Sam and Mike's(well mostly Sam's) 10/29/10 non-prof photos Glad I did/didn't Update
 

UPDATED: Oct. 28 2010 :goodvibes - Epcot, LSS, DP. YAY!!! I can finally start my planning journal because as of yesterday, I'm officially engaged!!!! I say officially because for a while we've known we'd be getting married, specifically at Disney World, and have even picked the date: October 27th 2011.

Yes, it's very far away. But it's never too late to start planning right? I'm tempted to push it up but we picked 2011 for a few reasons. First of all, we're teachers. He's biology, and I'm biology and chemistry (and yes we are HUGE science nerds) and we just started this year. We figured by 2011, we'd have tenure and could take off for the wedding without a problem. But then we were hired for non-tenure track positions this year. So we won't have tenure by then, however we're science teachers so I doubt we'll face any severe repercussions for taking off time for our wedding. Second reason was that we both still live at home, and probably won't be able to move out until next summer (2010) and that would give us a year of living together and facing with all those stresses prior to the wedding. Not that I doubt we'll manage living together, I just figured it would be a good trial run. Plus it gives my parents time to save up for the wedding (they are traditionalists like that :love:) So 2011 it is...for now ;)

Anywhoo...About Us: I'm 24, and he's almost 25 (next week). As I said we're both teachers, giant dorks, and huge geeks. We love science, star wars, and each other hehe :love:

How We Met:It all begins at Old Navy. He had been working there for a while, and I worked there during the summer 2004. He was not single, and I had just returned from a very traumatic first year of college (I even transferred to a new school afterward), so neither of us were available. I thought he was cute, but he was taken so I stayed away. I left when school started and only saw him again when I went to his Halloween party. I still barely even talked to him. Then a few years went by. I dealt with my issues, and he broke up with that girl. When I had worked there, I was friendly with one of his friends: Sheelagh, but we didn't stay in touch. (Now it gets confusing) My friend Rachel had worked at Old Navy too (which I didn't even realize) and she befriended Mike and Sheelagh as well. One day Sheelagh saw a picture of Rachel and me, and she recognized me. So Rachel invited me to hang out with Sheelagh and Mike. I immediately asked about Mike (I've always been a girl with boys on the brain) and Rachel thought he was dating someone. I was a little disappointed but I went anyway. Turns out, he was on the way out of a rocky, not so serious relationship, and we hit it off immediately...I also "encouraged" him to exit that relationship since it was sounded like a crap relationship and he deserved better...someone like me ;)

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It was very obvious that there was something there.

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After they broke up (due to reasons unrelated to me) we started talking...well more like texting. We hung out a few more times in a large group, but nothing was really happening. We actually had our movie moment ruined. We had hung out all night, but the new friend he brought there, said he liked me, so Mike, being the gentleman he is, would not make a move. Finally when he walked out with his friend, he was given the OK, and he was planning on rushing back in, and sweeping me off my feet with a big ole kiss. His plans were crushed, when he came to the door and found me in the arms of our friend Jorge. Only he didn't realize, Jorge was consoling me because I was all upset Mike didn't make a move so he was giving me a hug. :headache: So no movie moment. He finally got up the nerves to ask me out and we went to TGIFridays, haha. And our first kiss came after a long conversion in the parking lot, haha. I was really nervous to become "official" because I knew Mike was the kind of guy you marry, and I had never been in a real relationship. My analogy: I had been starving for a long time, and along comes Mike, a big juicy steak, and I was nervous that it would be too much for my stomach to handle. But after the encouragement of my brother telling me, if I want steak, then I should eat the steak Idiot! :laughing: So when he asked, I said yes, and we've been inseparable ever since. It's been 33 months (as of yesterday, hehe)

Up next..the proposal

ORGANIZED:

PROPOSAL
DRESSES
MORE DRESSES and RING
Possible flowers, cake, and invites
BM dress and signing plate
Possible Ceremony details
Wedding ring?
Pin trading starter kit
Shoe ideas
More flower ideas and COLORS!
Cake idea?
Love these invites!
Lovely veil
shoes and DF outfit??
MORE DRESSES! including the ONE!
Hairstyles??
MORE FLORALS
MONOGRAM- Thank you Christine!
SAND CEREMONY FLASK
EARRING CHOICES EVEN MORE
MORE BM DRESS CHOICES
EVEN MORE BM CHOICES
ARIA BM DRESS CHOICES
Save the Dates
LSS pics
LSS Pics 2
Japanese Gateway pics
Inspiration Board
Cake Ideas
Even more dress choices
Jewelry choice, DF's socks and cufflinks, garter
Food from Planning Session
Hair Trial
Custom Invitation
Ceremony

oh congrats!!!!!

i cant wait to hear the engagement story!

