Pre-wedding Reminiscing

 
With our first anniversary just around the corner I have been spending a lot of time reminiscing on my life with Kirby and everything that we have been through. He truly has brought so much happiness to my life, and it all started with a simple crush. So I thought it would be fun to post about the very beginning of it all, starting with he marriage talk.
 
Kirby and I had dated for about 7 months, and for a majority of that time he was in Atlanta, Georgia and I was at home in Spokane, Washington. It should have been really hard to make it work while we were so far away (or at least that's what everyone says about long distance relationships) but I think this brought us even closer together, because we had to work for our relationship. Yet, after spending a week or so together in Atlanta I was sure he was the one I wanted to spend my eternity with. We talked on the phone every day without fail while we were apart. I still remember laying in my bed at home talking to him when he told me that he had been talking to his mom and that he told her he wanted to marry me... I wish I could describe how I felt at that moment. I was terrified and ecstatic all at once. I knew that this is what I wanted to, it had just never clicked until that moment that this could be real. From that moment on I started planning the wedding.

So this picture was taken on the very first night we hung out...kinda crazy.

When we were still newly dating we took a trip to Utah with some friends where we went to a Jazz game and a session of General Conference.

Sunday while visiting him in Atlanta.

Before we were even engaged I had found my wedding dress... And this story is one that you could probably care less about, but the dress was the biggest headache and most rewarding part of the planning process. I had planned one day before I left for school to find THE dress, just one day! I found one that was poofy and sparkly and for some reason I loved! But it was sleeveless and I feared it would just be ridiculous with sleeves, so I was sure I would find something even better. And I did. I found the most amazing dress I had ever seen! It was all lace and entirely fitted. The entire dress was covered with blush applique roses and that just won me over entirely (blush was the theme of my wedding colors). This was the dress that brought me to tears like all of the girls I had seen on Say Yes To The Dress (one of my favs!) As we were ordering it I was explaining to the girl helping me how I wanted to sleeves... Apparently she had forgotten the fact I needed sleeves because she sadly explained that there is no way to get the same material (with the blush) to make them, so they would not match, and no matter how broken-hearted I was, there was just no way to make this dress work. So we went back to the original ball gown dress and were in the process of paying for it when I just got sick and couldn't follow through with it. So...being an emotional wreck by now, I was just done. I wouldn't look anymore.

My parents (who had been with me through it all) convinced me to try one more place. I consented, but was convinced they would have nothing for me. We pulled up to Marcella's Bridals, the store was closing as we walked in, but they said we could make an appointment for another day and if we wanted we could just glance around as they closed. The consultant that was working with me asked how our dress shopping experience had been so far...and to answer I just started crying. She simply turned and walked away, returning with Marcella, the owner...who became my very own Fairy God Mother. Despite the late hour, she sat me down on a couch and told me she could make the exact dress I had fallen in love with at the previous shop. But before we planned it all out she told me that I had to give something else a chance. To my surprise she pulled out a backless, sleeveless size SIXTEEN dress! I thought there was absolutely no way that could be my dress. I put it on, she clipped a ton of it back, and had me look in the mirror. It was the dress. There was no doubt about it. In a matter of months this dress went from a very large, backless, sleeveless dress to one that fit like a glove, with sleeves to my elbows and a back that perfectly could hide my garments (She had to tear the whole dress apart and just use the fabric to build my dream dress.) The process was a little bumpy, I was making frequent trips home to try on my dress in the making and most of them left me feeling frantic. My dress was not done until the week of the wedding!
 
So other than finding the dress, before we were engaged I had found dresses for my sisters, picked a date, and met with the owners of the venue of my choice (typical Mormon bride right?) In my defense, we were planning on getting married December 29th, which meant that I would be at school in Rexburg throughout the entirety of our engagement. It would have been nearly imposible to plan a wedding in 3 months while going to school full time hours away from the wedding site!
Even with all of this arranged, I had a hard time believing that a wedding was really on it's way...

The dress with the blush roses that I so desperately wanted.

The ball gown dress I was in the process of ordering.

This is my dress in the making. This was probably the 4th or 5th fitting. She had already reconstructed the original dress. We were just discussing how I wanted the sleeves and making minute adjustments to the fit and neckline at this point.

The finished product! I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

The back of the dress once all the alteration were made.

