Last Saturday Dave and I got to go to Target and Bed Bath and Beyond to register. We found that it was more challenging than either of us expected. There were several moments of frustration, but many moments of excitement. Here is a video that chronicles some of the fun we had.
We're engaged!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Yes to the dress
Well folks, after a 6 month search, I finally chose my dress! Phew, what a relief! I have been to nearly every bridal salon in the area and have tried on entirely too many dresses. It was getting to be too much. I actually tried on this particular dress a month or two ago and really liked it, but I wanted to bring my mom with me to see it. I convinced her to ditch work last week and I made an appointment to try it on again. I really loved it, but it was still hard to make the commitment and say that it was "the one." I can't really tell you anything about it because you know who might read it, so you'll just have to wait 'til February to see it in all it's glory. I had tons of fun trying on dresses although some bridal salon experiences were better than others. I am so thankful to my wonderful friend Karen who endured the countless trips to places near, far, classy, and sketchy to finally find "the dress." It was such a grand adventure. Here are some pictures of us at The Dresser where I bought my dress.
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| Filling out the paperwork |
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| My mother was very particular about the details |
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| Here we are. (That girl wasn't the greatest at taking pictures) |
Sunday, August 28, 2011
We're engaged, take our picture
Dave's dad was here.
We like Scrabble.
Save the date.
Whoops.
Typical jumping picture.
Dave's cute.
Inside of here.
No door.
Anyone still reading this?
Sorry folks, this wedding is still happening, we just haven't had many exciting updates to speak of. Now we finally have some exciting things to share. We booked a DJ! I think he's going to be really great. He is highly recommended by our photographer who works with him often. He has a lot of great experience and he was even one of the original members of the band No Doubt. Here's his website if you'd like to check him out: http://5starmobiledj.com/
We are now at the 6 month mark, so we are getting cracking on some of the other details. I met with someone who does invitations so we are beginning to think over different invitation styles as well as themes for the wedding. We are going to be sending out some save the date post cards too. A lot of people have been asking about when the wedding is, so we thought we better send something out as a reminder. We went to the park the other day and my brother took some pictures for us to use. I'll post a couple on here for you to see. We are going to be taking some more engagement pictures with our photographer soon too (once my beautiful braces are removed).
I am still on the hunt for a dress, but I am hoping to make a decision in the next couple of weeks. I will have some time this upcoming week to continue my hunt. There are many many more details to decide on and lots of work to do. This is an exciting process and I can't believe how fast time is going. I'll hopefully be posting more regularly since we have a lot of exciting things coming up very soon.
We are now at the 6 month mark, so we are getting cracking on some of the other details. I met with someone who does invitations so we are beginning to think over different invitation styles as well as themes for the wedding. We are going to be sending out some save the date post cards too. A lot of people have been asking about when the wedding is, so we thought we better send something out as a reminder. We went to the park the other day and my brother took some pictures for us to use. I'll post a couple on here for you to see. We are going to be taking some more engagement pictures with our photographer soon too (once my beautiful braces are removed).
I am still on the hunt for a dress, but I am hoping to make a decision in the next couple of weeks. I will have some time this upcoming week to continue my hunt. There are many many more details to decide on and lots of work to do. This is an exciting process and I can't believe how fast time is going. I'll hopefully be posting more regularly since we have a lot of exciting things coming up very soon.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Good Tasting Food
Well folks, we had a delightful time at the food tasting! The food was absolutely scrumptious. Here are some photos to prove it...
Saturday, May 14, 2011
FOOD!!
Hello people who read this, it's Dave. I just wanted to let you know that I am really excited about this coming Tuesday, May 17. Natalie and I will be food tasting at Jay's Catering! I am so excited and planning on getting fat. Then I will need to start shedding for the wedding. That is all.
-Dave
-Dave
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Nothing new to report
Sorry that this blog has been so boring. We haven't really done much lately. I had a grand time trying on dresses when Dave's mom was in town. I still haven't said "yes" to a dress yet. The search also continues for a DJ. We are hoping to do some food tasting in the next couple of weeks. That will be great fun. I'll keep you updated. Thank you for checking in with us (Hi Tracy!!!).
