Merry Christmas, Everyone

I took a half day on Thursday so that I could venture down to Columbus for the Patberg Christmas celebration and to visit with the Montgomery too. I had a wonderful time, talking wedding with everyone and celebrating Christmas.

For Christmas, Andrew got me new windshield wipers and a journal for each of us to write in for the next 269 days until we get married, which I thought was an adorable idea!! I got him clothes and a wallet, particularly clothes that he will wear for our engagement pictures :) #alwaysplanningahead

Andrew and I also had time to buy our cake topper, visit the Loft and smith's row. We loved the loft, but smith's row made us realize just how expensive weddings can be.

So far so good!!!

Since we officially announced our engagement this past Saturday, we have gotten quite a bit accomplished!

• We officially picked our date, September 21, 2013
• We got penciled in for  our date at church
• We found out the two dates available for the premarital class and which one we will be able to attend
• We chose our colors, plum and charcoal gray
• I asked 2 out of our possible 6 bridesmaids to be apart of our day
• The girls have all started picking bridesmaid dress styles that they like for me to consider
• I think I determined that the boys will rent tuxes from Joseph A Bank, since they seemed to have the most options
• We're visiting and hopefully putting money down on the Factory 12 Event Loft tomorrow
• As of right now the Loft has our date and the night before available to rent and set up
• We're planning to taste the food at our first choice caterer tomorrow
• We have our engagement picture shoot scheduled for Janruary
• We have been penciled in with my top choice wedding photographer
• I think we're close to picking invitations
• And finally, there are a few things that I'm ready to buy any day now, like our willowtree cake topper and the string lights for our centerpieces, once they go on sale after Christmas :)
• I love feeling prepared.

Twas the night before my journey...

Tomorrow I am scheduled to work half a day and then drive down to Columbus for the holidays. They're saying we're supposed to get the first blizzard of the year tomorrow, so it should be an interesting and hopefully safe drive.
This weekend is Patberg Christmas, which, I'm told, means that about 20 or so Patbergs all stay with Julie and Rick for a few days. I'm pretty excited to be part of it this year :)
This weekend will also be exciting because I haven't seen Andrew's family since we got engaged!!! (which is still very surreal and wonderful!!!!)
I am very excited for the holidays!!! The plan is to drive home Christmas Eve to spend one more Christmas morning at the top of the stairs with Bobby before I get married in September, fingers crossed.

The Engagement

On Saturday, December 15th, 2012, Andrew graduated college! Most of his family made it in town for the graduation ceremony, and everyone was so very proud of him. After the ceremony, we all grabbed food at Jim and Pete's and then said goodbye to our families who had yet to make the long journeys back home. 

Andrew and I were also celebrating our own special day. It had been once year since our first date at Millennium Park and we were planning to go ice skating like we had done 1 year earlier, but this time with my best friend Eryn! Andrew and I arrived home and layered up to go downtown. I had made the mistake of looking at the wrong train schedule so Eryn, Andrew and I camped out in his car for an hour before our train showed up, laughing and talking about randomness.

Once we finally made it downtown, we headed straight for Millennium Park. We had hoped to have about 3-4 hours downtown but with the train confusion it ended up being only about 2 hours. We skated around for an hour and took some really nice picture before heading up the stairs to walk around Millennium Park a bit more. 

Now Andrew and I had been talking about getting married since probably the second week after we started dating and we knew that we were God's plan for one another. I secretly, well...maybe not so secretly....hoped that he would commemorate our anniversary by proposing at Millennium Park. I refused to blatantly tell him how I had hoped he would propose, but he knows me so well that he told me a few months ago that he was pretty sure that we had the same idea, he was right! 

He asked Eryn to take just one more picture up by the Band Shell when he got down on one knee and prefaced his proposal with, "this is not a joke" and proceeded to tell me how much he loved me and wanted to make me his wife. The whole time I knew he was talking to me and saying sweet things but all I could think about what how I couldn't process anything he was saying. He asked me to marry him that night, and I shook my head and said "yes". After he got up and hugged me, about 40 people in the distance started clapping and cheering, it was so magical! 

 

May the Wedding Planning Commence!

12.15.12

On the 15th of December, 2012, Andrew graduated college, and all of our family came together for the occasion! It was so exciting and everyone was very proud of him! This day was also very special because it was the one year marker since our first date; we had gone ice skating at Millennium Park and eaten sub sandwiches. We planned to celebrate our anniversary by going ice skating again at Millennium Park and asked if my best friend, Eryn, would join us.

 

Not only did we celebrate Andrew's graduation and the anniversary of our first date that night, but we made a new memory and a new anniversary - Andrew proposed that night at the same place where it all began just a year before. Check out our memories below!

A new beginning awaits us!