It's a Keak-e!

So we have been talking to our baker for our wedding cake and finally found something we both love. We have been searching for a while for a cake design and we just couldn't find anything that screamed "us". Then we started looking at cake alternatives and looked at cupcake displays.

I wasn't sure how I felt about cupcakes  because I have seen some and felt they didn't look as nice.

Well, we found a design we really like so I sent the image to our baker. She said she would do a trial run on it and let us know how it turns out. She was pretty confident it would turn out fine.

So, here is what the cake/display will look like assuming everything goes well:

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

So this year was absolutely fabulous! I bought some of the best gifts for people this year. I got my mom this awesome walking trails book that listed all of the trails in Western Connecticut. She was really happy when she opened it so it made me feel 10 times better about picking it out.

I got my brother some PJ pants, gave my grandmother a picture of a lighthouse that I took in September (she loves lighthouses) and my grandfather received a book of all of the news articles that cycled during World War II, which he is a veteran of.

And of course, I bought Allan what he told me he REALLY wanted me to add to the registry..... A popcorn maker. Not exactly the most romantic gift ever, but he really wanted one so I caved and bought it. We opened it up when we got home  and made our first batch of popcorn with it.

Now, you may wonder what I got. So I'll tell you!

Allan knew I needed a new computer because my old one was about 7 years old and wasn't doing ANYTHING anymore. I was doing all of my photo work on his laptop (which I am sure was getting old for him).

Well, he went to my mom and grandparents and together bought me a new computer that would run everything I needed it to. So now, I am typing on my new machine, and it's awesome! He also bought me an external hardrive to back up all of my pictures from my Photography business so I can get them off of his laptop.

I got the usual odds and ends and useful things, oh and I forgot to mention the best part.... Allan gave me a case of Apple Streudel pop tarts! Now you may be wondering *why* would I want a case of pop tarts for Christmas?? Well, in 2007 I took an internship with Disney in Orlando, FL. I did all of my grocery shopping at the Walmart Supercenter that was near my apartment. They happened to carry Apple Struedel pop tarts (which I had never seen before), bought them, and got hooked. After I came home, I checked every grocery store and Walmart for these pop tarts and no one had them. Many times, Allan was with me and saw me go on the hunt for them and find nothing.

Well, He won't tell me where he found them, but he bought me a case of these pop tarts. That means I have 12 boxes of Apple Struedel pop tarts!

So yes, I was rather excited over pop tarts! Hahaha.

Wedding Rings!

Whoa, hold the phone! We bought wedding rings, really? That must mean we are getting married!

Quite true! Last night Allan and I bought our wedding rings and we are super excited about it. They won't be in for 2 months because of ordering and sizing but I can't wait!

Mine is one of the rings that our jewelry consultant, Cassie, suggested when we went shopping for my engagement ring. It's simple and fits up against my ring perfectly. I love it.

Allan's is actually a designer ring. I know, Allan... designer jewelry..... do those things belong in the same sentence? Yup! Allan got a Scott Kay Cobalt comfort fit ring. It is simple, but unique.

Here are the pictures!

 

First Attempt at Invitations

So Allan and I went to a bridal show back in October to get some ideas for the things we still didn't have (which wasn't much).

We met with a few different stationary designers and saw all of the prices for these great invites. Then it occurred to me.... why don't I just make the invitations myself! I do have a Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design and lord knows I have made more art projects than I care to count!

So, I made the trip out to Jerry's Artarama in Norwalk to get myself some fabulous card stock (because let's face it, Micheal's Crafts has nothing) and started working on a prototype last night.

Well, It didn't come out too bad. It was my first attempt and there are still things I want to change about it.

Here is the example of something like what I was going for:

And here is what I made last night:

 

 

The inserts aren't complete because I want them to look similar to the examples above. I am pretty happy with how they came out for the first crack at them. I am going to do more design work to them to make the text and whatnot look better. This was more or less to get a template for cutting the paper to the right size.

Lauren's Wedding is coming!

So Allan's sister Lauren is getting married on March 20, 2010. Allan and I got to have lunch with her and Vlad over the weekend and talk about all kinds of things.

It's so nice to have another girl around to gush about wedding planning with! Lauren also has graciously offered to let me take pictures of her and Vlad at the wedding to build my photo portfolio. I am so excited! Can't wait until March now!

So Allan and I haven't done too much more recently, although we did get in contact with our Justice of the Peace who will be marrying us. I actually use to work with her so it makes things really easy!