Friday, April 15, 2011
Dress Shopping Round 1
My maid of honor, Kristen, was visiting from Utah last week so I thought that it was a perfect opportunity to go look at some dresses. Kristen tried on a couple of bridesmaid dresses at the first place we went to. Next we went to David's Bridal where I tried on a few wedding dresses. There were some that I thought I would love, but when I tried them on I wasn't wild about them. There was one that was sort of just a wild card choice that I ended up really liking it. The lady helping us was kind of weird and she tried to make me buy the dress, but other than that it was really fun. I want to keep looking though because there are so many more fish in the sea. I really want my mom to come along next time as well. Also, Dave's mom is going to be in town next week so we are trying to find a time when we can all go shopping together. It will be so special for her to be there too. I will let you all know how it goes.
Time is ticking.
There are only 310 days left until the big day! The most recent news is that we booked our photographer. She is in the top 10 photographers in California. Pretty impressive, huh? Here is her website if you want to check her out: http://www.deedeedallas.com/index2.php#/home/. Our friends Karen and Adam are the stars of her homepage.
We are now in the process of looking for a DJ. We met with one last Sunday. We are still thinking him over and may still keep looking. After a DJ, I think we should be pretty set for a while. We don't have to worry about a cake since ours is included with our catering package. We are also going to have two of my friends, Carly and Vanessa, do our flowers. Here is their website: http://candvflowers.webs.com/ They did an excellent job on my friend Sally's wedding flowers.
As for colors we are leaning towards blues.
That's all we really know for now.
Oh, and p.s., I started a wedding website, but I'm still working on it.
Check it out:
http://www.mywedding.com/navewedding/
We are now in the process of looking for a DJ. We met with one last Sunday. We are still thinking him over and may still keep looking. After a DJ, I think we should be pretty set for a while. We don't have to worry about a cake since ours is included with our catering package. We are also going to have two of my friends, Carly and Vanessa, do our flowers. Here is their website: http://candvflowers.webs.com/ They did an excellent job on my friend Sally's wedding flowers.
As for colors we are leaning towards blues.
That's all we really know for now.
Oh, and p.s., I started a wedding website, but I'm still working on it.
Check it out:
http://www.mywedding.com/navewedding/
Monday, March 21, 2011
DRUM ROLL PLEASE....
It's official! We are getting married on February 19th, 2012 at the Ebell Club in Long Beach!!! Dave just called to book the place!!!!!!
The search continues
Last Thursday and Friday Dave and I had a chance to go look at some more venues. Let me tell you about them...
The first one we went to was the Orange Hill restaurant in Orange. As you probably gathered from its name, it is a restaurant in Orange up on a hill. The restaurant is really pretty and the banquet room has huge windows that show off a killer view of the city below. They also have a place where you can hold a ceremony outside, but it seems like it would be rather tight on space with the number of people we are expecting. Another problem is that I am terrified of heights and it made me ill just driving up the steep narrow road to the restaurant.
After Orange Hill, we traveled to Fullerton, not to far from my school, where there is another lovely restaurant up on a hill. The Summit House is an English style restaurant with a park right next to it where ceremonies can be held. I absolutely love the red door on the front of this place. Here are some photos.
On Friday we started out our day at the Reef in Long Beach. This place is a restaurant with an awesome view of Long Beach from across the water. We really like Long Beach for a wedding location; we've had some good times in Long Beach. The restaurant gives you lots of options as far as banquet rooms and ceremony locations. It was really pretty and was in our price range, but I have to admit that it didn't sweep me off my feet. One issue was that the ceremony locations were outdoors. I have a problem with getting cold easily and having an outdoor ceremony in February is kind of risky with the weather. Here are a few pictures of the ceremony locations.