Yay you can offically start planning and ill be planing along side you :D

Yay for another 2011 Bride :)

Cant wait to hear more :)

Akfweb
 

And here are some more recent pictures, where we actually almost look our ages:

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The Proposal: I kind of thought he was going to do it on his birthday, next week. I'm taking him skydiving, and I always said that being proposed to on your birthday, was like "For your birthday, i'm giving you the honor of marrying you." But proposing to someone on your birthday was like "All I want for my birthday is your hand in marriage." But he really wanted to surprise me. He bought me tickets to see Wicked (my third time, his first) for Valentine's day. Which btw we were not even supposed to be exchanging presents. Anyway, he knew he'd be proposing to me then...I was clueless. He bought the ring, months ago (I had picked it out from Costco! :laughing: ) and asked my father last week (DF [I can now saw DF!!!] is a traditionalist like that) I did not think DF would be doing it then. First off, I was planning what we were doing in NYC- the restaurant, where we'd go, and I didn't realize he'd be planning around me, and secondly DF hates the city, and gets super nervous so I didn't think he could handle a diamond ring in his pocket while being in NYC.

So anyway, I decided we should hang out around the theater district...Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park etc... Well I was thinking of things to do and found out the skating rink was still open until this weekend and suggested that. Now I hadn't been skating in probably a decade but Mike likes hockey, as do I, so he can skate decently. So we got into the city, parked the car, and started walking towards Rockefeller center. We found the NBC building, walked around its shop and considered going on the tour, but Mike suggested we take the tour later...:rolleyes1 I said ok and went on a hunt for the lavatory. On the way we found the skating rink. So afterward we made our way back to the rink and went to buy tickets and rent skates. They had a lunchtime deal and there was 45 minutes left. (Skate for $5...not bad...rentals were $8) So we laced up our skates, and we both started getting nervous (for different reasons of course). Mike started getting out his IPOD, saying he made a mix of songs for us to listen to while we skated. I however was getting really nervous about skating and did NOT want to listen to the music, especially while sharing earphones. :sad2: Mike played it cool but tried to talk me into it, saying how he was just trying to be cute and how I should really just listen. My spidey sense started tingling but I still doubted that he'd do it. I asked for a few minutes to get my bearings on the ice and he agreed. I never did fall :yay: but I was definitely unsure. I finally agreed on the music, but the earphones did not fit very well and kept falling out so he insisted on me just listening while he controlled the tunes....Now my spidey sense was REALLY tingling but I still didn't believe it. He said he made a list of songs that reminded him of me :lovestruc and it started out with "Want you to want me" by Cheap Trick. He skipped around and we talked about the songs and I mentioned "1, 2, 3, 4" by the Plain White Ts and how much it made me think of him, and he had it on there and played it. Then the next song came on: "Grow old with you" from the Wedding Singer, and :idea: Mike slowed down and brought us to a corner of the rink. I started tearing already. He got down on one knee, in skates no less, and almost fell, and asked, using my full name, if I could marry him. I had read enough PJs to know, answer answer answer. So I'm thinking: Try not to fall, Don't cry too much, and Answer as soon possible. I managed to say yes. We kissed...snotty nose and all, and continued skating. People applauded and congratulated us. We still had the rest of the day, and I walked around NYC with the biggest doopiest grin :cloud9::cloud9: And I still want to run around, screaming like a little girl.

And he finally get me permission to post here on the DIS about it, because he knows I've been lurking!

Thanks for the well wishes Leanne and Meghan!

So yesterday my mom and I wanted to hang out and go shopping, spend some good mother/daughter time together. So jokingly (well semi-jokingly) I suggested going to David's Bridal. She was all for it, and even talked me back into when I wussed out. We didn't even have a camera, so I had to take the pics with my camera phone! So here are some REALLY poor quality pictures. I think I may have found the dress, but I want all of your opinions!! :bride:

Dress one:
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Dress two: It has a see-through back and was very pretty:

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Dress three:

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Dress four:

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I have more but we're leaving to kite-flying, hehe. (I can't help but think of Heidi's Mary Poppins cake)

I'll post more later (My favorites are for the next round)

omg thats so cute!! i love how he planned around you so you were so clueless until you got there :rotfl:


the dresses are pretty

so far #4 is my favorite!

another Sam :yay:!!! Your plans look great so far! I loike all the dresses but for some reason #3 is my fave... although the top of 4 and 1 are also very pretty and the back of 2 sounds lovely... I am not good at choices lol!

You and your DF make such a cute couple! :goodvibes

Haha, thanks Meghan. I was totally clueless. Yay! Hello other Sam (Or perhaps Sam #1) I always start reading your PJ, but then I go to my work computer and start reading in a different place, and then back to my home computer. I will get through it one of these days, I love what I've read so far! :surfweb: You guys make a cute couple as well. I love the shots from Disney, I'm so jealous.