We are also hoping to get to the travel agent soon to price out honeymoons. We know we want to go sometime in Jan-Feb of 2011, just not sure on the specifics yet.

Hotel Room Block

As promised, We have finalized all of the room block information.

Please contact us for all of the information.

Breakfast will be included with your room the next morning and Allan and I will be staying at the hotel as well.

Hotels, Honeymoons, and Happiness..... oh my!

So Allan and I have been talking and we REALLY needed to get the room block situation worked out so our out of town guests have a place to sleep after having an awesome night at the wedding. I did some research last night on hotels in the area and found two that are suitable.

Allan and I went up to Waterbury-Southington area to check out these hotels. They both gave us as much information as possible and we still have to call a manager at one of the hotels to get a room-block price quote. As soon as we hear from him on Monday, We will announce which hotel we have chosen and put all of that info up here.

As for the honeymoon, Allan and I have been talking about where we really want to go. We had originally talked about going to Paris, but I would really rather save that for a nice vacation when we *want* to plan everything out and schedule it.

We went to the travel agent to get some information on things we can do and we realized something, Allan and I have *never* been on a cruise, ever! So we are leaning toward that at the moment. We are looking at a cruise that docks in New Jersey, travels to the Caribbean including the USVI and returning back to New Jersey. It is a 12 night cruise and we would be looking to go sometime in January or February after the wedding. We still have to get price quotes for everything so we aren't sure what we will be doing yet.

I will update the wedding website when we have all of this squared away and ready to go.

Engagement Pictures Soon!!!!

So Allan and I have our engagement pictures with Molly next Friday, yes, Black Friday. It is only fitting for us to celebrate our first Black Friday together NOT working by taking fun pictures.

This whole thought got us thinking about a week ago..... how amusing would it be to take some of those pictures outside of Circuit City? The crazy place that we both have to thank for meeting each other. I ran the idea past Molly and she thought it would be rather hillarious to try it out.

So we are going to give that a shot. When I get out of work today, I will be taking a drive around the area to scout out other possible locations for us to take pictures and relaying that back to Molly because she doesn't know Danbury very well at all.

I am soooooo excited!!!!

Someone could really use your help.... and it only takes 2mins to do it!

Hello All,
As most of you I'm sure have heard about, I am on wedding messageboards like my life depends on it! Well, there is someone who could really use your help, he is the brother of a bride on these boards.

Here is the complete story and how you can help:

The bride's brother's name is Gary. He is a very sweet person, but since he was younger, he has been judged by his smile. He has been unemployed for a few months now and wants to go into an apprenticeship program, but does not have the confidence to go for an interview because of his smile. He was told that his jaw needed surgery to fix it and reinforce it, and that if it was not done by the age of 30, his jaw would probably be too weak to fix.... he is 27.

The other thing.... half of his family refuses to vote for him to help in anyway. They just don't care.

The contest allows you to vote once a day for him from today until 12/1/09. Please take the minute and click on the link below and vote for Gary. He has endured enough pain in his life from teasing and his jaw, help give him the best Christmas present anyone could ever ask for.

http://www.1800dentist.com/my-smile-bites/gary-l-krakow-wi-dentist-fall09

Somewhat Frustrated but I'll get over it

So yesterday I had a ridiculous headache that lasted over 14 hours before finally giving up. So how did I get rid of this annoying headache..... by visiting my future father-in-law for a chiropractic adjustment. It's the only thing that works when my headache gets that bad and exedrine doesn't even make a dent.

So while I was there, Barbra (Allan's stepmother) wanted to talk to me because some of my jewelry had arrived! The earrings and necklace came in, my beloved Mickey mouse tennis bracelet is on backorder so we don't know when it will come in.

Well, the earrings were great so I will be wearing them.(There is a picture in one of my other posts) The necklace, on the other hand was a different story. It was smaller than I expected and it didn't sit right on my neck. It looked fine when I put it on, but as soon as I turned my head, the center stone/pendant flipped in a weird way that would pretty much drive me insane all day because it did it every time I moved. The last thing I want to worry about is my necklace in all of the pictures.

So, I am back on the necklace hunt. I have found two that are pretty BUT I have reservations with both of them. Looks like I may have to wait a few months until more new styles come out and pick something then.

Here are pictures of the other two that are "ok".

This one is nice, but the "chain" that wraps around looks like a bunch of jewelry cones strung together. Otherwise it's not bad. I am just not "in love" with it.