After the Reef we moved on to the Ebell Club. This venue is a historic building in Long Beach only a few blocks from the beach and from Dave's old apartment. I actually had been there before for my cousin's wedding and loved it. The lady, Liz, we talked to was very professional and she had even been married there herself. Talking to her we learned that she had very high standards for the events that take place there. The venue works exclusively with the top caterer in Orange County. We really liked Liz, the history of the building and think that the building itself is beautiful. One aspect that I really love is the bride's room. That was pretty high up there on my priority list when looking at venues. We had an overall great feeling about the place. I didn't take a ton of pictures of the place, but here is one that shows the backdrop for the ceremony.
The last place that we went to honestly isn't even worth mentioning. The lady who we spoke to just wasn't as great as Liz, she was weird and disheveled. The place just wasn't for us. So those are all the venues we've visited. Last night we sat down and spread out all of our brochures, looked at our pros and cons of each place and crunched some numbers. Our final decision is forthcoming.
The first one we went to was the Orange Hill restaurant in Orange. As you probably gathered from its name, it is a restaurant in Orange up on a hill. The restaurant is really pretty and the banquet room has huge windows that show off a killer view of the city below. They also have a place where you can hold a ceremony outside, but it seems like it would be rather tight on space with the number of people we are expecting. Another problem is that I am terrified of heights and it made me ill just driving up the steep narrow road to the restaurant.
After Orange Hill, we traveled to Fullerton, not to far from my school, where there is another lovely restaurant up on a hill. The Summit House is an English style restaurant with a park right next to it where ceremonies can be held. I absolutely love the red door on the front of this place. Here are some photos.
On Friday we started out our day at the Reef in Long Beach. This place is a restaurant with an awesome view of Long Beach from across the water. We really like Long Beach for a wedding location; we've had some good times in Long Beach. The restaurant gives you lots of options as far as banquet rooms and ceremony locations. It was really pretty and was in our price range, but I have to admit that it didn't sweep me off my feet. One issue was that the ceremony locations were outdoors. I have a problem with getting cold easily and having an outdoor ceremony in February is kind of risky with the weather. Here are a few pictures of the ceremony locations.
Flower Hunt
So the other day my MUM and I ROSE early in the morning and went down to the flower district in LA. We wanted to see what kind of flowers were in season this time of year. There were so many flowers there it was RANUNCULUS! Oh boy, I crack myself up. Anyways, here is a picture of a flower I like. These guys are called anemones.
Friday, March 11, 2011
My Side of The Story
Hey folks! This is Dave, I'm part of this whole thing too. Natalie has done a great job documenting the first few weeks of our engagement and she told the engagement story quite well. I'll fill you in on a few details...sorry this might be long.
First of all, I've known since the summer of 2007, just after our time in London, that Natalie was the girl I was going to marry, it was just a matter of time. By the way, it took me about 6 more months after this to convince her it was a good idea to be an "official" couple. So, needless to say I had been thinking about asking Nat to marry me for quite some time. This past fall is when plans really started heating up. I secretly began having conversations with our friends Karen and Adam about my plan and where to get a ring. They both strongly suggested I visit Jewel's By Justin, the same place Adam got Karen's engagement ring. So, one day this past October I drove the 30 minutes to Yorba Linda to meet with Justin the jeweler. However, I did not realize that Justin had recently moved his store to a new location and all I found was a closed shop. I drove home dejected and made sure to verify the address for my next visit. On the second attempt however, I did not call first to make an appointment and the store was closed for the day! I was devastated, but I took it as a sign from God that maybe the time wasn't quite right. I was definitely disappointed though because I had wanted to have the ring by the time I went home to MN for Christmas so that I could propose to Natalie while we were there. I talked again with Karen and Adam about my dilemma and realized that a better time to propose would be on Natalie's and my 3 year anniversary on February 15th. So I waited a number of weeks and kept praying for guidance and to be right with God's timing. As December rolled around, I made plans to try again to meet with Justin. I called and set up a meeting on December 16th in the afternoon. Another setback. Justin was stuck in traffic and was unable to meet with me...ahhhhh! I started doubting whether it was really the right time to get engaged or not. Justin and I set up another appointment for the next day, December 17, the day before I was leaving for MN. After meeting with Justin that day all of my fears, and discouragement were gone. Justin is one of the neatest most down to earth people I've ever met and he is an amazing artist and jewelry designer. Coincidentally, he also went on the same study abroad trip that Natalie and I met on, only a few years earlier than us. We talked for more than an hour about Natalie's and my relationship, why I wanted to marry her and what I wanted the ring to look like. Justin makes a point to really get to know his clients and their stories so that each piece of jewelry he creates is unique and special for each occasion. I left Justin's studio and the next day I left California with plans to have an engagement ring by February! Crazy!!
