Destination unkown (aka justifying a destination wedding)

I know that this shindig is our wedding so we could get married in Alaska next to a polar bear if we really wanted but I don’t really like the way Alaskans talk. Instead, we decided a while back that we wanted a beach wedding. At first Clark was a little against it. He is much more of a people pleaser than I am and was worried that people would be upset if they weren’t able to make it. I just reminded him that it’s OUR wedding and having our closest family and friends there will be enough. 

Growing up, I always thought I would have a huge wedding where hundreds of people could look at me and tell me how beautiful I am. But after being in and going to that exact wedding about 30 times, I realized that isn’t really what I want. I’m not trying to bash anyone’s wedding, I don’t think there is anything wrong with having a huge wedding; it’s just not what I want. And if you can only get exactly what you want one time, it should be on your wedding day.

I’m not really into surprises so before we got engaged, I sat down with a calendar and we came up with a plan. I didn’t tell him when or how to propose (I tried but he wouldn’t allow it) but we did both agree that if we were going to get married 9-10 hours away, we wanted everyone to have at least a year to save money and vacation time so that isn’t an obstacle. We aren’t thinking anywhere crazy, probably Destin or Gulf Shores, definitely somewhere close enough to drive. We are also going to try to plan it when most hotels and condos have their “mid-season” rates, usually in between spring break and Memorial Day. We are planning on either April 27 or May 4, 2013, we haven’t booked anything but I am hoping that since it's over a year away that one of those dates will be open. 

I hate that we have to wait that long but it’s worth it for us to have the perfect day with the people we love the most.

And just for fun, here's is a video of what happened on the way to Destin last year...

I can't wait to see what memories we will make with both of our families on the next trip!

Proposal Story

Soooo………..I’m back and I’M ENGAGED! This weekend Clark popped the question with this stunner of a ring! 

And I’m sure you want to hear the story of how he did it so here you go....

This past weekend Clark and I went to Fayetteville for the Razorback baseball game. We stayed with my bestie Heather and her husband Adam. My friends Brittany and Stephanie were supposed to come with us but backed out (and I was ticked). Friday night we stayed up talking with Heather and Adam until probably midnight. During this conversation, they all lied to me approximately 100 times.

Saturday morning we got up and went to Common Grounds for a delicious brunch with Heather and Adam. Then Heather said she had to take some work stuff to Fed Ex and go get her oil changed. So Clark and I went to campus because he said he wanted to walk around and see some of the parts that he never gets to see. I showed him the library (even though I only went there once, I remembered it), Old Main, and Spoofers Stone. Then he said he wanted to go to the football stadium. I whined because I have been to the stadium a million times and even on the field before but I finally agreed. As we are walking into the stadium, I tell him the story of how I was supposed to be on the field for the Tennessee game in 2006 when ESPN Gameday was there but I had a spinal tap the day before and projectile vomited right as I walked in the gate. I even pointed to where I was standing when I puked (so romantic).

We start walking out onto the field (illegal) and he just keeps walking, I finally said something about us getting caught and he said he just wanted to take a picture of the hog in the middle. When we get to the 50 yard line, he started making an incredibly sweet speech (that neither one of us really remembers) then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes and as we start walking off the field, people started popping up from the entrance and yelling. Clark and Heather had schemed to get my very best friends (minus one) to Fayetteville (I immediately felt bad for all the smack talk I did about them backing out on us). Kori and Chad even drove all the way from Dallas! It was seriously perfect!

Brittany, Kori, Clark, Me, Heather and Stephanie

We ended the night on Heather’s back porch just eating and talking and having a blast!