I have a feeling that 2014 is going to be my most exciting, yet most stressful year of my life. I turn 27 on January 24th and this year I am getting MARRIED! I have been maid of honor 4 times and a bridesmaid 3 times, so I know a thing or two about weddings. However, I have a feeling going from bridesmaid to bride is going to be quite a different adventure.
My name is Jade and my fiancé’ is Kevin. I’m a marketing coordinator/graphic designer in Annapolis and he is a district manager for Arby’s who is in charge of five stores in the central Maryland area. We met on match.com, which I feel is a pretty common way to meet people nowadays. When I first tried online dating I didn’t really know anyone personally who had used it, but now I know several people who have had long term relationships with someone they met on a dating site.
Ever since then we have been together; it will be three years this March. He proposed to me last March after two years together and it could not have been more perfect. We had discussed marriage a little bit, saying things like “in the future” or “if we get married” and I even jokingly sent him a link to my wedding board on Pinterest. Admit it, even if you aren’t engaged yet you have already pinned things to that board! When the time came and he proposed I really was in COMPLETE SHOCK!
It was a cloudy, cool Saturday afternoon in Annapolis. We decided to do a little bar/appetizer hopping in downtown. We usually do this once a month where we take a few hours and just walk around, grabbing some food and drinks while we take in the sites. This day was no different in that aspect so we parked the car and starting walking around the water. We took a few pictures by the water and walked along admiring the huge sailboats, the sound of the seagulls, and the beautiful relaxing views of the water. We continued to walk over to the edge of the dock when I started getting a little colder and suggested we make our first stop at one of the local bars. Kevin insisted we take a look at this very large sailboat that was parked next to a long pier. We walked over to the pier and I had to stop a take a picture. It was a beautiful site that stopped me suddenly; just this lonely, long pier gazing into the bay.
We walked towards the end of the pier holding one another to keep warm and looked across the water. Kevin kissed me and held me tight. He told me he loved me and I told him I loved him too. I smiled and looked back out at the water. At that moment my heart felt something, but before I knew what it was, he pulled me back around and smiling, took my hand. He had the ring in his hand and said, “Will you marry me?” My mouth dropped open then turned into the biggest smile. My response was “Oh my God!” and “Are you serious?!” He shook his head and I finally exclaimed, “YES!” I started crying with joy and he even sprouted a tear or two. I hugged and kissed him and couldn’t believe this moment had just happened. This moment where the person I loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with asked me to be his wife. My heart never felt happier or more excited.
We spent the next six months just enjoying being newly engaged. When people would congratulate us their next questions would include, “What is the date?” “Where are you getting married” “Have you picked out a dress?” We would politely say we are just enjoying being engaged right now. We knew we wanted to take a few months of just relaxing before we started wedding planning because we knew it could be a very stressful and time consuming process.
Aside from my Pinterest board and a few internet searches, our real wedding planning began at the end of the summer. We started researching places, budgets, and everything else. We knew we wanted it in Annapolis. It’s the area I grew up in, where I work, where we spend most of our play time, and where we got engaged. Come September 2014, it will be where we say, “I do!” and our Chesapeake Dream begins.
With about nine months left, we still have a lot to do but I feel like we have made really great progress. My goal is to try and remember that not everything has to be perfect and to not let the stress get to me. With house hunting, trying to lose weight, working, a social life and everything in between that might be hard. Luckily I have an amazing fiancé who supports me and is always there to talk me down when I’m ready to throw wedding invitations out the window.