When I got back to CA after the holidays, I met up with Justin to make some decisions on ring details, like the type of metal to use, details about the diamond and so on. One unique detail about the ring was that the band was going to be engraved. Don't worry, Natalie had shown me rings she liked. At our first meeting back in December, Justin had me talk out a design for the engraving. I settled on a wave design and as I was talking and explaining my thoughts about waves and their significance in Natalie's and my relationship, Justin was sketching out a design. As I finished explaining myself I took a look at what he had drawn and immediately knew that it was perfect! So, it was now the second week of January and the ring creation process was in full swing. The next six weeks ended up being nerve wracking but also very exciting as I really didn't know what the ring would end up looking like and even Justin admitted that he'd never really made a ring like this before. February 12 rolled around and the ring was finished, so I went to pick it up. As the ring was unwrapped from some tissue paper, I saw immediately that it was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined! It was absolutely perfect! I was so excited, I just wanted to give it to Natalie right away and not wait for the next 3 days to pass. Justin and his team did an incredible job on the ring and my experience with them was better than I could have asked for. I'll stop there for now as I'm sure you're tired from reading my rants, maybe you didn't even make it this far and quit reading some time ago, anywho, thanks for taking the time if you did. Keep checking back!!
First of all, I've known since the summer of 2007, just after our time in London, that Natalie was the girl I was going to marry, it was just a matter of time. By the way, it took me about 6 more months after this to convince her it was a good idea to be an "official" couple. So, needless to say I had been thinking about asking Nat to marry me for quite some time. This past fall is when plans really started heating up. I secretly began having conversations with our friends Karen and Adam about my plan and where to get a ring. They both strongly suggested I visit Jewel's By Justin, the same place Adam got Karen's engagement ring. So, one day this past October I drove the 30 minutes to Yorba Linda to meet with Justin the jeweler. However, I did not realize that Justin had recently moved his store to a new location and all I found was a closed shop. I drove home dejected and made sure to verify the address for my next visit. On the second attempt however, I did not call first to make an appointment and the store was closed for the day! I was devastated, but I took it as a sign from God that maybe the time wasn't quite right. I was definitely disappointed though because I had wanted to have the ring by the time I went home to MN for Christmas so that I could propose to Natalie while we were there. I talked again with Karen and Adam about my dilemma and realized that a better time to propose would be on Natalie's and my 3 year anniversary on February 15th. So I waited a number of weeks and kept praying for guidance and to be right with God's timing. As December rolled around, I made plans to try again to meet with Justin. I called and set up a meeting on December 16th in the afternoon. Another setback. Justin was stuck in traffic and was unable to meet with me...ahhhhh! I started doubting whether it was really the right time to get engaged or not. Justin and I set up another appointment for the next day, December 17, the day before I was leaving for MN. After meeting with Justin that day all of my fears, and discouragement were gone. Justin is one of the neatest most down to earth people I've ever met and he is an amazing artist and jewelry designer. Coincidentally, he also went on the same study abroad trip that Natalie and I met on, only a few years earlier than us. We talked for more than an hour about Natalie's and my relationship, why I wanted to marry her and what I wanted the ring to look like. Justin makes a point to really get to know his clients and their stories so that each piece of jewelry he creates is unique and special for each occasion. I left Justin's studio and the next day I left California with plans to have an engagement ring by February! Crazy!!