I like this one. I would get it with a simulated Sapphire in it though, which they do offer. I am just not sure that it would have enough presence with all of the beading that is on my dress already.

Such a Touching Story!

So as some of you might know, I am a frequent vistor of the messageboards know as "WeddingBook". It's an application on Facebook that allows brides from all over the world to connect in a common place and talk about all kinds of things, wedding related or not.

Well last night, I was on these message boards and came across a post that really touched me. A girl, who we will refer to as "K" for privacy, was trying to get her dog home. When she moved about 8 months ago from AR to MD, she couldn't take her dog with her because of rental restrictions. The new home she will be moving into will allow her dog, so she needs to get him to MD. Easier said than done.

If any of you have ever looked into it, the cost of transporting a dog that distance is not that affordable for some people. Either flying the dog, driving by car OR train would all run about $400 at least. For a newly wed, this is not easy to come by, especially after putting down the funds to secure a home. The other problem... her parents are the current care giver of the dog and are talking about giving him to a shelter if she doesn't find a way to get him in the next 2 months.

So "K" went to Weddingbook looking for ideas of how to get her dog to her. Well, I told Allan about this and he had suggested perhaps pooling money together using Paypal. He knows there must be a bunch of girls on the boards who are animal lovers and can totally understand her position. So I replied with his suggestion.

A few other girls thought it was a good idea and encouraged "K" to go with it, it was worth a shot. After having a post up for about 3 hours asking for any kind of donation, she was able to raise the money needed to move her dog from AR to MD!

It is amazing to know that a handful of complete strangers were compassionate enough to contribute to reuniting a fellow bride and her dog. "K" will be getting her dog moved around the 15th of November to Maryland thanks to the generosity of complete strangers who felt compassion for her scenario.

It was something that I just had to share. I hope it made your day!

More Great news!

So I haven't posted in a while, so I figured I would put in a nice, LONG update!

So Allan and I have been on the hunt for a photographer. I had been googling everything under the sun when I though, why not check craigslist. Well, that's what I did. I emailed a ton of people and got Molly!

Molly is the owner of MEF Photography based in Stratford, CT. She is a really sweet girl with an awesome background and eye for photography. We are doing engagement pictures with here next month to get a taste of what to expect for the wedding. Here is her website: http://mefphoto.com/

Allan has been on the hunt for a new job for almost a year now and finally got a break! He found this awesome job about 4 miles from home so he no longer has to drive an hour to work and he got a nice raise too! He started on Tuesday and he loves it so far.

We have also been working on getting all of the girls dresses taken care of. Melanie, the dress shop owner, called yesterday and gave me great news! My last girl handed over her measurements and Melanie got the dress on order. She also told me that my veil was in! I am so super excited because I LOVED that veil!

Allan and I also went to the Weddingsteps Bridal Show in Norwalk, CT on Sunday and met a bunch of cool vendors that we might be able to use. We won a prize from the raffle they held for a Videographer AND free makeovers from Mary Kay. Not a bad deal at all!

So I guess it's not as long as I led on to be. I am just glad that we managed to make so much progress!

Photographer

So Allan and I had asked a friend of mine to take the photos for our wedding. Well, she sent me an email a few days ago saying that she didn't feel confident taking our pictures as the only photographer. I completely understand because she has never been the only photographer for a wedding. The last thing I want is to hire someone who isn't confident in their work.

So moving on, We have been in search of a new photographer. We have 2 potentials so far but the prices are higher than we were really hoping for. I don't want to get some crap photos though. With certain things it's "you get what you pay for".

I will just have to keep my fingers crossed that something comes along that works somehow. :\

1 year from today!

Yup, In one year and 7 hours, we'll be married! How awesome is that??!!

The only thing that we have done since my last post was finalized the bridesmaid's dresses, which is awesome.

Also, on a slightly different note, I received a school assignment to follow someone and take photos of "a day in the life". Pretty much I chose someone and follow them around taking pictures to document what it is they do on a daily basis. It's an assignment that runs all semester so I will be seeing the person I choose at LEAST once a week. So I chose Tricia and Heather at the Lily Lake Inn where we are getting married!

I thought it would be a really good opportunity to get to know them and the facility better so when our wedding happens, we will all be good friends.

I went there on Thursday night and last night and between the two nights, I have a possible wedding to photograph next month because one of their brides wanted an inexpensive photographer so Tricia asked if she could pass along my info. So now I have business cards there and hopefully will recieve a few more jobs.

Needless to say I am rather excited about it!

