~ The Proposal ~

It was a Tuesday. The Tuesday before Christmas to be exact. The night before we had chatted it up with my brother and my two lovely roommates. We were all cuddled up on the couch and I was ranting and raving about how we had to do outfit changes the next day for Kyle’s family Christmas gathering. I didn’t get it. Why did we have to wear one outfit during the day and have to change for dinner?!?! This was Kyle’s family. Everyone brings their own respective dogs over and we all lounge around and just hang out. This was weird.

Kyle spent that night tossing and turning. This was unusual and normally wouldn’t be an issue but since we were back in the states and staying in the guest room of my house (awesome) and sleeping on a twin bed (double awesome) I couldn’t help but notice.

Tuesday morning arrives and little miss organized over here is getting the presents ready for the next two days worth of Christmas gatherings we were attending. My parents are divorced so Christmas is always a fun filled time with running all over Michigan trying to get family time in. Tuesday and Wednesday were with his parents, Thursday with my mom, Friday with my dad and then later at my aunt’s house….it’s a lot.

As I’m filtering through the gifts, Kyle just looks over at me and tells me not to worry about the presents. Not worry about the presents! “But honey, these have to go with us and we need to get the car loaded.” I think he is amused by me at this point because I’m just trying to get a move on because he had me on some crazy time schedule that day. Also weird. We “had” to leave by 11am…..and then his phone rang and he was talking to someone confirming that we would be somewhere….(This point is still pre-freak out for me as I’m completely gullible and oblivious to whats going on).

Finally, he tells me we are not going to his parents house that day which is why I didn’t need to worry about the presents. Then it hit me. (This is where I “get it” and start freaking out) OMG!!! Is he proposing?!?!? Seriously!?!?! I’m going to be engaged today!?!?!? Really??? I totally wasn’t expecting this…not today anyway. I thought for sure he wouldn’t propose until the spring or summer. This is my last day of being a single lady!?!? I was trying to finish getting ready and my head just kept spinning with freak out thoughts and excitement.

Then I wanted to cry. Really? This was going to happen today? How AWESOME! Then I realized I couldn’t cry because I didn’t want him to know that I suspected he might propose. So I pulled it together and off we went on our surprise day. First stop was Campus Martius in Downtown Detroit.

Hiding my excitement proved to be a difficult task. I hadn’t been out of the car for more than 4 ½ minutes before I spilled my mug of coffee all over myself. Nice. This was spill # 1 of the day. Ice skating was super duper fun! There was an ice rink set up by our apartment in Japan and we had meant to go and never got the chance before we left so Campus Martius was a perfect choice to start our day! Every time he would leave me I freaked out a little. I kept wondering if he was off to do something to propose…and then I had a really hard time not touching his pant pockets or coat pockets or looking in his bag when he opened it for his camera gear. Generally, we hold hands and put them in his coat pocket so we stay warm so avoiding him to a degree was kind of difficult!

Off to the next surprise – A night at the Westin Book Cadillac. If you haven’t been – GO! It’s awesome. We had a room on the top floor with gorgeous views of the city, the water and the bridge. We didn’t have  much time in the room before our next venture of the day. As I was still nervous and freaking out a little, I decided I would put on some lipstick. Kyle is amused by me once again and tells me I won’t need lipstick. Applying the lipstick was part of my dual effort to (1) calm my nerves and (2) ummm…he was going to propose so I wanted to look good!!!

He told me how silly I was going to feel applying lipstick but I really didn’t care…until we got to the spa and I realized I really didn’t need lipstick…silly Franny…I was relieved when they offered us a glass of wine and jumped all over that in a heart beat!!! So did Kyle. We were dressed in white robes and there I go again bringing on spill #2 of the day. Wine all over my robe! I’m so ridiculously smooth. Thankfully, it was white.

We had a couples massage which was a D-R-E-A-M. I heard the two ladies whispering to one another once the massage was near finished and once again, I was freaking out…did they know Kyle’s secret plan? Were they in on it too? Did he want to throw me off by proposing to me after we had a massage because I wouldn’t expect it??

No ring yet. After the massage we cleaned up and dressed up for dinner at Roast. Also super duper yummy if you’ve never been…I was kind of OK through dinner despite my having to run to the restroom every 35 seconds. Kyle is not the type to propose at the dinner table but since I knew it would be coming shortly thereafter, the nerves flared up again. I somehow managed to drop all of my silverware through dinner since I was so jittery. I can usually pull off some level of class but not this night…

Afterwards, we headed up to the room to lounge around in the bathrobes provided by the hotel. We ordered dessert (brownie sundae!) and Kyle surprised me with a bottle of champagne to top it off. We finished dessert and toasted to our love … then he asked. He said he brought me all this way to ask me to be his wife. After feeling thankful he had asked, I was also relieved because my nerves were shot by that point!!! It was such a special time for us and I love thinking of the moment and replaying it over and over in my head. I couldn’t believe he was my “F!” It was so strange to say the “F” word so we just kept say the “F” word in reference to the “F” word. We had to practice a few times as we found ourselves entering a new world as one another’s fiance’.

