That boat has set sail...

The engagement session I wish we could have had!

source
As much as we would have enjoyed a sailboat/marina e-session, asking our photographer to travel 3 hours to the home marina wasn't in the cards. And the boat had already been pulled out of the water ("on the hard") in late October so we wouldn't have gotten the desired shots anyway! (Here's a look back at our pictures.)

Easy peasy presents

After the last shutter click of our engagement shoot, our photographer asked what we would do with the shots. Mr. P and I looked at each other and shrugged. I knew we'd do something with them, but what exactly had yet to be determined. Once the online proofs were in and the families (read: the moms) raved about them, I knew we had foolproof Christmas gifts.

We ordered ten prints from our photographer's Pictage account after Thanksgiving. Turnaround time was estimated mid-December, which wasn't fast enough for our early Christmas in WV. Hoping the prints would arrive just in time, I put a 2-Day rush on the order. We missed their arrival by less than 12 hours, so the rush shipping fee ($16) ended up being a waste of money. And to rub salt in the monetary wound, free shipping was offered on Cyber Monday and is now 50% off.

So how did the photos turn out?

Rittenhouse, a year later

-----------------------------------------------------

Smack dab in the middle of the park is the guardhouse.
Where Mr. P proposed.
In front of everyone.

Happy Engage-iversary

In what simultaneously feels like yesterday and a lifetime ago, Mr. P got down on one knee in the middle of a Philadelphia park and asked me to marry him.
Cheers!
We're heading back to Philly today to remind us of the what and why behind our decision while remembering our past and planning for the future. (My camera is coming with me this time!) As I type this, the church bells at St. Thomas are pealing. I can't help but think of weddings every time I hear the bells.

Something in the water

With almost 2 full years of engagements and weddings, our circle of friends and family averages a wedding every 2.3 months. We're in the middle of the celebrations: 6 down, 4 to go. It's a lot of showers, cards, gifts and vacation time. When I bring this up with anyone in outside of my generation, there is no sympathy. Instead, it's a "been there done that" attitude and a variety of explanations:

1. It's cyclical. What does that even mean? We're not cicadas.
2. Everyone is the same age so of course they'll do the same things at the same time. This is so not the case! The age range of these couples runs from 24-50. We have friends that are far older who haven't begun to think of settling down and younger friends with several children. When you get married has little to do with age and more about where you are as a person. Sorry, I just don't like sweeping generalizations...
3. You're just more aware of it since you're getting married. Also crap. Looking back over the last 10 years, it's been one wedding (at most) a year -- not every 2 months.

All together now

Epic e-pics

We're over the moon with our engagement pictures. They're better than we could have hoped for. The teaser pics just hint at the awesomeness contained in the online album. (Private, sorry. It has last names.) Mr. P and I have not laughed this hard (at ourselves) in a long time.

The Moms were the first to see the album. I called both of them so we could view the albums together. The pitch and decibel of their excited voices may have caused permanent hearing damage! To say they are excited for the wedding is an understatement. The outpouring of love and enthusiasm feels grand. I'm on a natural high.

Levels of awesomeness

Our engagement photos are here! Early!! (Dogs are howling and our wine glasses just shattered - I may need to calm down.) After the shoot, I left wondering what level of awesomeness the photos would be. We had a great location and photographer, but would we screw them up? I was convinced I'd have my eyes closed in a third of them and Mr. P would look painfully uncomfortable. Happy to report that on a scale of 1-10, this one goes to 11!

source
As much as I'd like to keep the location of our amazing photo shoot a secret, I feel that it's my bridal obligation to spills the beans so everyone else can visit too! Drumroll, please...

Engagement pictures are in!

My palms are clammy. I'm so excited I can't see straight. And if I weren't at work I'd be running around in circles. What has gotten into me?!

Our engagement photos are in! Heather has posted a teaser on her blog, but I have decided to wait until I’m home to look at them with Mr. P. Bonus excitement: he just got home after being away for a few days!

An hour has never felt so long!

And the skies clear...

All morning long, it rained and I anxiously watched the clock. Once noon rolled around, we had a decision to make. Would the rain hold off for our Brandywine Creek State Park shoot? Or would we be forced to reschedule if none of the Plan B's panned out?

