Cynturday!
Posted: Monday, 03/01/2010 at 08:03am

My friend Sharri nicknamed Saturday "Cynturday" and it lived up to its name.

The day started with my bridal shower. It was so overwhelming to have all my family and friends take time out of their busy schedules to come together when everyone has so much going on in their lives. I hardly was able to eat anything because I was just cracking up with all my friends during the lunch and walking around talking to everyone. When it was time to open presents, Ron showed up to help me open them and brought me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers. Awwww….I love him. It turned out to be a great party, lots of great food and enough Crate and Barrel boxes that I will be putting things away for months! Plus, I only cried three times which is pretty good for the emotional girl that I am! Thank you to everyone.

Bachelorette party fun! Our group was about 30 give or take at different parts of the night. We started out with dinner at Quartino's and it was awesome! My friends Hillary and Jessy had a pink glitter "BACHELORETTE" tiara, pink boa and bachelorette sash for me to wear plus my cousin Stacey brought me a hot pink tiara and bride-to-be sash so I was totally decked out in pink. I loved it. We continued on to Pops. We had a private room in the back which perfect for us but probably really where everyone started to go downhill! I mean we went over our champagne quote by 3 or 4 bottles! I had brought these little shot glass engagement rings and we were pouring everything in there. Champagne out of shot glasses is much more dangerous than one would think! When we left Pops at about 1:00 am, there were only about 8 left standing. The "Final Four" made it another few hours. If you have watched "The Hangover," my day yesterday was spent looking through the camera at hilarious pictures that we don't quite remember…lots of closed eyes, a shoeless friend and lots of "rock out" signs. A would say a good time was had by all and I'll keep the obnoxious, tawdry behavior a secret between me and my friends.

I adore all my friends and family who made it the best "Cynturday" ever and one I will never forget. XOXOXO to all my friends, family and my wonderful fiancé!

Crazy week in the world of our wedding.
Posted: Monday, 02/01/2010 at 08:02am

The week started out crazy with Ron and I decided we needed to send out "Save-the-Date" cards. Ron set out on Shutterfly to pick out a "Save-the-Date" card and proceeded to upload a picture of us and filled in the necessary information. I kept thinking that was so easy! Ron received the cards a couple of days later and we thought we would set up our new printer and quickly get the envelopes addressed...about 5 hours later they were printed. I went through our list to double-check that everyone's envelope printed. For some reason, 13 did not print. Another hour later, they were complete...well, except for the next hour we spent stuffing, stamping and embossing the return address seals. Done! Time for some wine.

Midweek, I received a call from Emmy my bridal consultant. MY dress was in! Panic set in immediately. I ordered it over 4 months ago. I couldn't remember what it looked like. What if I didn't like it anymore? What if it was so tight that I knew it would never fit? All my panic started to disappear when I saw my dress hanging in the fitting room. It looked beautiful. They have a sheet down in the room and make you put on white gloves immediately so the oils from your hands do not damage the dress. You try on your dress and are instructed to not leave the room because they are trying to keep it from getting any dirt on it. It was awesome trying on MY dress. It was perfect.

Saturday night we had made plans to go out to dinner with Ron's parents and the four of us where going to go see our DJ at a wedding. Ron and his dad drop us off at the front door. His mom and I walk in and head to the reception and proceed to the upstairs balcony to see Bill our DJ in action. He was just starting The B-52's "Love Shack." Next thing I know Ron is coming up the stairs and with a security guard in hot pursuit. I guess when Ron and his dad walked through the doors they thought they were pulling a Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson a la "Wedding Crashers." (I'm still laughing as I type this) At this point Ron, his dad and I are standing in the hallway with his mom still inside the reception. Security guards are yelling at Ron to leave, more security guards are running at us with their walkie-talkies. It was all so very odd. One security guard said the bride was kicking us out. I started to say you never talked to the bride because I was watching her have an awesome time dancing with her drink. We tried to talk to a manager, we tried to get them to talk to our DJ but they refused everything just because one security guard had his panties in a bunch. Turns out the DJ, bride & groom and the head of catering all communicated and approved of our visit but at that point "the relationship had been broken" according to a security guard. Everyone from Sunshine DJ's were awesome about the whole situation and it totally was not their fault...we shared a good laugh after tempers cooled down and have moved on! I've never been kicked out of anywhere...guess I can check that off my list of adventures!

