I have decided that I want to blog as a way to document our wedding plans. I think the right place to start is to relate the story of our relationship and engagement, so enjoy!
Nick and I were introduced by Dave Leale on February 23, 2007. I had asked Dave if he had any friends who fit the "tall, dark, and handsome" profile. He said his partner at TriMed was tall with dark hair, but Dave couldn't tell me if he was handsome. The fear of sounding femme, I suppose. Dave also said that Nick thought teachers were pretty hot, too. All of this led me to ask Dave to set me up with Nick. It took a few months (because apparently Nick was dating someone, which Dave neglected to tell me), but finally Dave asked me if I was ready to meet Nick. One of their co-workers was having an auction for her rugby team and the boys were going to go.
Now, I thought this was going to be a nice blind date. What I didn't know was just how blind this date actually was! Nick had no idea that I was coming. The shocked look on his face let me know that he didn't have a clue as to who I was or what was going on. I found out later that he thought I was Dave's rebound girl; Dave had just gotten divorced. So we were off to a great start.
It just got better as we got to Seattle for the auction. Nick hadn't said much of anything to me the whole car ride, so I was resigned to the fact that he was going to be a bust. As we got out of the car and began to walk to the venue, a crazy transient started cat-calling at me. Nick and Dave thought this was hilarious, which made me a little peeved. Things just got more interesting as we walked into the bar and realized that this was a LESBIAN rugby auction. Needless to say, the rest of the night we spent doing a little drinking and not bidding on anything. After a really nice, slightly drunken dinner of Thai food, we headed home. At this point, Nick and I had really hit it off. Dave had smartly left us alone for about half an hour, which was enough time for us to find out that we had a lot in common, especially when it came to sense of humor. Unfortunately, Nick didn't seem to get the hint that I still wanted to hang out with him, even though Dave had to go home.
The following weekend a mutual friend of mine and Dave's was having a birthday party. I told Dave to invite Nick. I wasn't completely happy with Nick because he had never called me after the auction. I found out later that Dave wouldn't give him my number, something I find hilarious now. I also found out that Nick didn't want Dave to come to the birthday party, while I was trying really hard to make sure Dave was there because I thought Nick wouldn't come without Dave. All so funny now! Anyway, both Dave and Nick came to the party and Dave left early, leaving Nick and I alone. We went out to a late dinner at Shari's and he shared the brownie in his dessert with me. We went back to my place and sat up all night talking. And that was it.
Now, a year and a half later, on September 13th Nick proposed. The ring was designed by us and created by Nick Kwan, who works with DeBeers and does custom designs with pearls and diamonds. I knew what the ring was going to look like and I knew he was going to propose, but I hadn't seen the final product and I didn't know how he was going to do it. He picked up the ring that morning and he couldn't wait, so when he got home, he called me away from curling my hair. He got down on one knee and promptly kneeled on my foot. It made me laugh through the tears and then he simply asked if I would marry him. I said yes, more tears, he stood up and hugged me. I ran upstairs to tell my mom and dad. Dad cried too. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.
And now we are in the process of planning the wedding. So far here's what I can check off:
1. The venue: Thornewood Castle in Lakewood
2. The date: November 7th, 2009
3. The photographer: Ryan Duclos Studios
4. The guest list (about 100 people, tentatively)
5. The menu: turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc. (Thanksgiving-esque)
6. The colors: Either red, black, and white OR burgundy, chocolate, champagne
A partial list of things to do:
1. Book a caterer
2. Find my dress so I can nail down my colors (I need to decide if I am going with white or champagne)
3. Save the date cards/magnets and invitations (maybe announcements too for the extended family who are not being invited to the ceremony)
4. Make my favors: bookmarks! Fitting, right?
5. Figure out centerpieces
6. Label tables and make seating chart
7. Figure out flowers and book a florist
8. Get the bridesmaid situation figured out. I need to decide if I want 2 or 3 and I need to ask the final 1 or 2 friends.
9. Bridal jewelry
10. Veil
Mom and I are going to the Seattle Bridal Show on January 3rd, so I am hoping to get a few more ideas and maybe even purchase my dress. I would really like to knock out a few of my things to do, especially getting the dress. My color scheme depends on my dress, so I've been waiting to make a lot of decisions until I've chosen a gown. It is very stressful and I'm still just over 10 months away from THE day. No matter how crazy I get though, I am always remembering that this is going to be one of the most amazing days of my life and I am so lucky to have found the guy with whom I want to spend the rest of my life. He's wonderful and it's a wonderful life.
Here's the ring (it's just under 2 carats total):
Here's our venue:
