tie it up

So this happened:

Wow. The flash made me look white but my diamond sure is purty!
Don't worry. He didn't propose at my house. We took this after we got home.

Yep, it’s official. Mr. Wonderful and I are tying the knot!

We (well he) made it official August 31, but we wanted people to find out from us and not on Facebook, Instagram, the blog, or through the grapevine. So chances are if you’re reading this you already know (if you don’t I’m so sorry you were missed-unless you read it on feedly earlier this week that means  you weren't missed, stupid, stupid feedly beating me to the punch), but now that it's official official I’m just too dang excited to NOT say anything every chance I get!!! 

I say 'official official' because the REAL surprise here is we have been planning this since MAY. Yep, you read that right, Mr. Wonderful and I have been secretly planning a wedding ALL SUMMER. *insert maniacal laugh* Why wait so long before saying anything, you ask? Well we wanted a ring on my finger before we said anything, and to be honest after my first failed attempt at making it down the aisle I have been more than a little gun shy this time around. Although I know it's no guarantee of success we both REALLY wanted a ring on my finger before we said anything-mostly so that it felt real to me. I chose to play my cards close to my chest until I was sure it was a done deal. And now it is. Preparations are well on their way.

I would love to tell it here but Mr. Wonderful is a very private guy and has asked me to not share our engagement story with the interwebnets, so I’m respecting his wishes. If the curiosity is just too much to bear I am happy to share it with you personally or via private message if you would like. 

So instead of ‘the story’ here are a few things I’ve learned over the last twelve weeks: 

-I am great at keeping secrets—except my own. I may have let it slip to a few people (ok, like more than a few). Thank you all for keeping your mouths zipped when I could not!!

-Having a few people in the know was actually nice because I had people to talk to and bounce ideas off of when Mr. Wonderful was sick of getting an earful.

-Just because you title your Pinterest board ‘Someday’ doesn’t mean people won’t jump to conclusions and start asking you if you are in fact, engaged.

-You don’t have to have a ring on your finger for people to be GENUINELY happy and EXCITED for you-one person may or may not have started crying upon hearing the news. (You know who you are, and thank you for that reaction. It was priceless to me.)
-When you do finally 'have a ring on it' it's really distracting and you spend a lot of time looking at your hands.

-Although I’ve had marriage on the brain pretty much my entire life (I am a girl you know), forming all these ideas into a cohesive plan that is both economical and practical to carry out is HARD.

-Having a groom who chooses to be completely involved in the planning process is great, but it also makes planning harder because now I actually have to compromise vs "do whatever you want, I will just show up, stand where I'm told, and look good". (Good thing he has ideas that are usually better than mine anyway.)

-TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. Seriously. In the time it took to look at it and then get Mr Wonderful there to fall in love with it too (24 hours) the venue went from available to not for the day we originally wanted and we had to push the date back a week.

-Although it has been a hard secret to keep, it has been fun having something just between Mr. Wonderful and me (well mostly between us).
-As worried as I was about being labeled a hypocrite or being judged for choosing to be married civilly first rather than in the temple so ALL of our nearest and dearest could be there (most importantly my daddy and our siblings), people have been super supportive and accepting of my reasons. But then I have the best family and friends ever so I shouldn't be surprised by this, right?

-Everything I thought I knew about me has been thrown out the window. Although I HOPE I haven’t been a Bridezilla I HAVE been overly-emotional. Seriously guys, tears at the drop of a hat over the most ridiculous things. Rational Kristen would have been fine, but Bride Kristen? Not so much. It’s quite embarrassing to Rational Kristen, actually.

-I REALLY wish I had followed through with when I was sixteen and decided to start saving for my wedding. Sixteen years is plenty of time to build quite the nest egg--hell, even if I'd started when Mr. Wonderful and I started dating we'd have more than enough for the wedding of our dreams! 

-We have entertained eloping more than once. If we didn’t know at least a dozen people each who would kill us for doing so we probably would have. (Plus once you start paying deposits you're kinda committed to staying put.)

-Having a seamstress for a mother is a huge blessing-I am getting exactly what I want, although having her 300 miles away makes fittings difficult.
-My whole family is just a huge blessing-my little brother is building us the arch we will be married under and then GIVING it to us to put in our yard one day--just because I mentioned it would be nice but out of our budget. Seriously, guys. Anything I have mentioned I would like but labeled 'undo-able' they have taken the initiative and figured out ways to give it to us. Best. Family. EVER. 

-As much as I thought I wanted things to play out one way: Unexpected proposal (well as unexpected as six years can get us) with a ring he chose himself, then letting everyone know and commencing with the planning, this way (as backwards as it may seem to some-including me) was perfect. I loved choosing my ring with him (waiting for him to finally give it to me-not so much) and making plans just the two of us. It’s been fun, but I’m happy to finally be able to let you in on our secret (as are the people who were sworn to secrecy I'm sure)!
-There is no such thing as 'normal' and trying to compare my normal to other people's normal is just a bad idea all around. Things happen the way they are supposed to, and just because it worked a certain way for someone else does not mean that it's how it will work out for you, and you know what? THAT'S OKAY. 

So those are just a few things I have learned over the last few months. I will say October 23 can not come fast enough-I can hardly wait to start my new life with Mr. Wonderful. It’s been a long time coming and patience in the Lord’s timing definitely pays off. He is the perfect man for me and I love him so much.

Because I don’t want to be “that person” I am trying to be sensitive to people I love, so after this post I will be trying to not spam everyone with anything that isn’t solicited, but I am happy to tell you anything you want to know personally!
(Or you can visit the wedding blog I've set up-provided I make time to post there too www.scottandkristen2013.blogspot.com. If that fails you can visit our website if you wanna. www.scottandkristen2013.com/)