It's been a crazy wedding week and things are just getting busier. Less than 4 months to go!!!

How do I decide?
Posted: Tuesday, 01/19/2010 at 07:01am

I love stuff. I love to cook. I love parties. I will love registering, right? Wrong.

I admit creating our registries was something I was really looking forward to in our engagement period. Yes, I know it's about the marriage but to think about all the new things for our home is very exciting! I love to entertain so new appetizer plates, napkin rings and a margarita machine were all sounding pretty good to me!

I asked Ron if he would go to stores with me because I really wanted to use one of those "gun things" to scan a bunch of stuff. He said, "No, we don't need anything." I was crushed. This was supposed to be something that we both found to be fun and bonding. We were supposed to pick things out for OUR home. Instead, all I was greeted with is our dished are fine… our towels are fine…our sheets are fine. You get the picture. He finally agreed to sit at the computer with me and create our registries online. We sat down to pick things but it really just turned into the conversation of not needing things. I tried to explain that people like to give you gifts so we might as well pick things that we want. I've heard so many stories from friends and wedding boards about people wrapping used things from their houses and giving them as presents. Or they bought something 10 years ago and never used it and that became their present. I was at a shower once where a lady bought a HIDEOUS Christmas tablecloth that she must have realized was nasty, balled it up and stuffed it back in its little plastic wrapper and gave that to the bride. She was very polite but you could tell she was thinking what the heck was that? I digress.

I went to a store alone and asked for one of the scanners. I roamed the aisles for hours comparing cooking sheets. I tried to envision if the white vase would look good on top of the bookcase or if I should scan the red one. It was a lot of fun but I was a little sad I was doing it alone. Until I went to the next store. It was a Saturday and there were four couple registering. All the men looked so unhappy. Arguments in hushed tones were being had over dish patterns. I was quite pleased I was alone at that moment. Plus, I picked everything I wanted and liked!

So, I found out that I am not alone with my fiancé's annoyance for all these fun, little things that will soon be a part of our home. Thanks to all my friends who made me realize my fiancé's non-interest is nothing new.

D-Day
Posted: Monday, 01/04/2010 at 11:01am

That's right. Today kicks-off that crazy, bride diet I have heard so much about and I am already starving. Ok, so I am not starving since we ate and drank ourselves silly for the last two weeks. We each made lists of our favorite foods that we wanted before we started today. My list included Penny's Noodles, tator tots and Rolos. Ron's list was pizza, pasta and chicken wings. We definitely indulged!

I should say I used to be in shape until I moved in with Ron. You always hear girls say you gain weight when you move-in but I thought not me! When you are loving living with your new roomie, it is pretty easy to sit around and skip yoga. Or stay in on a cold winter day, order a pizza and lounge around and watch a movie together.

We cleaned out the cabinets and refrigerator of all evil food, stocked up at Costco and joined a gym together. I hung a picture of Britney up in the kitchen. I have my bikini sitting out as a constant reminder. I've already made plans with a girlfriend for Bikram on Saturday. I am doing everything I can to get and stay motivated! Although all I really need to do is look at a picture of my wedding dress in its secret hiding spot.

So if anyone has any tips or advice on getting that Bridal Boot Camp bod, I am open to suggestions! I have heard from many of my newlywed friends that nothing has ever pushed them to get in shape like their weddings.

I'm just thankful that we are doing this together to support one another and I have to remember it's just for 5 months! Then bring on the Pinot Noir and cheeseburgers!

