We officially have a date...for real! No double booking this time! Without a doubt, in one way or another, we will be married on Friday, August 6, 2010 at 7:00 pm! Not only are we still so excited, but we love the date even more than our June pick so it all worked out perfectly.

Not that I didn't believe it before, but I can honestly say that everything happens for a reason, and once again this proves it!

Sike

'Sike' is a slang term circa 1980's-ish that essentially substituted the 'not' at the end of a sentence. It means the immediately preceding statement [or blog post in our case] was false and told to mislead. Now, I have been accused multiple times of being an 80's baby after using the word 'sike' in my everyday language. I was born in the 80's, grew up in the 80's, and therefore am an 80's baby so that is a completely true statement. And, I'm cool with that.

Now, I'm not saying that I was trying to mislead you, but the reason I say 'sike' to our last post is a different story. It turns out that the venue double booked June 4, 2010, and we are now in the midst of figuring that out. I am confident that everything happens for a reason, and if need be, there is a much better day (of the 364 left in 2010) that will be better for us to be married. So, in reference to: "And not only because it really is Friday, but also because we've set a date!! Friday, June 4, 2010," I would have to say 'sike'. (At least for now.) And in reference to the venue and Goodale Park, I would have to say I hope I'm not 'sike'-ing you out on that one, but only time will tell...

...Until then, here are some other defining traits that make me an 80's baby:

-I wore a ponytail on the side of my head. (And I was proud of it.)

-I got excited for Oregon Trail day in computer class at school. (Was it ever possible to survive in that game?)

-I played M.A.S.H. (I just played this about two weeks ago too.)

-I owned a pair of jelly-shoes. (Yep, proud of that one too!)

-I got up early on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons. (Ahh, those were the days!)

I would just like to give a quick shout out to all my '80's babies' friends that are out there too! If it weren't for us, cool would be non-existent...SIKE!

T.G.I.F.

And not only because it really is Friday, but also because we've set a date!! Friday, June 4, 2010! And we are super excited!

Everything really just seemed to fall into place. I guess 'they' are right! We found an awesome venue that we absolutely love called The Venue. (Fitting, wouldn't you say?!) It's actually The Venue at Smith Bros., but the pics online don't do it justice. It has so much character and is the perfect amount of space for what we want. We didn't particularly care for the ceremony area so we started searching nearby parks and low and behold found a great site at Goodale Park! (One of my favs in Cbus.) The best part about it is both the venue and the ceremony site are centrally located to downtown Columbus where our hotel block will be. Everything is only a 1/2 mile from one another so all of our out-of-towners (and in-towners) will have it easy, and hopefully be able to enjoy their Columbus, Ohio/B & E tying the knot experience!

We literally cannot wait! We're going to be married!!! It's officially becoming official!

Surprises

I love surprises. They are so much fun, and...surprising, and therefore unexpected which makes them that much more delightful. I love surprises so much that I even asked both of the people that helped us get started on our registry if there was anyway that we could not see the list of items that people have purchased. (Brian probably would not have liked this but I think he went along with it since he knew it was...impossible.) Unfortunately, this was not an option, and I pretty much got laughed at by both attendants so I will have to reduce to the self-control method and just not look. I can do that. (I did, however, stump both of them because they said that was the first time they've ever heard that question. Hopefully, it won't be the last.)

But you see, this is my dilemma (and this is where you'll see my point of this post): in writing a wedding-ish blog I've wanted to keep my fam and friends in the loop of what's been happenin'. I also want our wedding to be a "surprise" as in everyone doesn't know everything about it. I'm still balancing out that happy medium of what I want to say and what I need to hold off on until we know for sure. Some things are easy like the date, the venue, etc., as these things will be on the invitations. Others are more difficult and I want people to come and enjoy and not come and be like, 'yep, this is exactly what Erin described. Whoop-dee-do.'

I know that in the end there is no way for me to dish out all the deets and have everyone picture exactly what it will be like, but for now I will keep my mouth semi-sealed until we can let the cat (or the Bun) out of the bag.

Here's a little precursor: it's gonna be so much fun!!!

What Bun has to say...