Jewelry

So I think I have my jewelry picked out. Allan's step-mother offered to give me my wedding jewelry! I got really excited and started shopping because she asked me to show her what I liked. I have a really heavily beaded bodice on my dress so I didn't want to pick anything that would be overpowering and the top is a strapless with a sweetheart neckline so I wanted things that would work well.

They will be ordered soon and hopefully come in before Sunday so I can take a look at it all when Allan and I head there for dinner.

Here are pictures of what is being ordered.

Earrings:

Necklace - Epiphany Platinum Clad Diamonqiue Interchangeable Round Necklace

Bracelet - 8" Disney Mickey Mouse Sterling Diamonique Tennis Bracelet

I got really excited when I saw the Mickey bracelet because I really wanted to wear something Disney (considering I still work for the mouse) that wasn't so obvious and this completely fit the bill. :)

Got my ring back!

So I finally got my ring back on Wednesday afternoon. It looks great! They ended up making a small ring of platinum and soldering it to the inside of the ring so the white gold would not be in direct contact with my skin. It has been working out pretty well so far.

We also decided on our bridal party...

Best Man - Cole Vandewater
Groomsman - Jay Stuff
Groomsman - Mark Morelock
Groomsman - Tony Figeroa
Groomsman - Vlad Shamritsky
Ring Bearer - Jimmy Welsh IV

Maid of Honor - Lauren Mattegat
Bridesmaid - Jacquie Putzig
Bridesmaid - Carolyn Russo
Bridesmaid- Lauren Zabrecky (Shamritsky)
Bridesmaid - Mia Garnica
Junior Bridesmaid - Gwyn Zabrecky
Flower Girl - Juliana Zabrecky

Today I am heading to the bridal shop with one of my bridesmaids, Jacquie, so she can get measured and order her dress.We picked the dresses as well. We chose a gown from Watters and Watters. It will be in a copper color with dark brown sashes at the waist. I'll get a picture up when I have a good one.

Since I have gotten my ring back, I wanted to take better pictures of it, so here they are! (Click on the picture to enlarge it)

 

 

 

 

Still Waiting.....

So as you know I sent my ring out with the jeweler to have the half shank replaced with platinum. Well it was due in last night so Allan and I headed to the mall around 8pm to wait for it to get to the store. The jeweler always drops off everything at night. Well, we stopped by and the store told us that they hadn't heard from the jeweler yet. So Allan and I wander around the mall to return around 8:45.

They still haven't heard from or seen the jeweler, so my ring isn't there. I start wondering what the heck is up because they called him and couldn't get a hold of him! The store told me they probably wouldn't see him if he wasn't there already and he would need to make an afternoon visit today instead. I wasn't too fond of this and wanted to wait until closing to see if they at least got a hold of the jeweler so I know my ring is still going to show up and nothing happened to the jeweler.

9:30pm comes around and the store finally got a hold of the jeweler. Apparently his car broke down AND his cell phone died. Ok honestly, what are the odds of BOTH things happening on the night my ring is supposed to come back?? I was not very happy about it but at least they got a hold of him instead of just telling me their guesses.

So they told me to come back today around 12:30pm to pick it up because the jeweler said he would be there by 12. The store told me they would call me if it wasn't there by 12pm so I won't get there and get more aggrivated if it's not there.

Hopefully it will be there this time otherwise I will not be the happiest of people. GRRR!

Our Photos

Our photos finally came in the mail over the weekend! They were taken by Peter Ingersoll of Windswept Acres Photography in West Lebanon, ME. We had such a great time! We took these photos earlier in the day before Allan proposed so that is why the ring is not in the pictures. I had this bright idea that I wanted to walk out into the water fully clothed with Allan ahead of time. We brought everything necessary and when we got there we discovered how the cold the water really was. I was about to chicken out after we got in to our shins.... but Allan decided to dip me to kiss me... well then a wave came in, knocked him off balance, and sent us both into the freezing cold water. We were laughing so hard on the way back. Peter and some others on the beach seemed to get a kick out of us as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wave is coming...

It's about to hit...

The wave hit!

 

Lost balance....

Into the water we go!

Trying to get up...

 

Allan helping me up.... 

Laughing at him and asking why he dropped me!

 

Can't stop laughing while soaking wet and freezing

Colors!

So tonight Allan and I *hope* to get over to the bridal shop tonight. We want to look at a few colors that we were interested in. As long as Allan isn't working incredibly late tonight, we can get there and see the colors and what sizes are available because everyone is quite a range of sizes.