I'm off to the gym now...


I'm REALLY not a good dancer.
Posted: Tuesday, 12/22/2009 at 07:12am

It's pretty well documented with my friends that I am not a good dancer. I have not rhythm. What's that you say? I can't be that bad? Let me give you an example of just how bad I am at dancing. About 5 years ago, I signed up for a BEGINNERS salsa class. About a third of the way through the class, I still could not figure out if I was supposed to go left or right while everyone around me danced away. The instructor asked if I would step to the side because I was too distracting to the others in the class. That was my one and only dance class.

Now, throw in my fiancé who is a pretty good dancer and my panic of our first dance set in. All 300 people at our wedding will be staring at me and my two left feet. I didn't know what to do. One of those couples' wedding dance classes that choreographs your first dance is totally out of the question!

There is this awesome new site out there that helps you with your first dance. You tell FirstDanceOnline your first dance song, rank your dancing ability and what style of first dance you are looking for.

In our case, we received a dvd with our first dance. Our dance instructors told us about the Vinnese Waltz they picked for us to learn and effortlessly showed us what we hope to look like on our day! The steps are pretty easy to follow (thank goodness) and they go over the steps over and over(probably no high kick for me in my dress though!). It's recommended that you practice three times a week...I may require a little more effort! The best part is that Ron and I can practice in the comfort of our home and not worry about looking silly...plus, it makes for an inexpensive, relaxing date night during the craziness of wedding planning!

www.FirstDanceOnline.com

Grounding myself
Posted: Tuesday, 12/15/2009 at 08:12am

I am 31 years old and I am grounding myself from wedding websites and blogs for the next month. In the short time I've been engaged, I have picked out 7 different clutches,5 different cakes, 6 pairs of shoes and 8 different favors after I've already bought these items. I would second guess myself for hours and be convinced that the 4 inch bow on my clutch would look so much better if I would have bought the one with the 5 inch bow. The final straw came when I had a mini-breakdown over my dress. I love my dress but when I would click on a site the new "it" dress would be posted and it made me start to dislike my dress because it was not the featured dress...I was going nuts. What I'm saying is all those websites that every bride-to-be can't wait to sign up on and loves actually can end up driving you crazy. I've had plenty of friends warn me not to get caught up in the craziness and that you do not need personalized ribbon, "I Do" rhinestones for the bottom of my beautiful shoes (thanks Hillary and Jessy!) and everything else they tell you that you need in order to have a perfect wedding! I just need to sit back and remember that I am marrying the love of my life and that's what's important...not tossing cones made from the perfect paper and the exact color of yellow as our wedding! Although I think I am going to steal the idea of using a book instead of a pillow for the ringbearer!
Cake tasting is the most overwhelming experience...in the best possible way!
Posted: Monday, 11/30/2009 at 10:11am

We arrived at my favorite bakery in the city with my parents for our first cake tasting experience. You sit down to hundreds of pictures placed in binders, post-it notes and pencils. Our first task was to start looking through the books and place a post-it note on any cake picture that we liked. Most of the pics we tagged were pretty similar in appearance...I thought this is going to be a "piece of cake!"

Little did I know this was the beginning of my head spinning. If you like 4 tiers, then the layers are this size but if you like the look of 3 tiers all the sizes change and no you can't just cut off the bottom tier of a 4 layer cake to get a 3 layer cake because then your count is totally off. Hmmm...well...ok. I had no idea how mathematical picking out a cake turned out to be! I thought you just told them you need a cake for 275 people and BAM! Done! Then you have the option to get a smaller, traditionally decorated wedding cake and have sheet cakes on the side but then it goes back to the look you want . Can't I just cut off the bottom of a 4 tier to get me 3 tier cake and add a sheet cake? No.

Then the overwhelming choices really begin...they set 10 different shaped and flavored cake pieces, 10 ramekins filled with different fillings and icing all neatly on trays in front of each person. Take note, do not eat before your tasting....it is a full meal! You are basically turned loose to play. "Combine away," we were told. I started making up combinations but it got to be too much! Did I like combination "1-2-3" or was it "7-5-9?" Wait, what about "4-2-4?" Even with writing it down, you still were trying to compare everything. Don't get me wrong...it was a blast but like everything else in wedding planning, I have learned too many choices just make you second guess everything and can drive you crazy!

In the end, Ron and I both picked our own tiers. He loves chocolate and I love vanilla...now to decide which cake for our top tier to freeze for our first anniversary!

Wedding trends
Posted: Monday, 11/16/2009 at 08:11am

I've been chatting with a bunch of BTB (brides to be) and came across some interesting what's in and what's out lists for 2010 weddings and thought I would share some of them.

They are in no particular order. I know some people like to follow these lists and some don't care. I'm on the side of following what Ron and I like but still like to read these lists for ideas.

What's In
*Destination bachelor/ bachelorette parties
*Wine tasting for showers and rehearsal dinners
*Bits of black as wedding dress details, from dainty bows and sashes to bolder, allover embellishments.
*Sophisticated monograms and buttercream frosting for your cake
*Vintage inspired cake stands
*Wedding crowns
*Jars of spices as wedding favors
*Cotton candy for dessert
*Lace
*Seeing each other prior to the ceremony

What's Out
*Newspaper wedding/engagement announcements
*Large, expensive chocolate fountains
*Overstuffed envelopes...brides are eco-conscious now more than ever!
*Bridesmaids wearing matching everything.
*Line dances.
*Traditional church weddings...wedding and receptions at one location are becoming more popular.


I said yes to
Posted: Monday, 11/09/2009 at 10:11am

First I have to say I am going to try and give as little detail as possible...Ron wants to be surprised with my dress choice and I love that.

I made a few appointments at bridal salons for a Saturday and invited a few girlfriends, my mom and Ron's mom for support. Every place I called asked me to bring in a few pictures of styles and colors that I found appealing. So I visited every wedding dress website I could find and started printing pictures if I immediately got a reaction when I saw a dress. I ended up with about 30 pictures and they were all the same dress...well, maybe one was a shade darker and the other had a little more poof but you get the point.

We started out to the salons and everyone was cracking up that it was the same dress printed out over and over...and that I had SOOO many pictures. I just wanted to be prepared and I definitely had a vision of what I wanted.

We arrived for my first appointment and I could just feel myself getting hot and overwhelmed that this was MY gown appointment. The salon was having a trunk show by a designer they don't usually carry. There was this beautiful dress on a mannequin right when I walked in and I loved it! I knew I had to try that dress on. I also started looking through the racks and pulled dresses I liked, peaked in a dressing room and adored the dress another girl had on and the girl helping me started pulling dresses from the back as well. So I had a ton of dresses to try but I started to panic what if I didn't like any of them? It had to be the perfect dress. I, of course, want to look beautiful for my wedding but also want Ron to be blown away when I walk down the aisle. I put on the first dress that was on the mannequin but I was not really focused. I was hot, nervous and felt like I might never love any dress. I walked out and the lady said to me, "You're not going to pass out on me are you?" I laughed and said no but felt like it was a strong possibility! I tried on dress after dress...some I walked out with on to my friends to get their opinions but some I put on and thought there is no way I am walking down the aisle with this dress and immediately took off. It's amazing that some dresses are lovely on the hanger and frumpy on or vice versa. Everyone had cameras and flips out...our little fashion show was so much fun and I really needed and appreciated their laughter and their ability to calm my nerves! I narrowed it down to the dress on the mannequin and the one I spied the girl in the dressing room wearing. They had me put on the two I really liked, walked out with my eyes closed and with a veil...my job was to say the first thing that came to my mind when I opened them. Well, I opened my eyes, said something positive and burst into tears...I looked over at my mom and she was crying. The dress on the mannequin from the trunk show won and I am happy to say I found "my dress!" Now on to shoes...

