Sometimes I find myself needing to take a step back to admire all that has come together in the past 26 days since the announcement of our engagement.  Our venue was the first major check mark and this week we accomplished four other big items.

1)  At the beginning of the week we secured our photographer.  Nancy Gould has such an amazing eye and I fell in love with her style the second I read her blog.  With a photo journalistic approach and a flair for capturing candid moments not only did she wow us with her pictures but she had us at “prime lens”.  Yes folks she passed Daryl’s seal of approval in the “right” way to take pictures.  To see more of her work click through:  Nancy Gould Photography

2)  Next I went out to visit the Four Points Sheraton where we plan on reserving a block of rooms, as well as hosting the after party.  They have a handful of great spaces that we can come and take over to keep the party going after the reception.

3)  Mid week we sat down and tacked the Save the Date Magnets which Daryl so intently wanted.  He calmly sat there while I expressed my need for them to be “branded” and I think they turned out fabulously!  We managed to escape relatively unscathed.

4)  But today… OH TODAY was such a big moment for me because I found my dress!  Having always been a closet Say Yes to the Dress watcher I really really wanted to have my moment to say yes to my dress.  The first couple times out were rough and I found things that looked good, but I was having no moments to speak of.  So tonight I went to Vows in Watertown with not too much expectation.  And then I pulled this dress that looked like everything I had been wanting in a dress.  Being weary it was a bit different than other people would have liked to see me in I hesitantly held it up for mom and Annie’s approval.  Annie said “I really liked that but didn’t think you would”.  Mom also had some nice things to say about it as well.  After trying on dress 6 I realized this one had been placed behind all the others so I slipped it on.  In the dressing room with no mirror I said “Oh this is so fun I hope it looks as good as I think it should!”

It was the dress.  Yes folks, as corny as it sounds I said yes to the dress and knew definitively this was it.  The sample was my size and will need only minor alterations including a bustle but it was one of the most clear cut and dry moments I have ever had.  So I’m thrilled and have pictures somewhere, but I suggest you keep the anticipation and let me know in April if you think the dress is perfect!

Thanks for listening to me gush for a bit… I promise I’ll float back down to earth in a couple days  🙂

We have a date for the wedding!  April 21st, 2012, 11:00am to 4:30pm.  The event will be held and Harrington Farm in Princeton, MA with an after party at a nearby hotel.  Keep your fingers crossed that trees are blossoming and we don’t have any rain…. OR SNOW!

And due to additional requests more pictures:

Well the votes have been cast and drum roll please……..

In random order the bridesmaids are:

• Anne Springfield- Sister of the Bride
• Kerry St. Laurent- Sister of the Groom and soon to be sister in law to the bride!
• Nicole Ramshaw- Elementary school friend of the Bride
• Veronika Vaclavek- Dancing Queen and friend of the Bride

And the groomsmen (in random order) are:

• Matt Mendonza- Climbing buddy and former roommate of the Groom
• Dennis Mark- Climbing buddy of the groom
• Adam Wagner- Climbing buddy of the Groom
• Gavin Cockfield- Climbing buddy of the Groom

With a cast of characters this big- you will not want to miss this wedding!  Looking forward to a good day!

On 12/3/2011 Daryl and I got engaged!  A little history behind the engagement and then you get to hear the story of the proposal.  About a month ago my mom and I were going out looking for fabric for a couch slipcover (which I have yet to make) and she mentioned that her mother had some jewelry that she wanted to show to my sister and me to see if we were interested in anything.  I said of course and went over that afternoon.  Amidst all sorts of interesting beads and chain mail purses was this small green hallmark box.  My mom- on the fly- said “If you are interested in this you are certainly welcome to it, that is when Daryl is ready” Well she opened up the box to show beautiful engagement ring setting and matching band.

I was a little surprised- as I had no recollection of Grandma K every wearing a diamond ring, but mostly because my dream was to have something that had a history within my family.

The next week was a bit a a blur as I told Daryl about the ring setting and then we went to get it from my mom, then go looking for a diamond for it.  The research on the diamond nearly made both our heads explode!  Conflict free opened our eyes to synthetic diamonds which made us even more confused- WHAT DOES SYNTHETIC MEAN?!?

The Internet wasn’t helping so we went into the one store in Boston we could find who sold actual Diamonds that are created and grown in a lab.  Bostonian Jewelers was great- despite the fact that the lab made diamond company might be going out of business we were told of all our options, conflict free/synthetic etc.

Well we settled on a beauty from Canada (Eh) and I couldn’t be happier.  Two weeks after our initial visit we picked it up.  So on to the long awaited proposal story.  So as with most things Daryl and I do, they are very much joint decisions and I knew that even if he picked up the ring on his own and tried to surprise me with it some night- I’d figure it out probably before he figured it out!  So we said lets not worry about the surprise and when we pick up the ring we will officially be engaged.

The ring comes out from the back, gets unwrapped and I let out a little squeak!  They are handed to Daryl and he looks at them very intently.  He then looks at me extending the rings to me and says “So- You want in?”  I happily accepted!

Off to my parents house to give them the official announcement- after all we did pick up the ring from them initially so they knew it was coming!  Then we ventured out the Daryl’s parents under the guise of spending the day playing board games with them.  We decided to play the game of see who notices first.  When we arrive only his Dad and bother-in-law were there… they didn’t notice.  His mom and sister come home from the mall, give me hugs and almost immediately I feel his mom grab my hand and say “WHAT IS THIS?!”  I guess it’s a girl thing…. We only got around to playing a couple rounds of games as most of the evening was spent talking about wedding plans.

All in all we couldn’t be happier and are super excited for what’s to come!