I can't wait for my ring to come back from the Jeweler. It will be back on Tuesday night and you bet that I will be there that night waiting to take it home, haha.

Also, I spoke to the photographer who took un-official engagement pictures of us about a week and a half ago. He said the CD/DVD of the images is in the mail. Hopefully they will be in today and I can look at those images already! We wanted to use one for a save the date to send out to friends and family.

And, the most awesome part of yesterday....

Allan went to see his friend/ groomsman Tony. Tony made an offer that I about passed out over.
He offered his vacation points toward a hotel in, guess where..... PARIS! We just have to get the plane tickets and it's ours! HOLY CRAP! I have wanted to go there for so long, especially after I took a few French classes and Art History. We could see the Louvre! I better start brushing up on my French now! lol.

Booked a DJ!

So it's exactly what the title says. We booked a DJ! We have "A Solid Gold Sound" for our DJ. They are in Hartford and have a lot of great reviews. The girl on the phone was really nice too.


I can't believe how much is getting done! It's great. Just had to put in that update!

Better day today

So this is pretty much a follow up on my ring that made my finger inflate. So my finger still looks like a balloon thanks to the wonderful metal known as nickel. Go figure!

So Allan and I headed to the jeweler yesterday to find out what kind of solutions they had for us. We came to one today.......

Considering we bought the extended waranty, which is awesome, the jeweler can replace the half shank to platinum. In lamen's terms, we are replacing the bottom half of the ring that goes around the underside of my finger and leaving the top half with the setting as white gold. So my ring will be a "hybrid" if you will, but the waranty covers the costs of doing that.

So my ring went out today to have that done and I will have it back in exactly one week from today. I can't wait to get it back. I do somewhat feel better knowing that even though it is at the jewelers,  if I had my ring right now I wouldn't be able to wear it because of my finger. So I am not missing out on precious "wearing time". haha.

We may have the bridesmaids gowns picked out. We are looking at Dulce De Leche from watters and watters OR European Cinnamon from Bill Levkoff. Hopefully we can head to the bridal shop sometime soon to look at the colors in person.

Also, we are waiting to hear back from a DJ. I emailed 2, 1 answered me but they are unavailable for our date. However he did refer me to two other dj's that he is friends with. I will just have to get on that!

Not having the best day

Hello All!
So today is not one of my better days. Yesterday (sunday) my ring finger starting hurting slightly after I had some difficulty gettig my ring on after my shower. I figured.... I am retaining water in my hands from my shower, no biggie. This morning I woke up and had the hardest time getting my ring off for my shower..... my finger is swollen now. :(

I am going to see the doctor to find out the problem. I have a few guesses:

1 - I could have an allergy to nickel and nickel is in almost every piece of jewelry
2 - I could have irritated my finger when I put my ring on yesterday
3 - Something could have created a problem when I took my ring to get cleaned at the jeweler. There could be something in the solution that would have caused a problem.

So I really don't know what the cause is, but I'll find out later today.

Centerpieces!

Hello All! We have found yet another piece of the puzzle known as the wedding! We found the centerpieces!!!!

Allan and I wandered into Christmas Tree Shop to wander because they have been known to have awesome things for centerpieces and fall is coming so I thought they might have a few things out.

We walked in the door and there they were.... these cute little wire pumpkins with votive holders in the center. They are large enough to only put one on each table and they are the CUTEST! And get this... they were only FIVE DOLLARS each!!!!!

Here is a picture of these fabulous pumpkins, which are still in the car right now. haha!

 

Aren't they just so cute!!!!

Cake and Photographer... DONE!

So yesterday morning I was thinking about a cake I tried over the summer and thought I should see if I could get the cake for the wedding.

The back story:

This past summer I worked in the University Computing office at Western Connecticut State University making updates to the school's website. One of the gentlemen in the office: Paul, would bring in left over cake that his wife made the night before in her cake baking class. One of the cakes that came in was AMAZING, for lack of a better word. It was incredibly moist and beautiful. After trying the cake, I told my now fiance that he had to try this cake because it was great. I also went over to Paul and told him to tell his wife to make note of that cake because I would want her to make it for my wedding when the time comes. He took me half serious, told his wife, and moved on. I took the piece of cake home and had my now fiance and a handful of friends try a bite of the cake. It passed everyone's expectations so we decided that was our cake.