When I got back to CA after the holidays, I met up with Justin to make some decisions on ring details, like the type of metal to use, details about the diamond and so on. One unique detail about the ring was that the band was going to be engraved. Don't worry, Natalie had shown me rings she liked. At our first meeting back in December, Justin had me talk out a design for the engraving. I settled on a wave design and as I was talking and explaining my thoughts about waves and their significance in Natalie's and my relationship, Justin was sketching out a design. As I finished explaining myself I took a look at what he had drawn and immediately knew that it was perfect! So, it was now the second week of January and the ring creation process was in full swing. The next six weeks ended up being nerve wracking but also very exciting as I really didn't know what the ring would end up looking like and even Justin admitted that he'd never really made a ring like this before. February 12 rolled around and the ring was finished, so I went to pick it up. As the ring was unwrapped from some tissue paper, I saw immediately that it was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined! It was absolutely perfect! I was so excited, I just wanted to give it to Natalie right away and not wait for the next 3 days to pass. Justin and his team did an incredible job on the ring and my experience with them was better than I could have asked for. I'll stop there for now as I'm sure you're tired from reading my rants, maybe you didn't even make it this far and quit reading some time ago, anywho, thanks for taking the time if you did. Keep checking back!!
Monday, March 7, 2011
The first of our venue visits
Well the search has begun. We have been doing some research on the Internet for some places to go and visit. A website that we have been using a lot is herecomestheguide.com. It has great information and pictures of venues and it is easy to search by a specific area. I also like looking at photographer's sites at different venues. It is helpful to see what a real wedding would look like at the place.
Last week we visited two venues. The first one was The Hacienda and Santa Ana. It is kind of in a random location, but once inside it is very pretty. We had a lovely experience; the lady who helped us was very nice. Dave also liked that there was a kitty hanging out in one of the trees. The Hacienda has a Spanish feel with a lot of different areas where you can have the ceremony and reception. There is a pretty area for the ceremony that is in a covered patio area and an indoor area where there could be dancing. One of the things that we were not too wild about was that the reception area was rather small and broken up into different rooms. While the venue is very pretty and unique, some of the decorations could be classified as a bit gaudy. The Hacienda seemed rather affordable and the package that they offered included a lot including a cake. As we left, we listed out the pros and cons of the place. It was great practice in wedding venue hunting.
The next place we visited was the Redondo Beach Historic Library. I absolutely love this place. It is right on the ocean near the Redondo Beach pier. The building itself is Dutch and Spanish architecture (almost like me) and was at one time was a library. There are bookshelves along the perimeter of the main room downstairs. I like that it is not just your typical banquet room. It definitely has character. It is simple, but really beautiful. I like that there are different rooms and you can customize the layout for your wedding. The package that they offer is very inclusive and includes the cake and even the DJ. Unfortunately, all of these things come at a rather high price. While we really like this place, we will have to figure out our budget and see if this is a place we can afford.
Looking at venues has been fun so far, but there a lot of other places that we are looking into. Dave has been working a lot during the day so we haven't had time to look at more places. This week we are requesting information from different venues online and hopefully next week we will have more time to go check some out.
Last week we visited two venues. The first one was The Hacienda and Santa Ana. It is kind of in a random location, but once inside it is very pretty. We had a lovely experience; the lady who helped us was very nice. Dave also liked that there was a kitty hanging out in one of the trees. The Hacienda has a Spanish feel with a lot of different areas where you can have the ceremony and reception. There is a pretty area for the ceremony that is in a covered patio area and an indoor area where there could be dancing. One of the things that we were not too wild about was that the reception area was rather small and broken up into different rooms. While the venue is very pretty and unique, some of the decorations could be classified as a bit gaudy. The Hacienda seemed rather affordable and the package that they offered included a lot including a cake. As we left, we listed out the pros and cons of the place. It was great practice in wedding venue hunting.