Another day of searching venues.
Posted: Monday, 11/02/2009 at 07:11am

I scheduled three more venues for Ron and I to visit. We drove to Indiana and met my parents at the first reception site. We walked in and immediately thought this is NOT where our ceremony and reception will be held. What did it for me was the greasy hair stains on the couch and the ceremony site in a parking lot. We were polite and did the walk-thru but we didn't even sit and ask pricing. YICK!

This is our fourth place we had seriously researched. I admit I was getting nervous that I was soooo turned off by these places so far and knew we only had two more places on our list to visit.

We pulled up to the next place and my heart started to beat a little faster. This had potential! We get out and are greeted by a lady that was so much more professional than anyone we had encountered so far. Another good sign! We walk in and they are decorating for a wedding that evening. It was absolutely beautiful...just what we wanted. They have a huge bar and lounge area. Plenty of room for all our little extras we would like to include. Ron's main thing...plenty of bathrooms. Table linens we like! A martini bar! My mom's request...could they put raspberries in the champagne glasses? They said yes and we said where do we sign!

So now we have our date and our venue. We don't have to go back to our venue to decide the menu, table linens, signature martini, etc. until about a month before the wedding. It sure feels amazing to have this huge thing checked off our list and a little more real that this is happening!


Bubble burst
Posted: Monday, 10/26/2009 at 02:10pm

Ron and I were engaged about 10:30 on a Saturday night and had our wedding date about 4 hours later. We were very excited to start planning! We quickly discovered not everyone in the wedding/ reception business would share in our excitement. I know we aren't the first to get engaged or that strangers should be overly excited about our upcoming nuptials. Let me explain the best example I have...

I called a venue that was absolutely gorgeous. I did my research on the place, checked on their website and did the math. Totally doable location! I was getting excited to set up my appointments! I called the venue and asked to speak to the manager. He was not happy or joyful like you would expect someone in the wedding business to be! It was immediate quizzing...where do you live, what other places have you checked out, etc, etc. Where was my congratulation this is such a wonderful time in your life?!?! Nothing about what I was looking for or wanted in a reception. He basically turned off the charm when I told him I was from Indiana and was looking at Indiana locations prior to this call. Now this place was in Illinois BUT right over the border. He asked if I knew I called an Illinois location. Yes, duh. He told me that Illinois is waaaayyy different than Indiana and I should be prepared. Ummm, please. I told him I knew of his location, checked out the website and was aware of everything. He continued on about the difference between Indiana and Illinois more. I again reminded him that I had gone to his website. He shot back with an "Illinois weddings are much more expensive." I stopped him again and reminded him I was well aware of his pricing as I know how to use the internet and read his price sheet. Plus, really let's be honest...I was not looking at a palace or anything; this was not a place where Donald Trump would get married. I was irritated...but the topper before we discussed budget or anything along those lines...he told me I really needed to think about having a Friday wedding to save some money! I was insulted and done with this place and crossed it off the list...and it was high on my list!

I also love the story my friend tells that when she called a venue and she told them she had limited time in the day to discuss options because of her profession, they told her she needed to consider a brunch option because they were out of her price range. Little did they know her future husband could more than afford it!

I'm amazed by the number of stories my friends have told me how their wedding bubble excitement was unnecessarily burst! We all get a good laugh about our stories now over a glass of wine!

The bling, I mean ring.
Posted: Monday, 10/19/2009 at 08:10am

I've been engaged a little over a month now and am hoping I'm not the only girl out there that has experienced the ring obsession. Let me explain. At first, it was just heavy and I was overly cautious with it. Girls usually do not wear jewelry on their ring finger unless it's "the ring." So I caught myself looking at it often because I was trying to get used to it. I would take it off whenever I did anything that I thought would harm it. And by harm, I mean it would come off when I vacuumed because I thought it would get dusty...which is why I clean it daily. When I rinsed dishes, I would take it off because I thought the water would damage it. If I was throwing the garbage out, I would take the ring off because what if it ended up in the garbage can. Yes, I know these are all silly things but here I had this beautiful new piece of jewelry that I was sure I was going to break somehow.