So I headed over to University Computing to talk to Paul about this fabulous cake. He was very happy to hear my news and was excited that I was serious about the cake. He called his wife and she said she would do it! She said she was rather surprised because she didn't know how serious I was but she would be happy to do it for me.


After leaving the University Computing office, I wanted to talk to a friend/classmate/co - worker of mine about photos. I am in the art department as a Graphic Design major and a minor in Photography. I decided that I really wanted to hire someone I knew to take photos so I would have more flexibility with gaining copyright permissions so I can do my own editing. I talked to Allan about it and he was excited about the idea. I spoke with Samantha and she quickly said yes!

Now we are just about 72 hours into our engagement and we have the ceremony location, the reception location, and cake, and a photographer! At this rate, I'll be bored by next week!

Engaged and 24 hours later at a reception hall!

So Allan and I got engaged Monday night after an amazing weekend. Tuesday morning comes and we are both at work talking online. I asked him if he wanted to look at places for the wedding or if he wanted to wait. He asked which places I wanted to see and I told him a few, including the Lily Lake Inn in Wolcott, CT. He said he would look at their website, along with a few other locations he found. Not even 5 mins later he tells me he is on the phone with the Lily Lake Inn and they have a food tasting going on that night. Slightly surprised, I told him I was interested. He told me the larger of the two rooms was booked for our date but the smaller one was still open. It so happens that the smaller room was the one I was in love with from the pictures. It was too perfect!

So we arrived at the Lily Lake Inn and walked around the property. The food tasting was in the room we were looking to book so we were able to see how the traffic of people was handled in the room and how the tables and chairs would most likely be set up for a wedding.

We sat down for dinner and before it even started we were sold. We spoke to the manager, Tricia, and she was insistent that we eat dinner, then we would talk.

After dinner, we met with Tricia and she told us what she would need for a deposit. Considering we had gone up on a whim, we didn't have a deposit together yet. We let her know and she said she could hold the room for a week so we could get the deposit together.

The entire ride home I was so worried that we wouldn't get the deposit together in time or someone else would come in a get the room. The next morning (Wednesday) Allan went into work and told his boss about it and he offered to advance us the money out of Allan's Christmas bonus so we could put the deposit down.

Allan told me about his boss's offer and I was ECSTATIC! I was so happy that I could actually get the place I loved and the date we both wanted. We contacted the venue right away to let Tricia know that we had the deposit and we would bring it to her on Thursday.

On Thursday we went to the hall, gave the deposit and signed the contracts. So it's official! We have a venue for the ceremony and reception!!!

The Place
The Lily Lake Inn (Website)
Wolcott, CT

The Date
10/10/2010

Ceremony Time
4:00pm

Reception Time
4:30pm

We're Engaged!

So Allan and I got engaged on September 7, 2009. How it happened was a very unique story in itself, which completely fits us! Here it is!!

Everything started roughly 3 weeks prior. We both were at the mall and decided to window shop at Helzberg Diamonds. We went through their rings and found this one. I was in love! The sales girl told me to walk around the mall so she could talk to Allan to give him all of the information on it for a later date. So, about 20mins passes and I am thinking "he has been there a while, he must be buying it!" Well, he called me and said that he was done and to meet him in the foodcourt. 

When I got there, he had a balloon animal/Flower for me and said "I'm sorry, I couldn't get it because it was too much. It took so long because they were on the phone with the bank trying to negotiate." I am not going to lie, it sucked hearing that. Oh well, move on. 

So for the next week I was trying not to think about it and just say "I'll find something i like better." Well, we looked around a little more and couldn't find anything that compared.

Now, 9/4/09, we leave for North Conway, NH for Labor Day Weekend. We got there and I kept thinking "wow, this place is so nice and there would be so much opportunity here but he doesn't have anything, or does he?" So sunday comes along and he says "I have to tell you something." so I asked him what it was and he says, "I bought the ring you wanted and sent it out to be sized to have it for this weekend, only the jeweler got it back a day late (yesterday) instead of Friday so I couldn't get it before we left. I wanted to give it to you while we were up here but I can't." Of course, that just made my day! 

Monday morning we checked out of the hotel, drove to York, Maine to meet with a photographer that we were planning on taking pictures with prior and took awesome photos at Nubble Lighthouse and Long Sands beach. After what felt like 10 mins (was really 2 hours) passed, we packed up and drove home.

Allan took off to the jeweler as soon as we got in the driveway and came back with the ring in his pocket. He then said the most beautiful things to me and formally asked me to marry him. I, of course, said yes!