Since Bun is such a huge part of our lives, and an essential ingredient in this blog, we thought it would only be fair to include his point of view of the entire engagement/wedding planning situation too...

...We've pretty much gotten the stink eye from Bun since we got back from Jamaica and told him we got engaged. We're not quite sure if that was because we left him cooped up in his cage while we were out enjoying paradise and it's his way of 'paying us back' or if he truly is not happy about our engagement. (I'm thinking it's our payback.)

Fortunately, throughout the last couple of nights, Bun has really come around. He actually wants to be around us. He lets us sit next to him, but no closer than about 4 feet for that would be invading his personal space, he lets us pet him, and has had quite a time 'exploring'. (You think cats are curious? Get a Bun.) He's actually interested in what we are doing and doesn't come out of his cage to sit in his spot and literally watch our every movement without moving any other inch of his little body.

We've explained that we will be married next year and that no matter what he thinks he will still be smothered in hugs and kisses and tons of love from me...and Brian. (He's not too fond of this as it is so we may have just put ourselves back on his bad side...)

Nevertheless, he is our Bun, and a great Bun at that, and if he hasn't come around about our engagement, I know he will. (And if it is just pay back, I hope we're almost through...) Thanks for keeping us on our toes, Bunny. We love you.

Nothing Tips Like A Cow...

...at least in Ohio.

So, we've been searching high and low for venues in Maryland. Both of us have been a bit disappointed in the options that fit within our budget and the lack of images or photos that we have been able to find for these options. (It's like a modern day Goldilocks & The Endless Search for a Venue in Maryland Story - this one is too big, this one is too small, this one is too far, etc.) Since we live in Ohio, it's not the easiest thing to just make an appointment and go check the place out. And then it dawned on us the other day, why aren't we looking in Ohio again? And neither of us really had a good reason...

So, we have extended our "venue" range to include OH, and have been pleasantly surprised with the smorgasbord of venues that we have already found that we a.) like b.) are in our price range, and c.) can go check out without having to book a flight...or drive 7 hours. We are actually very excited about the possibilities and being able to see them first hand makes all the difference in the world. It also makes it really feel real - we are planning a wedding!

Uncertain

I don't know where we will end up having our wedding. I don't know what colors we will decide on. I don't know what flowers we will use, what our centerpieces will look like, or where we will go on our honeymoon. I don't even know what season we will be married in. (Rest assured that I'm not too worried about all of these things as I know they will 'fall into place'...or so they say.)

What I do know is that if we (and all our family and friends) lived in Germany, and our budget was limitless, we would have our wedding and reception here at Schloss Solitude, or Solitude Palace for all us non-German speakers. This place is incredible, in any season, with any colors, with any flowers, and with any centerpieces. The architecture is stunning and it encompasses everything that I would want in a wedding venue: beauty, simplicity, elegance, a natural landscape, an incredible view, and a million options for nearly perfect wedding photos. It's wunderbar! a) That 'w' in wunderbar is pronounced as a 'v', and b) that means wonderful, marvelous, terrific, etc. in German.

I am proud to at least be sure of one thing.

A Perfect Night

Last night, Brian and I headed out of the city and into the corn fields of Ohio to view the Perseid Meteor shower. It's been a long time since I've seen the stars and I forgot how incredibly romantic they are. Gazing up into the night sky invokes such a feeling of peace and calm and simplicity into life. And when you are gazing up during a meteor shower, you get nothing short of an incredible show. The air was cool, the crickets and bugs were singing their night songs, and other than the occasional passerby, the world was quiet. We saw at least 10 shooting stars between us, and had it not been slightly chilly, we (or at least, I) could've stayed out there all night.

I hope it will be clear enough to see the stars on our wedding night.

Times Square

Before we got engaged, I would come home from work, we would talk about what we wanted to do for dinner and how our respective days went, and maybe go for a walk or a bike ride or run an errand. Nowadays, it feels like there is a constant hustle and bustle going on at our place. It's like the Columbus, OH version of New York City's Times Square - right in our living room, and we've only just begun!