During this cautious stage, it also became the "how does my ring look on my finger doing everyday tasks" stage. I catch myself checking out my ring all the time. People call me out and giggle at me for checking out my ring all the time. When I walk past a store, I need to stop and see how my ring looks in the big window while holding my purse walking down Michigan Avenue. I catch it in the mirror when I am brushing my teeth and I have to turn it to see how it looks. Even more embarrassing to admit, I turn it just the right way so I can see it opening a door, drinking tea or pushing the grocery cart. Crazy I know...but it's just so new and fun!

In fact, I've stopped a few times while I type this to see how my ring looks as I type my blog!

The Engagement Story - His Side.
Posted: Sunday, 10/11/2009 at 07:10pm

So a couple of months back Cynthia and I were at a friends' wedding, having a few glasses of wine and we started to have one of our "talks" about the future and also about the fact that I didn't even know what type of ring she wanted. Sure enough Monday morning...I got an email from Cynthia with a subject line of "You asked for this so don't freak out!" HA! I opened it up to find a picture of a big fat diamond ring! It was true I did ask for it, but I still had to keep her on her toes, so my reply was "it's gorgeous...but wow...expensive!" That probably wasn't the best response, because I'm sure she started thinking that this was NEVER going to happen! She had no idea that I had already asked her good friend for a little ring advice and had started shopping online.

During another one of our "talks" Cynthia had told me she had always wanted to get married in the spring/early summer, and at that point she was thinking Spring 2011...if ever...and I'm pretty sure she wasn't happy about that! ;) I knew I wanted to marry her and I didn't want to wait that long either. So I had to get moving on this ring thing! I was referred to Sam at European Jewelers in Mount Prospect from a friend at work and I went to see him...with a printed picture of the ring that Cynthia had emailed me. I told Sam what I was looking for and how much I wanted to spend and he went to work. Within a day Sam had found a couple of diamonds for me to look at. I didn't find "the one" on that first go-round, so Sam went back to work for me. He was awesome, very patient with how picky I was being, but he understood it had to be perfect and had to be exactly what I was looking for. He called me back a couple of days later and I went back in...this was it...he found it! Done and done. He told me the ring would be ready on Friday (this was Tuesday!) So now I had to figure out when was I going to do this? Cynthia loves to plan and most of our upcoming weekends were packed with different things we had going on, so it had to be THAT Saturday! Oh...and there was one little detail I hadn't taken care of yet...asking her dad for his permission.

Cynthia had plans that Wednesday, so I decided to drive to Hobart, IN (without phoning first!) that Wednesday evening. I got there...very nervous...knocked on the door...and NOTHING! No one was home! Ugh! I drove over to her brother's house and he wasn't home either! (I wanted to ask him too because he's a big part of her life). So I took a drive through lovely downtown Hobart, calmed my nerves with some ice cream at DQ, drove around Lake George (a couple of times) and headed back. Their car was there, but wait, so was her sister's! I was literally stalking their house - and I'm actually surprised the cops weren't called on me creeping around their neighborhood. Her sister Dawn finally left and I headed up to the door; her Dad was still at the door from walking her sister to her car, I waved to try to get him to come outside - he turned and yelled to Cynthia's Mom "Ron is here!" Well...I now had to be asking both of her parents. I went in and made some small talk, her Dad had no idea why I was there - her mom knew right away! I was pretty (ummm...very) nervous at that point, but I finally got to the point and asked for permission to marry their daughter. Her mom hugged me right away and her dad shook my hand and said "I imagine that will make her very happy!" So I was extremely happy and obviously relieved, but now I had to get back to Chicago before Cynthia got home!