Anyway...more dresses:

Dress five- it was gorgeous...but very heavy and a pain in the butt to lace up!
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Dress six- disregard the look on my face. I was really happy in it. Just a bad moment to take the pic

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Here's the back.

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5373/morestuff027.jpg

Whoops forgot dress seven. It's a little too va-va-voom, but I thought I'd share:

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/796/0416091312.jpg

And now...THE RING!

I had a really hard time getting one of the ring on my hand, but here's an unclear one, but just to get a size reference. And btw my hands are super small! My ring is a size 4.

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And here's a picture of the ring I've loved for 5 years, but realized would be like a growth on my hand.

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My ring is perfect and when we tried it on, DF said it made me feel like his princess. :cloud9:

It's a .71 carat emerald cut, with 2 trillion cut diamonds on the side, in platinum. Total weight 1.04 carats...and it's perfect..and we got it from Costco, haha :cool1:


PS How can I update the title of my thread??

YAY!!! You're engaged. Congratulations! You two are an ADORABLE couple. You look great together.

I like dress 4 and dress 5. I like 5 the best it's more princessy, but you said it wasn't comfortable, so my second pick is 4.

Can't wait to read more! I'm hooked and will be following along!!!!

Congrats. Good luck planning. I like dress 5 best!!!

Thank you so much! 5 definitely is the most "Belle"-like

Thank you Ann!

More details:

We really want to do an Epcot ceremony. We're an interfaith couple and not very religious, so I'm not so sure how we feel about the WP. We'd have to check it out. I think we want to do China or Japan. But after seeing Lurkyloo's pics I'm pushing for Morocco. Being bio teachers (and DF's love of marine science) we want to do the LSS. But after hearing about the photography issue, I think we could be open to other options. I like the idea of a brunch reception and then a dessert party. I also really want a MK shoot. That's my one bridezilla Put my foot down request. Df and I are thinking 50 people max, and we'll do a home reception for those unable to attend (due to $$ limits on my part and theirs).

For colors, we're thinking fall colors: chocolate browns and oranges, and the like. However I do have a soft spot for greens...

Congrats on your engagement! I really really really like dress 6. Oh and I love the title of your PJ. Our PJ is definitely more mine too! Congrats again and I can't wait to hear about all of the fun wedding details.

Such a cute proposal story. I also had no idea my DF would be proposing because I thought I had planned the day as well! Little did I know he had planed the evening activities long before I planed the daytime ones. I also liked how you mentioned your 'spidey' sense. I got that feeling when DF went back to the car for his jacket, although we did end up going back to the car agin for mine because it was chilly. I think the biggest reason I doubted he was going to do it then was because I had no idea he had gotten a ring. Oh and we both love the song from the wedding singer too. The movie was even on in the room at the hotel the night we got engaged and I stayed up late to finish watching it so I could hear the song!

Can't wait to hear all your plans popcorn::

Awwww love your story! So cute :lovestruc

I really like all the dresses (you have very good taste!) - but I am drawn to dresses 1,2,3 and 6! I couldnt make up my mind! Love your engagement ring too :goodvibes

Thank you Ashley. The back on dress 6 so lovely...and it was comfy as well (well for a dress). Haha thanks for the compliment on the title. DF has very little interest in the PJ. Besides the fact the dress pics are posted and he's NOT allowed to see them, haha. Your wedding is so soon!! You must be so excited. Mine seems like forever. I can't wait to post the details!! I also can't wait to read your PJ. I have much catching up to do! :surfweb:

Thank you Becky! I'm glad I'm not the only one. I had no idea DF had gotten the ring. I noticed it was missing at the store about a month back and he actually picked a fight with me to throw me off. He yelled (well not really) for looking for the ring, and that I wasn't being patient, and how I wouldn't get the ring at all, haha. He told me after the proposal, that he really needed to convince me he didn't get it. Isn't the song soo cute?! That's awesome that it was tv that night. Our song was on at David's Bridal when I walked into the store...but I think they do that on purpose...but it worked haha.


Thank you Gemma. And thank you for the good taste compliment...my mom helped as well. hehe. I was really lucky that most of the dresses I tried on looked nice on me...then again I'm working hard, training for the Dis marathon, to look good in those dresses! (well not why, but it's a benefit) I love my ring. It's so perfect and I'm glad I didn't get the big one. It looks perfect on my finger. I'm in love with it! :love: (And I'm an uber-planner as well...thus the PJ so far in advance, hehe)


I'm so excited people are reading my PJ. I love reading other people's pjs.