The Story of Us

Back in the mid-1970's, if someone had told me that this adorable little boy would grow up to be the man I marry, I probably would have laughed. I mean, at 5, what did I know about boys? Well, I thought the boy across the street was adorable and I would have said he was the one I wanted to marry. Fate, maybe actually divine intervention had more to do with David and me falling in love and getting together. I certainly wish I remembered the cute, redheaded boy from Garcia Street  Club. Perhaps we were in different classes or maybe we did actually sit next to each other during a time or two, neither of us remember the other from our early days of childhood education. I do know that if my parents hadn't moved us across town to the "south" side of town, I would have seen David at St. Francis School the next year as they planned to send me there, until they learned there was an elementary school within walking distance of my house. It was until ninth grade at St. Michael's that our paths crossed again.

I certainly didn't look as cute as this in ninth grade. But I was growing up and elementary school flew by and I found myself at St. Mike's in seventh grade. I don't remember much about Junior High, other than I was an awkward preteen, who wasn't really all that boy crazy and cared more about who my friends were going to be when we made it to our high school years. Fortunately, my friendships didn't change much, but my outlook on boys did. I hung around with the smart kids, but I didn't think of myself as "smart". I got good grades, did my homework and enjoyed school, but I wasn't one of the cute, popular girls. I had a few crushes but no one really caught my eye and I didn't think I caught anyone's eye. I remember the redheaded boy with the big blue eyes though. He was nice and I remember speaking to him every now and then, but we were so different then.

Dress Me.

One of the first questions I'm asked is what kind of a dress am I going to wear? The answer is, well, I want this dress, but I can't afford the original. It came out four years ago anyway. Mom and I are thinking of trying to recreate it in  an A-line shape instead of a ball gown. We just need to figure out what to do about the embroidery. I also shouldn't say "we" as I'm a piss poor seamstress and my mother is the best. She could have been a designer like the greats. I think that's what she wanted to do with her life, but she went to nursing school, which she hated. Anyway... I'm hoping that we can find someone with an embroidery machine who can do the hard work on the dress. If we go with this dress.

Back in the old days, it was traditional for Spanish brides to wear black and I'd like to add a bit of that tradition to my wedding.

The more and more I look at this dress, I'm in love with it. I'm not sure if I can do the ruffled trim and bow in black and get a look that I like but maybe. It may look a bit too weird. I suppose Mom can try both and see what we like best. My mom can definitely make either dress, but she's been so stressed and tired with putting up with my dad, I actually feel guilty for asking her to make my dress. Of course, it has always been a given that she would make my dress, so now that it's here, I'm torn.

The other thing is there are no nice fabric stores in Santa Fe. I'm hoping a trip to Albuquerque next week produces nice results. If not, maybe I'll borrow someone's couch in NYC while I go fabric shopping. :)

I think they're both simple dresses, with some ornate details but nothing over the top. I've been offered by a dear friend to use the mantilla she made for her daughter, and I'm considering that. I'm not sure how I feel about a veil. It might be nice. We'll see.

We're going to book the hotel for the reception on Thursday. I'm meeting a florist tomorrow and we're meeting photographers Friday. I'll pick up my baptismal certificate and drop that off at the church and see when we need to start on our classes. It would be nice to be able to test out.  I'm investigating prices at nearby hotels for out of town guests. I'll get travel info together and other details for guests coming to the wedding who aren't familiar with Santa Fe. (Watch this space for that information.)

Dressing the groom will be a whole post onto itself.

Yes, No, Maybe So...

I have a little over seven months to plan a wedding. I know it can be done. I have Martha Stewart books, bridal magazines, a planning binder and all sorts of guidelines that tell me when I have to start doing things. First off creating a guest list is the most pressing thing. The venue David and I would like for our reception holds about 150 people max. That doesn't sound too bad. We've actually filled out 148 lines on our excel spreadsheet. We were excited that we came to 148 and included just about everyone we want at the wedding. I still could add about 10 more people. Uh... but then I realized that those 10 people, also includes spouses, children and significant others, that could potentially be 20-30 more people. So, my little list of 148 could easily be doubled.

First off, I don't expect a lot of out-of-town invitees to come. In actuality, there aren't that many out of town people invited. The majority of people who are invited live in the area and are family and friends.

I expected that a lot of our classmates from high school would be asking if they were invited to the wedding because both David and I are on Facebook. I worried that we might have a horde of them expecting to have a mini class reunion at our wedding, but I think we can safely say that isn't going to happen. We will invite some of our classmates, but not as many as I thought we'd have to invite.

Because of the limited number of people the venue can hold, it really has to be close friends and family. How come this is the hardest part? I can't say no kids, no dates or spouses, just to get the numbers down. I will have to cut people or move the venue to somewhere where I don't have to.

As our wedding is in the afternoon, our reception will fall around dinner time, so appetizers won't cut it. We will have to have a dinner, besides we want to have a dance.

At this point, let the ax fall where it does... I still have seven months you know...

How to Get Married in the Catholic Church

There are many, many things a couple must do before the couple's actual wedding day. The first step is to acquire paperwork. If Catholic, the bride and the groom must have updated copies of their baptismal certificates. I made a quick inquiry to the secretary at the Cathedral two days ago asking for mine and David's. I got a call from the deacon who leads the marriage prep there and he was able to find mine easily, but it seems my love was MIA. He was born in Socorro, but he always thought he was baptized at the Cathedral. Turns out, there is a plot twist and he wasn't baptized at the Cathedral after all. In fact, he was baptized here at the San Miguel Church so, now my sweetie's baptismal certificate is on the way and we can meet with the deacon at our parish in August with the proper documents. :)

Step number two to come...

