Thursday, July 28, 2005

One more day

I have one more day of work left this summer. I am going to miss my internship, but I am excited to never be 'the intern' ever again. It is going to be great to have a full-time job one day. I am excited about having a month off from real work. At school I supervise Resident Assistants and I will be working with a professor and taking 13 hours of classes. If you add it all up its 43 hours of work a week...but I don't really count the 20 hours with the Department of Housing work. I really enjoy it. I enjoy classes too, but the exams and papers will be a little work.

Since I just got engaged I am trying to plan as much of the wedding before school starts back up again. Grant and I are making our first wedding planning trip to Chicago August 26 - 28. I have already set up 4 meetings with the caterer, reception site, photographer and pastor at the church. It is going to be a busy day! I still need to get a DJ, limo service and florist booked. I'd like to do that before school starts as well. The more people I contact the more I feel like I am kind of behind 'schedule.' It seems that many people plan weddings a year in advance...and I am getting married in 10 months! Wow...that's crazy to even think about!

I was thinking about how much things will change between now and this time next year. I will be graduated, working in a full time job, married, living on my own...and hopefully I'll have a new car. That is a lot of new stuff! It's exciting and scary all at the same time.

Today is Grant and my 35 month anniversary! Woohoo! What are the big plans? Work, gym, pack for Atlanta (I am going there this weekend to see my good friend Dani and shop for wedding dresses and invitations)...sounds like I have a fun anniversary night planned!

Monday, July 25, 2005

Wedding Planning – Initial Stages

I have begun to plan the big day. I figured that a good place to start was choosing a date, picking a church, finding a reception site and caterer.

The date choosing was easy. Grant and I started dating on August 28, 2002. To share a couple details about that day…It went something like this:: Grant was hanging out with me in my dorm room and turned to me and said, “Becky, do you want to go out with me?” I replied, “Sure, where do you want to go?” Grant said, “No, do you want to be my girlfriend?” I said, “Yes.” The rest is now history. So back to the topic…I decided that I wanted to keep the same anniversary date, the 28th. So I looked at the calendar. We wanted to marry soon after Grant’s graduation in May 2006. Memorial Day weekend looked like a perfect time. So the wedding date is May 28, 2006.

Date...check.

Next, we had to find a church that would hold a wedding ceremony on a Sunday. This is obviously a little difficult. This difficulty was compounded by the fact that I wanted to get married in Chicago and I currently live in Florida. I first contacted the church I grew up going to. However, they would not do a ceremony on a Sunday and they had strict rules regarding the wedding dress. Specifically the dress had to have straps that were at least 4 inches wide on each shoulder!! So I had to search for another church. I contacted the church where my parents got married, First United Methodist Church of Western Springs, IL. They said they could do a Sunday wedding. Grant and I are meeting with the Pastor in late August when we make a trip up to Chicago.

Church…check.

Then, I started a search for a reception site that was available and affordable. This was a daunting task. Many of the places I contacted were either way over my budget or already booked solid. I finally found a conference center that is a part of a seminary in Lombard, IL. The Lindner Conference Center looks like the perfect size and just about on budget. Grant and I are meeting with the event director during our August trip.

Reception site…check.

Finally, in order to have dinner at this reception a caterer was next on the list. This decision was relatively easy. The Lindner Conference Center only has two approved caterers. I looked at both menus and they were both about the same price. I chose the caterer that also caterers the Cialis Western Open in Chicago, Noteable Events. I figure that anyone who can cater a PGA TOUR event can easily do my wedding reception. Grant and I are tasting the menu options on our trip as well.

Caterer…check.

The other details will fall into place with a little work, but I think these are the big four initial steps…date, church, reception site and caterer. I am also looking for a wedding dress. This is pretty difficult in Jacksonville. So, I am traveling up to Atlanta this weekend to shop with a friend. It’s going to be so much fun!

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

The big surprise!!

So life got better at BG Inc. after the birthday meltdown. Grant got me 2 dozen roses 2 days after my birthday and sent me flowers on June 28th (our 34 month anniversary). I was pretty surprised by that. Little would I know that was just the beginning of the surprises…

I left for Chicago on June 30 to spend some time with friends and family. I was pretty bummed that Grant couldn’t join me, but I knew he was working hard taking a full load of classes and working on the weekends at Steak and Ale. I spent some time with Jordan, one of my best girl friends, on Thursday and spent some time with my family on Friday. I headed out to Springfield, IL, on Saturday morning with my aunt for our annual family get together at my uncle’s.

I called Grant a couple times that morning, but he didn’t answer. He finally called me back and told me how busy it was at work. I missed him lots and wished he could have been up in Springfield with me.

I arrived at my Uncles around 12:30. My cousins were there and I got in the pool with them and had a blast.

I went to dry off for a bit, sitting at a table with my Aunts just talking. Then, someone started massaging my back. I thought it might have been one of my uncles until I turned around and saw that it was Grant! He was all dressed up in a pants and a nice shirt. He stood me up and told me all these nice things that I don’t really remember. He told me about how much he misses me when we aren’t together and how much he loved me and how he wanted to be with me forever. He got down on one knee, in front of my whole family, and asked me to marry him and gave me a beautiful ring! I said yes and then asked him how he got there!? I couldn’t believe he flew all the way to Springfield to propose to me! I was so excited. I called everyone and enjoyed spending the next couple of days with him until he left on Monday.

Grant is the best! So soon we will marry and be together forever! I am so excited!!