There's so much to talk about, so much to think about, so much to look up online, and I love it! While it can get overwhelming at times, we just have to remind ourselves that everything will work out. There are so many options and so many approaches and every single one of them is different. What I love most is knowing that the way Brian and I decide to do our wedding will be a representation of ourselves for all of our guests! It will be a celebration of us and everyone else out there that mean so much to us. We are constantly saying to each other, 'I am so excited!'

So far we've stuck with the basics: putting a budget together, which adds up faster than a 5th grade math class I might add (no pun intended), researching different venues, looking into dates, brainstorming about colors, and the like. We're mainly looking into Maryland venues, but haven't completely sealed the deal on anything. (See Marry Me on how we seal the deal.) We've got a trip planned at the end of the month and a few appointments made to see some of these locations first hand so we hope to have something decided on soon.

Until then, could you just keep 2010 open on your calenders?!

Family-In-Law

I am fortunate enough to say that I am super excited about the family-in-law that I will soon be a part of. I couldn't imagine an easier or nicer family to get along with and I am really looking forward to all of the family functions that we will be able to participate in.

In the last week, I have heard the words 'in-law' in reference to me more than I ever have in my entire life. I've heard daughter-in-law, son-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, etc. and it really got me thinking: is there any way to shorten those phrases? Not that it takes too terribly long to say them, but seriously - four syllables for essentially 'one' word? That's a bit much.

Therefore, I've come up with an easy and effective way of differentiating between all of these common phrases and people that are now a huge part of our lives: abbreviation. (See below.)

Mother-in-Law = MIL (How easy is that?)
Father-in-Law = FIL (This is actually a name so it works well; can also double up as the abbrv. for Family-in-Law.)
Brother-in-Law = BIL (Again, a great name! This is going to be quite fun!)
Sister-in-Law = SIL (We'll all become part of a Dr. Suess family!)
Grandmother/Grandfather-in-Law = MA / PA GIL (Our children are going to be very confused.)

Because Brian and I both come from divorced families, we also have step-parents and step-family involved in our lives. Much to my amusement, this is where it gets really fun!

Step-Father-in-Law = SFIL (Tom and Scott are going to love this one.)
Step-Mother-in-Law = SMIL (Is that past tense of smell?)
Step-Brother-in-Law = SBIL (Wow, we are really stretching this one.)
Step-Sister-in-Law = SSIL (Be sure to put a bit of emphasis on the double 's'.)

And so on. I think you get it by now.

A quick note to my future FIL: my hopes are that you all enjoy being part of my fam as much as I already enjoy being a part of yours...(and that you don't mind your abbreviated names!)

Love,
Your future DIL

He said...

As many of you know there are two sides every story, and it was only fair of me to post his version. Especially since there were a few more details he was able to include that I was unaware of.

"Let me start off by saying that I am a very lucky guy, to say the least. When you least expect it, the best things come into your life, and I may add that it has been quite an adventure since I met the infamous 'E'!

It all started with E and I wanting to plan a vacation. Fortunately, we were able to book a nice, relaxing beach vacation at Couples Swept Away in Negril, Jamaica from July 25 to July 30, 2009. Although we had talked in detail about getting married, kids, family, our future, I tried not to indicate that I had any plans to "pop the question" in Jamaica. If anything, I downplayed it to her, my friends, and family. I wanted to keep the element of surprise, but not have such a surprise that I wasn't sure what her answer would be."

(I won't be a commentator for this entire entry, but I would like to add that by Brian saying he "downplayed it" is a complete understatement. Leading me and everyone else on wild goose chases about the entire situation is getting closer to the truth, and that still is a bit of an understatement! Nevertheless, he did a great job at keeping the proposal a surprise, which I know is not easy for him!)

"We had looked at rings quite a bit and I had begun the process of looking into a custom ring with everything that she wanted in a ring. I also had begun to speak to different jewelers and look at different diamonds. (By the way, if anyone needs a lesson on the '5 C's', I'm your man!) After finding the perfect diamond, I was able to get it custom mounted in the setting that she wanted. It was beautiful. I was quite impressed myself! It was then time to get approval and permission from both Paul (Erin's Father) and Scott (Erin's Step-Father). This was definitely not going to be the easiest task, logistically. Paul lives in Germany and Scott lives in Maryland...I live in Columbus, OH.

