1. how it all began: how you met, first date, first kiss, how long did you date? first picture together…..etc.
2. when you knew he was the one: self explanatory.. but how and when did you know?
3. proposal: how it happened, how long were you engaged for? was it a total surprise? pictures of that… etc.
4. the ring: tell us about it! did you pick it out? did he? pictures! tell us about his ring too!
5. engagement/bridal pictures: let’s see em!
6. the colors: show some of the flower and colors you used
7. the dress: was it what you always imagined? did you have it made for you? white or ivory?
8. the little accessories: you know, veil? shoes? jewelry? what did your bridesmaids wear?
9. the reception: where was it at? show us some pictures! what day did you get married?
10. the cake/food: i love food. so tell me about what you had at your wedding!
11. your song and/or the first song you danced to at your wedding: share a music video or lyrics if you can!
12. favorite part of the day and least favorite part of the day: can be anything.
13. honeymoon: where did you go? was it good? 😉 haha…jk.
14. thoughts on marriage: what is the easiest/hardest part? if you could change anything, what would it be?
15. first place that you lived together: pics if you have them!
16. kids: do you have any yet? if not, when do you plan on it? how many do you want? any tips on good/bad birth control?
17. most recent picture of you and your significant other and what you love most about them 🙂 and any other thoughts.
Well readers, get ready for some major picture-age, because I have got a LOT of photos for you this week.
This week’s Wedding Wednesday post is all about how I knew that Matt was The One. If you haven’t read last week’s WW post, click here to get the first part of the story.
While I was on my mission, Matt wrote me letters almost every week (sometimes a couple times a week, at least at the beginning), until one day in September (unfortunately right around his birthday), I wrote him what’s known in the LDS community as a “Dear John” (basically just a letter saying that it’s over). I felt terrible doing it, but I had been going on dates with a couple different people before my mission and thought that I was leaning more towards things working out with a different guy than witih Matt. So I wrote him off and told him to move on. To Matt’s credit, he tried very hard to do just that–he took other girls out, he had a serious girlfriend for several months and, in addition to all that, he continued to faithfully write me because, as he put it, he was my friend before anything else and that was never going to change.
When I came home from my mission, I fully expected us to just be friends and never date again. I was expecting things to work out with The Other Guy (TOG) that I’d been dating before. But, when I would spend time with TOG, something just never sat right with me about it. I was trying to force the feelings and force the relationship, and I felt uncomfortable most of the time I was with him. Matt had gone out of town for a couple weeks during all this, so I hadn’t seen him much. But, one day, when TOG was leaving and Matt was supposed to be coming over, I experienced one of the major epiphanies of my life: as TOG left the room (leaving me feeling frustrated, a bit depressed, and kinda sick to my stomach), Matt walked in, and it was like my emotions did a 180–in Matt’s presence, I knew that I was loved completely and wholly for just being myself. There was no need to force feelings, no need to try and be something I wasn’t…I knew I could finally let my guard down for the first time in days.
After Matt came in, we sat down on the couch in my basement and proceeded to have a talk that lasted for several hours. I told him what I’d just felt and what I’d just realized–that he was the one worth giving the true chance to. I finally realized that the kind of guy I wanted was someone who would have the character to keep writing me as a friend even though I’d written him off, who had stayed loyal to me even though it seemed I’d been anything but loyal to him. I told Matt right then that I was willing to give him a chance, if he was still willing to give me (another) one. I told him I was scared because I was pretty sure it would work out between us and that it would probaby move pretty fast. But I also told him that if I didn’t do it, I was 100% positive I’d regret it the rest of my life.
So we started to go out on dates: to the fairgrounds, to Leatherby’s (our favorite place to eat for years), to Ogden to go rock climbing, to the zoo (see the picture of that below). And the more time we spent together, the better I felt about it.
We started spending every weekend together, even though by this time we’d moved apart (I was an hour and a half drive up north, going to school). We’d take turns on whether I would drive down or he would drive up. But one fatal question remained to be answered: would I feel “something more” when I kissed him the first time since getting back from the mission? Or would it feel kind of like it did before…not quite right?
We continued to go out and spend every second we could together, but after almost two months, Matt still hadn’t kissed me. I was about to just go for it myself, but I wanted him to just have the guts to go on and do it. So I waited. And waited. I thought for sure it would happen on his birthday weekend, when I took him to go see The Scarlet Pimpernel and then out for Mexican food and fried ice cream (see picture of Matt in sombrero, above). But it didn’t. I was starting to go a little crazy.
Then, one night when we were down at my parents’ house in Bountiful, we were saying our usual goodbyes by my front door. And then, there it was…THE LOOK. Girls, you know which one I’m talking about. The I-think-I’m-gonna-kiss-you-and-hope-you-don’t-get-mad look. And before I knew it, he was kissing me…and I’d never felt anything like it before. All of the emotions I was hoping would be there: the romance, the passion, the flirtation, the connection…they were all there, and more. It was then that I knew, without much room for doubt, that we were getting married.
I dragged him into a ring store about a week later.
