Double the 'C,' and double the 'S,' and you'll always have...

SUCCESS!

We have a venue!

It's an old, gorgeous mansion in Brenham. It has a pretty outdoor setting for the ceremony, and the inside has rooms we can set up tables in for the reception.

I really love it, and so does Philip. It has the look I wanted, and it fits in our budget. I was really doubting we'd find something that met those criteria, but God is good!

So that's a HUGE thing checked off my To Do list. Leaving...let me check...75 things, according to my theknot.com checklist (which has been VERY helpful). The next big things will be booking a caterer and an officiant.

In the meantime, we have our honeymoon booked! Whoop! We will be going to St Maarten. We still have to get a few more details worked out--flights, etc.--but we have the resort reserved, so that's another big relief!

We also have our photographer! Philip is friends with a guy who is a professional photographer, so we got an amazing deal with him. In the next couple of months I'll be booking an appointment with him to go to Austin and get my bridal portraits made...so surreal!

Things are looking brighter as far as wedding planning. There's still so much to do, but between theknot.com and my Mindy Weiss Wedding Planner and Organizer, I'm hoping to stay on top of things so that I don't get too overwhelmed. I am feeling a lot less stressed than I was (although the stress dreams continue--the other night I had a dream that was just people I knew coming up to me and telling me I was fat. Good job, subconscious.)

March 28, 2015, here we come!

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Rethought.

So I had this whole angsty post typed up yesterday about how much I was disliking wedding planning and how not fun it was when you didn't have a bank vault at your disposal. It was long, and it was dark. I felt fully vindicated as I wrote it. And yet, I did not hit "Publish."

Now, I'm glad I didn't. Because since venting, I've started thinking about what the wedding is leading up to: life with a man whom I love, a strong Christian man who has endured my mood swings, tears, and outbursts these last few weeks of planning with patience and understanding.

You see, weddings are expensive. And I mean EXPENSIVE. We have yet to find a venue that doesn't charge everything we've saved for the wedding and then some. And I am so frustrated and stressed out by it.

And yet, I looked beyond the wedding yesterday after pouring my anger into my blog post, and I remembered that it's just a party so that your friends and family get to celebrate with you. It's the start of a new life together. Sure, it's a big event, but it's not so big that it warrants every ounce of my attention every hour of the day. I think I've only ridden my horse once since getting engaged; that's how consumed by this I've let myself become. And the wedding is still 6 months away.

So, I'm not saying that I've relaxed about trying to find a venue. Seeing as the wedding is only six months away, we do need to nail that down pretty soon here to make sure we get our date. But I'm trying to not be my usual control-freak self so I can give it up to God. It seems like a petty request, but he's answered even pettier prayers for me.

It is a rare event when I stop and think before submitting something in anger. Maybe this is a sign that I'm growing and learning how to reign in the beast that is my temper.

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A surprising weekend.

So this weekend brought with it a pretty big surprise. What is it, you might ask? Well, if you know me, you know I like a good story. So let's jump in!

Philip came into town Friday evening, and he took me to dinner at a German restaurant in Bryan--the same restaurant we went to for Valentine's Day. We ate and were merry, as Germans do, then he took me dancing--just like we did on one of our first dates in Dallas.

The next morning, he surprised me with breakfast--delicious coffee cake, the same breakfast he made me for my birthday earlier this year. Is this the surprise, you may ask? Surprise food is always a good choice in my book, but no, the surprise is still coming.

After we finished breakfast, he told me that he was taking me hiking in Huntsville State Park. So I got ready, taking my sweet time, and we drove that way (about 20 minutes later than we were supposed to leave). He seemed to be in a slight hurry, but I didn't think too much of it.

We got into the park, and we were driving along, looking for "the best place to stop and get out of the car." But suddenly, we turned into a stable. Philip had set up a surprise horseback ride for us through the park. He even had snuck my boots into his car when I wasn't looking.

The ride was extra nice because the rest of the participants had cancelled since it was supposed to rain that day, so it was just him, me, and the guide. HSP is beautiful with lots of super tall trees. And it was nice and quiet and relaxing. Also I enjoyed being on a horse that wasn't a green two-year old. My horse was a bay roan gelding named Pinky (poor guy) whom the guide told us was the alpha horse out of the whole ~30 horse herd. Philip: "I'm not at all surprised Kristin got the alpha."

Is this the surprise, you're asking? Yes, it was a surprise, and a good one at that, but no, we're still getting warmed up!

After the ride, we headed out to "walk around the lake"--only when we arrived, he had another surprise: a picnic lunch, just like he did for another of our first dates. There were strawberries, carrots, sandwiches, wine, even my favorite: dark chocolate. We ate a nice meal before the ants found it, while surrounded by trees and the lake.

So was this the big surprise? Not yet, but we're getting close!

After lunch, he pulled out his guitar. He had played it for me during our first picnic lunch date too, so I assumed he was going to do that again. However, he had another surprise for me: he had written a song for me. He began to strum the first notes, and I broke down in tears like SUCH a girl.

The song was beautiful. I always thought it would be super awkward to have someone sing directly to me like that--where do I look? At them? Do I smile? Nod seriously?--but I loved it.

So now you're thinking, ah. That is a nice surprise. Sounds like a good day that was full of surprises. And you'd be correct. But guess what? Even my own song wasn't the grand finale.

After he finished playing, he set his guitar down, as cool and collected as he could be. He started telling me how much he loved me and how he wanted me by his side forever. These are things he tells me all the time, but I'll admit, this thought crossed my mind: If he doesn't propose to me after ALL of this, he's a jerk!

Well, no worries, subconscious. Because right after that he stood, pulled me into a standing position, and kneeled before me. He said, "I have a question for you." And then he asked me to marry him. And I responded in the most stereotypical way every girl in every movie has ever responded that I swore I would NEVER do: hands over my mouth, tears running down my cheeks, etc.

Oh--and I said yes.

I'm pretty smitten with my ring. It's everything I wanted. Apparently he collaborated with my bff (whom I had conveniently shared pictures of rings I liked with along with every detail I wanted mine to have). She amazingly didn't let anything on to me about the weekend in spite of knowing that he was proposing. In fact, quite a few people knew that it was coming--including my very young cousins, whom I've spent a lot of time with lately--and NO one spilled the beans. I'm so impressed with everyone.

I LOVE the detail on the sides!

Even more impressive is that he met up with my parents for dinner in College Station one evening, without me knowing about it, to ask my dad's permission for my hand. Both he and my parents had been at my house that day, but they left at different times, and I had no idea that they had met back up later.

So I'm engaged now, and it feels so weird. Planning my wedding so far has been very surreal. I keep having to remind myself that it's my wedding and not something I'm planning for someone else. It's already overwhelming, but I'm trying to stay calm and cool and not turn into a bridezilla. I've gotten as far as picking my bridesmaids and am looking at venues now. I know what I want, but there are SO many places, and I pretty much still just want to elope in South Africa. But I'm trying to be a good sport about it. So many people are excited about it, and it's helping me to get more and more excited. So prepare for lots of wedding planning posts, as I'm sure that's about to take over my life for the next few months.

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