The next place we visited was the Redondo Beach Historic Library. I absolutely love this place. It is right on the ocean near the Redondo Beach pier. The building itself is Dutch and Spanish architecture (almost like me) and was at one time was a library. There are bookshelves along the perimeter of the main room downstairs. I like that it is not just your typical banquet room. It definitely has character. It is simple, but really beautiful. I like that there are different rooms and you can customize the layout for your wedding. The package that they offer is very inclusive and includes the cake and even the DJ. Unfortunately, all of these things come at a rather high price. While we really like this place, we will have to figure out our budget and see if this is a place we can afford.
Looking at venues has been fun so far, but there a lot of other places that we are looking into. Dave has been working a lot during the day so we haven't had time to look at more places. This week we are requesting information from different venues online and hopefully next week we will have more time to go check some out.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Decisions Decisions!
Well, we have been engaged for a little over a week now. Dave has been really sick since the day after we got engaged and he kindly passed his sickness on to me. Since that day people have been asking us, "Have you set a date?" "What are your colors going to be?" and many more questions to which we have no answers. We have been looking at venues online, but we haven't had time to go look at any yet. Dave has been working almost everyday of the week and I have been working and doing homework. Let me tell you, it is oh so hard to focus on homework when there are so many wedding websites out there! It is just so exciting that I have a good reason to look at dresses and flowers and wedding venues. I am realizing that planning a wedding involves a lot of decision making! I'm not the best at making decisions so this will certainly be interesting. Luckily we have help from some of our good friends who recently got married. We have a lot of planning to do! This should be fun!
-Natalie
-Natalie
Engagement Day Story
For those of you who haven't heard the story, or if you just want to relive the magic, I thought that I would write out the events of that wondrous day...
February 15, 2011
Dave had a fun-filled day planned for our three year anniversary (or 'loviversary' as I like to call it). He didn't tell me any details about the day other than that I needed to bring some dressy clothes for dinner. That morning I was running late due to a catastrophic hair day caused by not knowing how to use my new curling iron properly. Dave picked me up from my house, assured me that my hair did not look like a wild lion's mane, and we were on our way.
As we drove, I began to wonder if the clouds and possibility of rain might hinder our plans for the day. Dave said, ya you better pray that there is no rain. So I prayed that the sun would come out and that the rain wouldn't ruin our plans. We ended up driving to Santa Monica and parking in a parking structure (parking ramp, car park...) that we had been at just a few weeks earlier. I had no clue what we were doing there again. Dave began to lead the way and we walked through the Third Street Promenade, an outdoor area where there are shops and restaurants. It started to rain on my already hideous hair, and Dave realized that he forgot to bring a jacket. Despite the obstacles, we continued on until we reached a British pub. I got excited when I saw it and I was pleased when I found out that we would be eating lunch there.
We went into the pub called Ye Olde King's Head and it brought us back to our days in London where we first met. Dave had a shepherds pie and I had bangers and mash and they tasted just like we remembered. After lunch we went to a shop next door and looked at all of the goodies that reminded us of London. We started walking back to the car and Dave decided to stop and buy a jacket at one of the stores.
When we got back to the car Dave told me that I wasn't allowed to look in the trunk. To my surprise, he pulled out our ice skates. I had no idea how or when he had been able to get my ice skates that were buried deep in my closet. I didn't have a clue where we would be ice skating, but I followed him with skates in hand as we walked down the streets of Santa Monica. It turns out there is an outdoor rink that is open from November through February. In fact, it was the very last day of the year that it was open. Thankfully, by this time the rain had stopped and we put on our skates and did some laps around the rink. It was so fun skating outside, especially being surrounded by palm trees. After our skate we walked back to the car and started to drive again.
We drove for a while and ended up driving past rodeo drive and then up to Mulholland Drive. When we reached Mulholland drive, I knew just where we were headed. A few years ago, we had driven around the area after going to a concert in Hollywood. We happened to come across a small park with a scenic view. We spent a while looking at the lights below, but as we were about to leave, a park ranger stopped us and issued us a ticket for being in the park after hours. We always looked back on that night and laughed that we had to pay $65 dollars for going to the park and looking at the view. So, as we drove, I knew that was where we were going. It took us a while for us to find it, but we relied on Dave's trusty smart phone to guide us to our destination. When we got there I thought to myself that this would be a great place for Dave to propose one day.