I had decided to make a phone call to Paul to speak to him and ask him if I could send a video to him and have him call me once he watched it. First off, I have never made a video of myself, let alone a video asking someones Father for their hand in marriage, so my nerves were a little on edge. I wanted the video to be more personal than just a phone call and I didn't want it to be scripted. I set the camera up on a shoebox on my desk and just went for it on one take. (I realized I say "um" when I am nervous!) Luckily, after all of this, I spoke to Paul and he gave me permission to take his daughter's hand in marriage.

The next step was to speak with Scott in Maryland. I arranged a breakfast meeting in Baltimore at BWI Airport. Fortunately, I had a business trip planned to Chicago for work and since I was trying to figure out a way to get to Baltimore without Erin knowing, I flew out of Columbus at 6 am to re-route through Baltimore."

(This was slick, I have to admit. I had no idea! He told me he had an early meeting in Chi-Town and had to change his flight. Sneaky. Maybe I will commentate throughout the entire blog...)

"I was able to meet Scott as I walked through security. We walked down to Starbucks to grab a coffee and went to an area where we could sit and talk. At that time, he 'gave me the floor' and I spoke to him about Erin, our relationship, our future, and everything in between, then I asked for his permission to take Erin's hand in marriage. After about a 5 minute pause (just kidding), he approved, and was also very excited for us!

Now started the planning of the proposal during our trip to Jamaica. If anyone knows me, they know I am not that good at keeping secrets because I get too excited about things. So, to keep this bottled up from E, and everyone else, was not an easy thing to do. I had so many ideas going through my head: how to propose, where to propose, what would I say, etc. I can honestly say that everything went out the window on July 25, 2009 - the day we arrived in Jamaica. Normally, I am well prepared for any situation. I can generally stay calm, cool, and collected. Not this day, I was a total mess!"

(Agreed. Definitely agreed.)

"My emotions, excitement, and anticipation were flowing rapidly. I had arranged for a private dinner on the beach that night but really wanted to propose before our dinner so that we were able to enjoy it and talk about everything. So, we left Cbus on our journey on our first leg to Miami, FL. We had an hour or so delay before we took off for Montego Bay, Jamaica. When you are carrying around an engagement ring in your backpack, it is a bit nerve racking. My backpack was glued to me."

(This is actually pretty funny because the night before we left we were packing. We were deciding if we should take one carry-on or two. Brian pushed us taking two, I said we only needed one. We ended up going with two and I later found out that he didn't want me riffling through to find my book, get my Ipod, grab a pen, etc. It was quite funny, actually, once I realized why we had taken two bags. On the way back we only had one carry-on!)

"On our flight to Montego Bay, we had emergency row seats, so we had plenty of room to enjoy our flight and not have to worry about the people in front of us sitting in our laps. But, we noticed there was an NBA basketball player that was about 6' 11" and his wife that was at least 6' 5" scrunched up (literally) next to us in the row behind the exit row. We offered to switch seats which they were thankful for.

We finally arrive in Montego Bay! We were so excited to actually be on Jamaican soil even though we still had an hour or so bus ride to our resort in Negril. We passed through small villages and towns and the roads were pretty much dirt or sometimes only one lane highways. The scenery was incredible, and the driving was insane!

Upon our arrival at the resort, the resort staff took our luggage and arranged for it to be brought to our room. They provided us with a glass of champagne and cold towels as we checked in. (If this was any indication as to how the rest of our vacation was going to be, we were going to be in heaven!) The staff walked us to our beach villa - 3308. We literally walk in our room and head straight to the beach. It was late afternoon and the sun sets around 6:30 pm and I wanted to be sure I had the chance to propose before our planned dinner that night at 7:30 pm.

We walked the amazing beach talking about everything and how excited we were to finally be there in Jamaica. We actually stopped a few times during our walk and just took in the scenery and enjoyed each other's company. If any of you know Erin, she is quite a prankster. So, when we were standing there talking, she started splashing water and tried to trip me so I would fall in."

(Whoa, whoa, whoa. I would just like to state for the record that while I may have frolicked a bit in the water and may have splashed around a bit, I certainly did not try to trip Brian so that he would fall in. I may have just tried to pull him in a little bit further than where he was - on the dry sand.)

