It'll be just like starting over...

~Starting Over~John Lennon~

The nice thing about having been previously engaged & planning a wedding, is that this time, I can do things differently. Things that I thought I wanted last time, I now look back on & think "oh, that was nice, but THIS would be even better!"

For example...last time we were going to get married in a church, similar to this:

This time, my future fiance & I have all ready discussed that we'd rather NOT get married in a church. Neither of us are church-goers, so why have a ceremony in a church? This time around, we're thinking somewhere outdoors... like this local gem:

Last time, we were having a coworker of my ex-fiance's, who happened to also be a minister, marry us. THIS time, we're thinking about having a friend get ordained online, through somewhere like the Universal Life Church . Why hire someone who we don't know, who doesn't know us, when we could have someone close to us do it. That is sure to be more meaningful in our situation.

Last time, I was going to wear this dress:

This time, I've got my eye on dresses like this:





Last time, I did a lot of DIY things. While it added a lot of personal touches, I think that sometimes they were unnecessary touches. This time around, things will be unique & personal, but on a smaller scale than last time. Last time I think I probably bit off more than I could chew w/the DIY stuff. My plan was to save money by doing things myself, but truthfully, things probably cost just as much, if not more, to do them myself.

It's nice to know that I got the first engagement as sort of the "dress rehearsal" so to speak... Now I know what to expect, what I want, etc. I get to plan a second wedding, without ever having to get a divorce!!!

Put a Ring on It

I started 2008 engaged and planning my March wedding. Not long after the year began, those plans were pushed to the wayside, at the discretion of my ex-fiance. At the time how did I feel about that? Devastated. Eleven months later and ask me how I feel. Elated.

Not long after the brutal break-up (which involved a domestic dispute, jail time for the mister, and a restraining order), I met the man of my dreams. Now, in the past, when I've heard people use that phrase, it's made me wanna throw up in my mouth a little, no joke. However, now I know what they're talking about. The best part is, neither of us were looking for the other when we miraculously found each other.



Fast forward to November, and we've just celebrated 9 wonderful months of courtship... or "going steady" as my grandmother likes to call it. In mid-summer, talks of marriage came up in conversation between us. We talked about our desires, what kind of timeline we were thinking about, and we even looked at rings a couple of times. And for all you visual folks out there, my ideal ring would be a mix of these two, with a round center stone:

But to be honest, anything that he will pick/has picked will be perfect, no matter what it looks like. As someone that's gone through a proposal/engagement before, I have to say, it's pretty flattering when someone wants to marry you. Kind of like "wow, someone loves me THIS MUCH??!"

So anyway, here we are & it's November. The boyfriend (who I have been trying to think of a clever internet name for... what goes with strawberries? Bananas? Yes, but too phallic! But, I digress) has made hints about a "secret plan" for months now. All I know is that this plan involved a trip somewhere. My woman's intuition tells me that the plan also involved a possible proposal. I was told that I'd find out the plan around November. Well, a couple weeks ago, he suggested a trip to Chicago to see the sights & take in all the Christmas decorations. Could this be part of the SECRET PLAN? I mean, the destination isn't secret, nor are our travels within the city:

The Museum of Science & Industry

Navy Pier

Milennium Park

Macy's (Formerly Marshall Field's)

And finally, the Daley Plaza to see the big outdoor Christmas tree!

Regardless of whether or not the trip ends in a proposal, I know that this will be an amazing trip with the man I love. We're going up on a Friday & staying in a hotel (yay Priceline for a half-price hotel near the city!), and we'll do all that fun stuff Saturday, then stay in the hotel again until Sunday. I cannot wait!

I love hearing proposal stories... share yours!