June 12, 2010...

was the day David asked me to become his bride. It was a day I will always remember. David and I have pretty much been in and out of each other's lives in some way since kindergarten. We both went to the same Kindergarten, though we don't have a memory of each other from those days, but we were there together. Our families worshiped at the same church our whole lives, and we attended the same high school and college. In high school we had very different lives, different friends and never hung out or spent much time talking to each other. He had a girlfriend and I just had my friends. I went out on a few dates, but I never had a boyfriend till right after graduation and that didn't last long. Still, when David and I would pass each other in the halls, we'd say hello and exchange pleasantries.

He tells me he always thought I was pretty. I always liked his red hair and blue eyes... I don't think I ever told anyone that, but that is the one thing I remember most about him and that I thought he was a nice guy. Nothing more, as I didn't really know him or see him much.

In college, for many of those years he lived down the street from me at the Kappa Sigma house, while I was living at the Zeta Tau Alpha house. I never hung out at his fraternity. I knew he was there, but when I went to college, I wanted to avoid everyone I knew from high school. I pretty much did, so the last place I wanted to hang out was a fraternity with guys I knew from high school. So, I never sought him out. Besides, he still had a girlfriend and so he never really sought me out, but he knew where I was too. :)

College flew by-- hard to believe how fast it felt too. He stayed in Albuquerque and I came back to Santa Fe. Our lives since then have flown by too. He finally took a job in Los Alamos, moved to the Jemez and settled in there for 10 years. He's had serious relationships since college, but he was still looking for me even though he didn't know it. I stayed here, did some freelance writing and for the last ten years have been in real estate. I dated from time to time, I even managed to fall in love once since then... but a broken heart nearly kept me from true love. I dated a bit after that, but no one I met felt right. Then suddenly, out of the blue a Facebook friend request came in from a guy I knew in high school and college, a guy I remembered as being nice, so I clicked confirm. Suddenly a few days after that we started talking and I don't think there has been a day we haven't communicated since.

When we finally saw each other October 12, 2009, I knew he was special. I knew I'd found more than a friend-- and that's what I wanted at first. I didn't want another broken heart or another attempt at a relationship to fizzle. We saw each other again that weekend and the following weekend. By then.... I knew he was the one. I knew the moment we first kissed that I wanted to see him again... and again.

For us, it happened fast. For us, it felt right. For us, it was meant to be. This time is our time.

So flash forward about eight months and here we are engaged. And if you're still reading this, this is the story of his proposal. We were spending the weekend in Jemez, sprucing up the house and getting it ready for the summer. We spent Friday working on the bathrooms, the kitchen and the floor. He organized some of his things and I finished decorating the bathrooms. We were tired and hungry, so we went into the town of Jemez Springs for dinner at the Laughing Lizard. Then the next day, he woke me up wishing me a Happy Anniversary. Every month on the 12th we wish each other a Happy Anniversary. Sometimes, I give him a card and a little something, or he does. This month I spaced it. While he was getting coffee I had time to write on his FB wall and wish him a Happy Anniversary. It posted three times. Darn Blackberry and crappy cell reception there. He saw it later.

After waking up, we went to the little cafe in town for breakfast, quiche, croissants and chai. As we were leaving we decided to get some sweets to go. He wanted to go to Battleship Rock to hang out. In our trips to the house, we usually go to just check it. We've spent a night here and there, but we just check the house and head back to Santa Fe. So, this trip he wanted to take me around the area. I didn't really care where we went, I just wanted to be with him.

I had a chocolate éclair and he had a cinnamon roll, both were heavenly. I hope next year on this day, we go back to the cafe for both goodies in memory of this day. We sat talking and the next thing I knew, he apologized for not having a card and then said he had something he wanted to tell me.

Then he said the most romantic, most beautiful words to me and I melted just hearing them. I'm not going to post them because they are his words to me. Still, when he took out the ring and got on bended knee and asked me, his princess, to be his bride and marry him, how could I say no? I have been waiting for this day. I said yes to him so many times. We hugged and kissed. I will never forget that moment. I jumped into his arms, arms that have held me and will always hold me. I never wanted to let go of him. We kissed and we both got a bit teary eyed.

We've talked about marriage, family and spending our lives together. We've laughed and talked about our wedding-- in a church, with family and close friends-- but until the moment he asked me, I didn't think it would come. I've never been a girl who dreamt about a Big White Wedding. ::: cues Billy Idol here:::

Now I get to plan it.

Afterward, we walked the trails around the picnic area. See, Battleship Rock is where two rivers come together to form the Jemez River. Two bodies of water uniting to be one: the San Antonio and the East Fork River. We are two souls, two people, two lives coming together to be as one in marriage.

That's why he proposed to me there. In that spot. That's why I will never forget that day and I'm sharing it here so that others can share in that day with us.

A few pictures are uploaded here.

Life a Bit Out of Order

I know if you're reading this post you may not have any idea who either David or Maria are, however, more than likely, you're a friend or family member stopping to by to check out our wedding plans. Well, this is our blog and we're using it to post moments of our life together. We're getting married February 12, 2011 and this blog is about us. In time, I'll fill in the details so that things 'round here aren't so out of order.

We're Engaged! It happened June 12, 2010. More to come.