Right before the Fall Semester of 2012 Kirby came to Spokane to visit...and we all knew that one of the purposes for this trip was for him to ask my dad's permission to marry me. We had a lot of fun together and with my family. This was his first time meeting my sisters and I was so happy to see how easily they got along, he fit right in to the family. But among all this fun, we all were waiting for his to talk to my dad. My dad even offered to drive Kirby separately from the rest of the family to dinner (trying to give him a chance) but Kirb was still too scared! Something we still joke about is that during one of the nights when he was in town my dad invited him to play football with some other men from our ward...and this is what bonded them forever ;) ...during the game Kirby somehow ended up on the groung in a summer-sault position with his pants down. And LUCKILY he was wearing underwear with  HUGE hole right where it counts. Safe to say that is exactly what Kirby needed to help him feel more comfortable talking to my dad haha. But regardless, on the last night that he was in town Kirby finally had the talk with my dad while they were packing up my belongings to take back to college.
 
After their talk my dad sat us both down to give us his blessing. During this moment I had the impression to move the wedding up to Thanksgiving weekend. I had no serious reason for wanting to move the wedding from the end of December to Novemeber, other than the fact that this would save us from having my birthday, Christmas, and Anniversary within a week! Plus this way we could have a longer honeymoon...hello, obvious choice right?

Kirby visiting in Spokane.

Kirby and my Dad bonding over squirting little kids at Silverwood.

 
After this talk, I knew that the proposal would be coming soon, but I had no idea exactly when. One day Kirby came to pick me up from my apartment in his baby blue convertible. This wasn't too strange, so I didn't think much of it. We  drove down to nature park where we sat on a little bench and fed the ducks (who were quite viscous that day). While feeding the ducks I noticed that a couple of the bread pieces I had pulled out had holes in the middle...being my silly self I didn't think too much of it and kept throwing and grabbing bread without looking into the bag. Eventually I looked down and saw that I had uncovered a maroon ring box! My heart had NEVER beat that hard in my life! I pulled it out and looked at Kirby, who was now down on one knee. I don't even remember what he said, all I knew was that I was so in love and ready to give myself to this man for eternity!
The ring in the box was a beautiful, deep red stone on a yellow gold band. Because we had decided to get married earlier, Kirby decided it would be best to propose asap with or without my ring! The ring in the box was is great grandmother's and it was and is so special to me, I have worn it everyday since (only now I wear it on my right hand).

The proposal!

A happy happy newly engaged couple!

 
After the proposal we went ring shopping around Rexburg. We ended up finding a beautiful little ring that was almost exactly what I had envisioned. We worked with the jewelers to turn it into my dream (the one I tried on was yellow gold, but I have always wanted rose gold). We ordered the ring in September 2012, however the ring was being made for me in New York and during this time New York was hit with Super Storm Sandy which delayed my ring until about the last minute. The week before we were supposed to leave for Spokane to be married, Kirby and I went shopping in Idaho Falls. While we were their I begged him for some sushi at our favorite place. He eventually gave in. We ordered our food and waited just as we always do. Only this time, the waitress brought out something much more special than a plate of sushi. She carried out a tray with the sushi rolls arranged in a heart around a ring box. I almost went into shock! I was soooo excited to finally have my ring! To this day I have not figured out how he made it seem like going there was my decision, when it was his plan all along...that tricky boy.

The ring once it finally came! I still love it so much. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

 
I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family in my life. Even though my engagement was barely two months, my dear friends and family were able to put together two of the most fun bridal showers I had ever experienced. Karen and Karisa worked to put together a fun bridal shower for me and our friends in Rexburg. We had delicious chicken salad sandwiches and cookies that Chan still raves about to this day! There is nothing more fun than sitting around with those who love you and sharing memories and laughs.
 
I was a double lucky bride because I was able to have two bridal showers! My mom and her friends Dena, Jolene, and Taraka put together the cutest bridal shower I had ever been to! It fit right in with my view for the reception and was the perfect way to spend time with the ladies and friends I had grown up with at home. Something else fun about this bridal shower, was that it happened on the very same day that my little nephew Lincoln was born in Spokane! So we were able to go see him that night! What a perfect little baby he was.

I just love doughnut holes and it was so perfect that they took that into account when planning my shower!

Every single lady in this picture has influenced my life and I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with all of them.

All of my family members that came to my Spokane Bridal Shower from near and far!

     

The ladies who made it all possible.

My very best friends at the bridal shower in Rexburg!

 
One of the most tiring parts of planning a wedding is the addressing of invitations! But I must take a moment to say that Taraka Piper was a life saver throughout the whole planning process, she took all of our engagements, wedding, reception, and bridal pictures! She also helped plan the bridal shower, made our announcements and did all of this for free! Talk about fairy godmother! She is such a wonderful person and not to mention talented! Here are pictures of what our announcements ended up looking like...

The front of the announcement!

The back of the announcement!