That Saturday Cynthia really did try to make the night not happen! She had a manicure scheduled - perfect for a girl who is about to get engaged - then she canceled it. I told her she should keep the appointment (very unlike me and my frugal ways). Then she said to me "we can just order something in tonight." "Nope- we are going out!" We started our dinner out right at LaMadia with her favorite wine, which is way more than I would normally spend on a bottle of wine - she actually asked if I was feeling ok. HaHa! We were planning on heading to the fireworks at Navy Pier after dinner (cheesy I know, but one of her favorite things to do) so we headed down there after we finished our amazing dinner. We were running late and I was freaking out because I wanted to do it at the very east end of Navy Pier. There were a ton of people and some seriously loud Black Eyed Peas pumping (you got that boom, boom pow!) through the sound system at Navy Pier - not exactly what I had in mind! It was time to change the plan. I got her a glass of wine, myself a beer and I said "let's walk to the end of the Pier." I was thinking about what to say at that point, because my plan had been to do it during the grand finale, which had already come and gone. We got to the North side of the Pier and Cynthia, leaning up against the railing said "this is such a beautiful view of the city" - PERFECT! I was leaning against her and said "I was kind of disappointed in the finale because I wanted to see how it would sparkle" she was like "what?" - "I wanted to see how THIS would sparkle" -down on one knee and all. A few other words and she is saying "is this really happening?" and then said yes, some kissing, some tears...her's...not mine! ;)

I asked some people walking by "Would you mind taking our picture?" Cynthia yelled to them (and to the world) "WE JUST GOT ENGAGED!" She started making her phone calls, I was sending my texts...and I saw a limo pulling out of Navy Pier...I flagged him down, told him we just got engaged and we jumped in! We got home and there was one last surprise...a candle lit apartment, with flowers and champagne waiting (I had set it up with my friend James Burke that day!) What a perfect way to end a perfect night! And now...we're getting married!

Welcome to my wedding blog!
Posted: Monday, 10/05/2009 at 08:10am

Here's a little background on me and my fiancé Ron (so fun to type!). Ron and I have known each other for about three years and have been dating two and a half. The first six months we never talked, just emailed. We finally decided to meet for a drink at Guthrie's on Addison and two and a half years later he proposed on September 5th.

The Proposal: I didn't know Ron was going to propose to me. I mean, I knew he would eventually get around to asking me but I had no idea he was going to ask me that day. Unknowingly, I was trying to sabotage the whole thing! I canceled my manicure appointment and he had to convince me to go, I tried to get him to just order in some pizza and skip going out, I wanted to skip Navy Pier even though fireworks at Navy Pier are one of my favorite things to do in the summer...I tried to sabotage the night every step of the way.

He finally convinced me to keep our reservations at La Madia. We get there and they have my favorite bottle of wine - Flowers Pinot Nior. Now that wine is a little on the pricey side and much more than we spend when we go out but Ron insisted we get it..I should have known something was up! You see, Ron is a bit, um...frugal. Ron is taking pictures during the WHOLE dinner which I thought was odd but we were having a great dinner and I was just going with it! We ordered some blood orange sorbet for dessert and Ron said we had to hurry and get going. Ron is now in a panic to get to Navy Pier. We flag down a cab and head to Navy Pier to find out the fireworks are starting. We hop out and Ron is pretty much dragging me down the pier while the fireworks are going off to get to the end but the fireworks end earlier than he expected. We slow down, grab a glass of wine and he suggests we head to the end of the pier. If you go to the northeast side of the pier, you can usually sneak away from the crowd and it has one of my favorite views of the city. It's just beautiful. I'm leaning against the railing and he says to me, "I'm a little disappointed. I wanted to see how it would sparkle in the finale." I turn around and he is down on one knee, holding the ring and asking me to marry him. I literally said, "Is this for real?" It's total cliché but he made me the happiest girl that night.

P.S. If you want to see pics, I have a bunch on my facebook page.