Just as I was ready to leave the office for the make-up appointment, my phone rang. It was Mr. P. And he had good news. Really good news. I squealed (quietly) and left in an excited flurry with a stupid grin on my face. The rain didn't stop. In fact, it poured on the hour drive to and from the make-up appointment. But it didn't matter - I was so thrilled it was all working out.

(I heart this shot.)
My car practically came to a screeching halt outside the house with 10 minutes to spare. After a quick change of clothes, inhaling some nachos and maybe half a Captain 'n Ginger, we grabbed the props and rain gear and were out the door.

It's raining, it's pouring

After spending two hours last night auditioning engagement shoot outfits (very full and semi-drunk – not recommended), it was all for naught – it looks we’ll be rained out. If you recall, we chose Brandywine Creek State Park to showcase the fall color peaking thisveryminute. All the locations were outside: fields of grasses, a meandering stone wall and sweeping views of the rolling countryside. I had even planned framing for certain photos and props.

I knew the weather wasn’t guaranteed. The only explanation I can offer is that I stuck my head in the sand and pretended bad weather wouldn’t foul our plans. So now with a 50% chance of thunderstorms, a chance we're not willing to take, so we’re exploring other (inside) options. Big pouty face. It’s my fault. I’m a planner who failed to plan.

source

Engagement shoot - inspiration

I'm not one to go into things blindly. I like to research. Given the opportunity, I over-research. So when I came time to brainstorm our fall engagement shoot, I turned to other wedding bloggers' engagement shoots as a frame of reference. No need to reinvent the wheel when other (smarter, more creative) women have been through it already!

The Wedding Bee engagement session wiki is chock full of helpful posts. There's lots of beautifully styled shoots with a similar location or look that we're going for. Some of my favorite engagement shoots:

Mrs. Dolphin - Pure Photography
Mrs. French Fry - MThreeStudio

Engagement shoot - scheduled!

Now that the leaves are changing color, it's time to think about our fall engagement shoot with Heather Fowler. I finally remembered to email her about a late October shoot and it's set up for a Wednesday near the end of the month. Another reason why we love our photographer: she suggested a 4pm shoot to capture the best light of the day. It's something I feel strongly about. After all, the golden hour makes for some terrific shots.

Our location is a state park full of grassy meadows, open fields, stands of tall trees and a dramatic stone wall. Mr. P wants to visit the park to scout locations (I know, crazy right?) and snap photos. Done, done and done. I'm on board. We haven't gone yet but I have several archived albums, including a fall shoot from November 2008.

The Thanksgiving un-surprise

Every Thanksgiving, we trek to north Jersey to see Mr. P's family. This time, we had some news to share with the 20+ family members. His mom promised to keep our engagement a secret. I had happy butterflies all week at the thought of revealing our happy news. We walked into his aunt's house without saying a word, thinking we were going to pull one over on everyone until it came out in a dramatic reveal. But it was not to be.

Breaking the news to our friends

As much fun as it was to devise a clever "We're engaged!" story for my mom, we brainstormed even harder when it came to our friends. We came up with some creative ways to surprise them, but my favorite "spill the beans" story has to be when we told our good friend R.

The engagement was still a secret. The few family members that knew promised to keep it a secret (and off Facebook) so we could share the news in person with close friends and distant family.

source

Sneaky boy

Let's try some wedding math!

Major DIY bathroom renovation (going on month 2)


+
45 days til Christmas
-
no income for 3 months
=
engagement ring (?!?)
Ehm, I'm not known for my math skills. To me, it doesn't add up. Still doesn't. But it did to Brian in the fall of 2009...

Why I'll always think fondly of November 21

Mr. P and I decided to head up to Philly to cross some Christmas shopping off our list. While there, we planned to check out a few of our favorite places around Rittenhouse Square. It was a beautiful Saturday - warm and bright after so many dreary November days. Everyone else was out too. The city was filled with moms with strollers, city dogs out for a walk and families shopping.

We laid out a casual plan of attack for the day. Hit a few stores, grab a bite then load up on gelato before leaving the city. My perfect city day!