December 31st. 11:55pm. It is funny how 5 minutes can change your life drastically forever. I remember everything. My boyfriend had invited me to travel to Washington state, where he was from, to meet his family and spend New Years Eve with them. He gave me no indication of why he wanted me to meet them, besides introducing his family, to whom he was very close to, to his girlfriend (me), whom he was getting increasingly serious about. Right from the get go I fell in love with his precious family, and immensely enjoyed getting to know them individually.
11:56pm. My adorable boyfriend took my hand and told me to take a seat on the couch and get ready to watch the ball drop on the t.v. I obliged, and took my seat. I mused over the fact that this was hands down quite the best New Years Eve I had ever had. He was wonderful, his family was so very welcoming, and our relationship was better than ever. Blissful would have been an understatement to my condition.
11:57pm. "I will be right back." My boyfriend slips out of the room and upstairs, leaving me on the couch counting the minutes until the ball drops. New friends and family happily mingled and chatted around me.
11:58pm. "Where is Kyle?" Someone asks me. Thinking that this was the most inopportune time to use the restroom, I debated whether I should go bang on the bathroom door. The clock was threatening bringing in the New Year with an absent boyfriend. [Insert anxiety here.]
11:59pm. "Sorry, sweetie." Boyfriend sidles close up to me on the couch and puts his arm around me. [Insert contented and relieved sigh here.] All is right in the world.
T-minus 10 seconds. I never would have known how fast life was coming at me in the next 10 seconds; how in ten seconds I would be asked a question that would forever lead me down a new path I never had traveled.
T-minus 5, 4, 3, 2... "Mandy, stand up." Assuming this was the part where he took me in his arms and kissed me into the New Year, I leaned in. Instead of embracing me, he fell to one knee. "Mandy, I love you with all my heart." Time stopped. The room started spinning. To say that this was the most surreal moment of my life, would be a severe understatement. "Will you marry me?"
From that moment on, life became a whirlwind of decisions. What colors would I have? Who would be in the wedding? Would it be a casual or a traditional wedding? Would we write our vows, or would we just take on the assumed vows? Guestbook? Flowers? Cake? Wedding Planner? [Insert overwhelming panic attack here.]
I married my best friend, who proposed that question to me almost 5 months ago now. We had a beautiful wedding. I wouldn't have changed one thing about our wedding. Our wedding was very traditional in some aspects, and very different and eclectic in others (For instance, I walked down the aisle to Sigur Ros, rather than the traditional wedding march.) It was perfect. I have learned a lot in the past few months; a lot that most wedding magazines and web sites don't tell you.
This blog is for bride's to be. Brides to be that aren't necessarily looking to follow "The Knot's" do and do not's. Bride's to be that want their wedding to be individual and custom and fit to who they are, not who everyone else is.
I don't appeal to be an expert in the field of weddings. My claim is that I am happily married to my best friend after having the wedding of my dreams. I would like to share my stories, as well as hear of yours.
Here comes the bride.
-Mandy
[Question for discussion: How did your fiance propose to you? Comment below.]