"The sky was a little overcast but the sun was just setting and peeking through. I began to tell Erin how much I loved and cared for her. I was definitely anxious, and nervous. I had never done anything like this and my emotions were definitely coming out. After talking about my love for her and telling her that I had received permission from her Dad and step-dad, Erin found me down on one knee, proposing in Negril, Jamaica, on the seven-mile beach, at sunset.

Fortunately, she said yes! We kissed and hugged and were both filled with a lot of emotions. We walked over to a hammock and just talked about everything. The tears were flowing on both ends. (But if we could keep this one between you and me that would be great.) At this time, I told her I arranged for a private dinner on the beach. It was for the two of us about 10 feet from the ocean. We had our own private server and they had tea lights leading us to the table, and four tiki lights surrounding us. It was absolutely amazing. I am, without a doubt, looking forward to spending the rest of my life with her."

(I love it, Brian.)

Marry Me?

Every girl dreams of her wedding. Every girl dreams of her engagement. Every girl dreams of her future husband, and kids, and life, but until we meet that one person that we know deep down inside is the one for us we can't see any of our dreams clearly. I can see as clear as day right now.

Brian and I met in March of 2008, and it wasn't long after that that we both knew we were right for each other. I still feel so fortunate and lucky to have met the man of my dreams and to have fallen head over heels for him gives life a new light. Everything is more beautiful when we are by each others side.

So, when we planned a lovely vacation to Jamaica a few months ago a proposal crossed my mind, but I had convinced myself before we left that it wasn't going to happen there. (I knew it would happen, but I just figured it'd be...later.) We flew from Columbus, OH to Miami, FL, and then from Miami, FL to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Once we arrived in Montego Bay, we had an hour and 15 minute car ride to our resort - Couples Swept Away - in Negril. We were delayed a bit because of Florida's notorious thunderstorms on the way to Jamaica, but we made it safe and sound, and SO excited!!

We had just gotten to our room, and since we were just so thrilled to be in Jamaica we couldn't wait to hit the beach! We didn't even unpack or change into our bathing suits! As soon as our bags were dropped off we decided to take a walk on the beach. And off we went...
We walked to the end of the resort property and found we had to sign out to continue walking. We decided to save that adventure for another day! So we turned around and walked the other way towards the other end of the resort which was right on 7-mile beach, by the way! Paradise, I tell ya!

Before too long, we stopped and were just watching the sunset and the waves and taking it all in. I noticed Brian was acting weird, and it was making me nervous! I didn't know what was going on! I almost asked him what was up, but I just couldn't get it out. He kissed me, and for a moment I was settled, and then my mind started racing again: 'he's not going to do it now. No way. Yeah, not now. We just need to relax...Ohmygod, he's doing it now...right now. Ohmygod...' And after he told me how much he loved me and cared for me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, I found him down on one knee with the most beautiful ring in his hand asking me if I would marry him. I said, 'Of course! Of course I will!' And as he slipped the ring on my finger, both of us shaking, we kissed and hugged (that's how we seal the deal around these here parts) and smiled and kissed and hugged again!

Afterwards, we laid in a hammock and shared some tears of joy talking about our love, our future, our life, each other and everything leading up to this moment. (These tears of joy, which are pretty common these days, are forming again as I write this and reminisce...) I found out that Brian had sent a video to my Dad in Germany introducing himself and asking his permission for my hand in marriage. And further, had flown into Baltimore, MD (on a very early flight before he flew to Chicago, IL for a business trip) to meet with Scott, my stepdad, to ask his permission as well. (Thankfully, both said yes!) I was speechless and fell even more in love with him.

I found out that he had booked a private dinner on the beach for us as well that night. It was incredible. There were small tea light candles lining a path in the sand which led to a white linen table and chairs surrounded by five or so tiki torches about ten feet from where the waves were breaking. We had a private server that really took care of us, and as we sat at dinner we again got teary eyed talking about everything and thoroughly enjoying each others company. I was still in shock at this point, and when I look down at my ring now, typing away, I get the same sort of butterflies that I had on our first date.

It was beautiful. So beautiful, and perfect. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.