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.
Even though we went looking for rings back in early October, we had decided not to get married until May. Since we didn’t want to have to have an excruciatingly long engagement, we put it off as long as we could.
But, I did make one stipulation: every time Matt asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I said, “Oh, you well know what I want.”
A ring.
Then he would just smile and say, “Yeah, I know that. What ELSE do you want?”
So I knew it was happening before Christmas.
A couple times before the night it actually happened, Matt faked me out. He would do something extra nice for me, then reach into his pocket real slow, like he was about to extract a small velvet box. I freaked out every time, even going so far as saying a few times, “You’d better not be proposing to me right now. My mom said that you couldn’t propose while sitting on the couch.”
You see, my mother had all her own stipulations for how we “needed” to get engaged. She said that it had better be romantic and planned. She said that he could not propose to me in a car. And she said that, under no conditions, could he propose to me in between episodes of The Office. Of course, Matt being Mr. Mischief when he wants to be, faked me out on every single one of those counts numerous times.
But deep down, I knew it wasn’t going to happen that way.
We had tickets to go see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert (featuring David Archuletta) on the 18th of December. We made plans to go early to meet up with his family and maybe check out some of the lights on Temple Square, enjoy the concert, then go to Leatherby’s afterwards. I just knew it was going to happen that night. I knew because it was too perfect to pass up: almost exactly two years before, after seeing the MoTab Christmas concert, we had also gone to Leatherby’s and we had held hands for the first time in public (at least I think it was the first time). Also, a couple weeks after that (and a couple weeks before I left on my mission), Matt had fake-proposed to me in the parking lot of Leatherby’s.
Yes, you read that right. He had fake proposed to me before. We had eaten at Leatherby’s, having a jolly old time as usual, and I knew that although he fully supported me on my decision to serve a mission, he didn’t want me to go. I knew that his friends and family had been telling him to just propose to me and make me stay home. But I knew he would never stand in the way of something I knew I had to do. But he did scare me pretty good that night of the fake proposal: after we got into his car, full from fresh-made whipped cream and hot fudge and french vanilla ice cream, he got real serious–he told me how much he cared about me, then reached into his pocket. I kid you not when I say my heart stopped and then seemed to fall into the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t believe he was going to propose two weeks before I left for my mission, when he clearly knew what the answer would be.
He pulled out a small velvet box, and, without a word, he opened it. Inside was a small slip of paper rolled up into the shape of a ring. I pulled it out, and read:
“Torrie Lynn Fedor, will you….go to the movies with me?”
I wanted to kill him.
Flash forward two years. There we were again, in the parking lot at Leatherby’s. I wrote in my journal that as we listened to the sounds of the choir on Temple Square that night and were surrounded by Christmas lights, I looked into Matt’s eyes and kept falling more and more in love with him. I wrote how I’d never felt so sure of myself and definitely had never felt so sure about a relationship. I knew how I felt, and I knew what I wanted.
(picture taken earlier in the year of Matt at Leatherby’s)
I knew it was going to happen right then because Matt had turned the music off before we went in to Leatherby’s (a fact I hadn’t noticed ’til we got back in his car). I could also tell because Matt was a teensy bit nervous. He grabbed my hand and, looking into my eyes, said, “If I remembered correctly, it was in this exact parking spot two years ago that I fake proposed to you. I wanted so much to have done it for real that time, but I know what you wanted, and I wanted to be behind you on it 100%. I have never stopped loving you since then, and my desire remains the same. You are, and always have been, my perfect girl. You are My Torrie. But, you and I both know that your mom would NOT be happy if I proposed to you here in the car. So let’s do this proper.”
He got out of the car. I got out of the car.
It was raining–a misty, light drizzle.
And right there, in the middle of the Leatherby’s parking lot in Salt Lake, Matt knelt down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
I was bawling before he even opened his mouth.
After I ecstatically said, “Yes!”, I threw my arms around him and we stood there kissing, as raindrops streamed down our faces.
We were too giddy to take any pictures then, but we did take the picture below when we went to go tell our families.
We were engaged almost five months.
The longest five months in history.