All day I had been asking Dave when we could give each other our Valentine's Day/anniversary gifts. We had agreed that we would just write each other a nice letter and perhaps get each other a small trinket. When we parked and got out of the car, Dave told me that it was time to exchange gifts. We grabbed our things and a blanket and walked up some stairs where there were some benches. We had the place to ourselves except for a random little man in a track suit that walked up the stairs, peered at us, then kindly walked back down and out of sight. We sat down on a bench and Dave told me that he hadn't written me a letter. Being the kind and forgiving person that I am, I overlooked it and gave Dave his gift. I also made him a large, cheesy, red, heart-shaped Valentine's card with my letter inside. Then it was time for Dave's gift to me.
First, you need to know some background information. Last year around Christmas, Dave gave me a photo album with pictures of the things that we had done throughout the year. At the end of the album he wrote some nice words and at the end he wrote "Natalie, will you..." and as he read the words he got down on his knee, handed me a ring sizer and said, "...tell me your ring size?" So he had fake proposed to me last year...
For my gift, Dave gave me the same photo album with pictures from the most recent year in it. At the end he did the same thing and wrote words on the remaining pages. Then, he read the words on the last page to me, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you!!!" And that's when he knelt down, busted out the ring and said, "Natalie, will you marry me?"
I was so flabbergasted, I didn't know that he was for real. It took me a few moments to realize what the heck was going on and I finally said "Yes!" He had to force the ring over my huge knuckle and it was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen! It was an absolutely magical moment that took me by surprise. After absorbing the shock and all the wonderful emotions, I started jumping and dancing around. We took some photos to capture the moment and called our family members and friends to let them know the big news (even though many of them already knew!).
We quickly had to rush and change our clothes to make it to our dinner reservation. Dave took me to a fancy pants restaurant in Beverly Hills called il Cielo where were rose petals waiting for us on the table. Over dinner Dave told me all about his preparation for the day and about the ring. It was all more than I could have ever hoped or dreamed, but the fun still wasn't over. We went back to Dave's house where my family and some of our close friends were waiting to celebrate with us. We got to eat cake and goodies and tell them all about our day. It turns out that there were a lot of people that were in on Dave's secret and I had no idea!
It was a day beyond all my expectations. The rain stopped for us and all of the plans went so smoothly. Honestly, the only thing that I would have changed about the whole entire day would have to be my yucky hair. I think that it was a good lesson for me that I need to focus on what's most important and that things won't always go my way. I have a feeling that will be important to keep in mind as we plan for our wedding and for our future together!
February 15, 2011
Dave had a fun-filled day planned for our three year anniversary (or 'loviversary' as I like to call it). He didn't tell me any details about the day other than that I needed to bring some dressy clothes for dinner. That morning I was running late due to a catastrophic hair day caused by not knowing how to use my new curling iron properly. Dave picked me up from my house, assured me that my hair did not look like a wild lion's mane, and we were on our way.
As we drove, I began to wonder if the clouds and possibility of rain might hinder our plans for the day. Dave said, ya you better pray that there is no rain. So I prayed that the sun would come out and that the rain wouldn't ruin our plans. We ended up driving to Santa Monica and parking in a parking structure (parking ramp, car park...) that we had been at just a few weeks earlier. I had no clue what we were doing there again. Dave began to lead the way and we walked through the Third Street Promenade, an outdoor area where there are shops and restaurants. It started to rain on my already hideous hair, and Dave realized that he forgot to bring a jacket. Despite the obstacles, we continued on until we reached a British pub. I got excited when I saw it and I was pleased when I found out that we would be eating lunch there.
We went into the pub called Ye Olde King's Head and it brought us back to our days in London where we first met. Dave had a shepherds pie and I had bangers and mash and they tasted just like we remembered. After lunch we went to a shop next door and looked at all of the goodies that reminded us of London. We started walking back to the car and Dave decided to stop and buy a jacket at one of the stores.
When we got back to the car Dave told me that I wasn't allowed to look in the trunk. To my surprise, he pulled out our ice skates. I had no idea how or when he had been able to get my ice skates that were buried deep in my closet. I didn't have a clue where we would be ice skating, but I followed him with skates in hand as we walked down the streets of Santa Monica. It turns out there is an outdoor rink that is open from November through February. In fact, it was the very last day of the year that it was open. Thankfully, by this time the rain had stopped and we put on our skates and did some laps around the rink. It was so fun skating outside, especially being surrounded by palm trees. After our skate we walked back to the car and started to drive again.
We drove for a while and ended up driving past rodeo drive and then up to Mulholland Drive. When we reached Mulholland drive, I knew just where we were headed. A few years ago, we had driven around the area after going to a concert in Hollywood. We happened to come across a small park with a scenic view. We spent a while looking at the lights below, but as we were about to leave, a park ranger stopped us and issued us a ticket for being in the park after hours. We always looked back on that night and laughed that we had to pay $65 dollars for going to the park and looking at the view. So, as we drove, I knew that was where we were going. It took us a while for us to find it, but we relied on Dave's trusty smart phone to guide us to our destination. When we got there I thought to myself that this would be a great place for Dave to propose one day.
All day I had been asking Dave when we could give each other our Valentine's Day/anniversary gifts. We had agreed that we would just write each other a nice letter and perhaps get each other a small trinket. When we parked and got out of the car, Dave told me that it was time to exchange gifts. We grabbed our things and a blanket and walked up some stairs where there were some benches. We had the place to ourselves except for a random little man in a track suit that walked up the stairs, peered at us, then kindly walked back down and out of sight. We sat down on a bench and Dave told me that he hadn't written me a letter. Being the kind and forgiving person that I am, I overlooked it and gave Dave his gift. I also made him a large, cheesy, red, heart-shaped Valentine's card with my letter inside. Then it was time for Dave's gift to me.
First, you need to know some background information. Last year around Christmas, Dave gave me a photo album with pictures of the things that we had done throughout the year. At the end of the album he wrote some nice words and at the end he wrote "Natalie, will you..." and as he read the words he got down on his knee, handed me a ring sizer and said, "...tell me your ring size?" So he had fake proposed to me last year...
For my gift, Dave gave me the same photo album with pictures from the most recent year in it. At the end he did the same thing and wrote words on the remaining pages. Then, he read the words on the last page to me, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you!!!" And that's when he knelt down, busted out the ring and said, "Natalie, will you marry me?"
I was so flabbergasted, I didn't know that he was for real. It took me a few moments to realize what the heck was going on and I finally said "Yes!" He had to force the ring over my huge knuckle and it was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen! It was an absolutely magical moment that took me by surprise. After absorbing the shock and all the wonderful emotions, I started jumping and dancing around. We took some photos to capture the moment and called our family members and friends to let them know the big news (even though many of them already knew!).
We quickly had to rush and change our clothes to make it to our dinner reservation. Dave took me to a fancy pants restaurant in Beverly Hills called il Cielo where were rose petals waiting for us on the table. Over dinner Dave told me all about his preparation for the day and about the ring. It was all more than I could have ever hoped or dreamed, but the fun still wasn't over. We went back to Dave's house where my family and some of our close friends were waiting to celebrate with us. We got to eat cake and goodies and tell them all about our day. It turns out that there were a lot of people that were in on Dave's secret and I had no idea!
It was a day beyond all my expectations. The rain stopped for us and all of the plans went so smoothly. Honestly, the only thing that I would have changed about the whole entire day would have to be my yucky hair. I think that it was a good lesson for me that I need to focus on what's most important and that things won't always go my way. I have a feeling that will be important to keep in mind as we plan for our wedding and for our future together!
We are going to blog this!
Hi folks! I'm taking a technology class right now and one of our assignments was for us to create blog. I have never had a blog before, but now that I know how to do this, I thought I could use one to keep you all up-to-date on all of our wedding planning. Since we don't get to see some of you in real life very often, I thought that this would be a good way to make you feel that you are part of the action. So here it goes...
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