 

 

 

We all love a good love story! Tell us about your engagement!!!

~ My Love… ~

 

I never knew I could love someone so much until I met Kyle…I never knew I wouldn’t get sick of someone either until I met Kyle. I know…such a romantic.

We actually met by chance when I was 22. We hung around the same group of people and spent several New Year’s Eve’s together bringing in the new and saying “adieu” to the not so good  (we never kissed though!). I always thought he was kind of cute and wondered about him a little from time to time. He was never the type to parade women around so I never really knew what his story was. I had asked some of our mutual friends about it because he was just so cute and I knew he was one of the “good guys” out there.

Then came a time where I remember friends telling me that his company may be shipping him off to Japan for work. A few of us were going to dinner one night and we were meeting up at my place. Kyle was the first to show up. We chatted a little about the prospect of him leaving for Japan and I remember telling him what a FANTASTIC idea it was since he wasn’t tied down in a relationship, kids, etc. Who knew I’d end up here with him…didn’t see that one coming!!!

Our relationship started to develop a few months before he left for Japan. We went out occasionally as “more than friends” which was a little awkward at first since we had been friends for a few years already. Do we kiss…do we not?!? How do we talk about “us” in a way that would refer to “us” as not on a friend level anymore. Well, it was awkward for me. I think he may have had intentions for us as “more than friends” already which is actually super adorable and all a part of his secret plan to do cute things to make me fall in love with him. It worked!

I had struggled through a difficult period at that point in my life and thought the timing for a relationship was a little far fetched. I was going through a period of emotional turmoil and felt like a puppy that had been struck by its owner so venturing out for love was DEFINITELY not in my plans. I didn’t want to get close to anyone and stayed very closed off for a long time. He stuck by me though and was nothing less than the epitome of supportive and loving. I think I realized he was perfect when he told me that he was always going to be nice to me and one day I would wake up and know that he was telling me the truth and I would realize he is not going anywhere. Awww….I love him! It always comes when you’re least expecting it…doesn’t it??? You hear people say it and then one day you wake up and realize it just happened.

And so we began. We spent the next several months having a blast…concerts, dinner, bars, fireworks, friends, snuggling on the couch…it was awesome! Before we knew it, it was time for him to go to Japan…errr… So much for it being a good idea because he didn’t have ties…errrr again…

And so he was off. We spent mornings and evenings talking on the phone and discovered the beauty of Skype so we could see one another too. After a few visits home and one trip myself to Japan we decided we needed to make this relationship work either with him home or me in Japan with him….well, if you read the 411 of this blog, you’ve got our love story!

Who doesn’t love a good love story!?!? When did you know your guy was the one???

~Tappers Jewelry~

We only had two weeks together in August and we decided we would start the journey of ring shopping since Kyle wouldn’t be in the states again until Christmas. I had filtered through tons of magazines and clipped pics from all the designers sites –  I was ready to see how that bling looked on my left finger!

Never in a million years did I think ring shopping would be the daunting task it had started out as. We went to jewelers all the way from Farmington Hills to Troy to Rochester. Now, I’m clearly no jeweler but as a person who wishes to buy jewelry…as with any major purchase…I felt the need to see the ring and try it on before we buy it. While we ventured from jeweler to jeweler, I was surprised by the lack of selection available of rings to try on in many places.

Who buys a car without test driving it? Why would I buy a ring without first trying it on…or something close to get an idea?? All the jewelers assured me they could order rings so I could come back and try them on. But,  I was there then and went there specifically to try them on…that day. I really wasn’t enthused about having to pick a ring or two and wait for it to arrive just so I could drive alllllll the way back to try it on. What a pain! And Kyle would be gone by then so what was the point. I was extremely frustrated with this situation and will keep those particular jewelers anonymous and highlight the grand experience to follow.

Not giving up, we continued our search. Tappers Jewelry in West Bloomfield was the 5th or 6th place we tried. This was a total fluke that we had even stumbled across them. As soon as we walked in, the owner of the company greeted us and offered us beverages. We poked around the displays and were in awe with how many rings they had from each designer….all to try on right then and there. My point of wanting to try them on was that some I had picked and loved in the magazines…looked terrible on my hand! I wanted something that fit my personality that I could love forever. While it’s totally adorable to have your fiance’ design a ring and/or surprise you with a ring…I just felt this was a major purchase in our relationship and we should both be making the decision together.

We were introduced to one of their top sales women, Rosemary, and she was just an angel. I loved her 2 seconds after meeting her. She was warm and thoughtful and by no means pushy or impatient with us. We walked around the entire display and I must have tried on 30 different rings…comparing and contrasting. After spending almost 90 minutes with us she took notes and we promised to be back before Kyle left to return to Japan.

We had a wedding to attend the day before he left and Tappers was right on the way from the ceremony to reception. We walked in 3 minutes before they closed and since they knew we were coming, they made sure to leave the doors unlocked for us. Rosemary spent another 30 minutes with us reviewing diamonds and checking out our top two ring choices once again.

Between the U.S. and Japan, Rosemary and Kyle were able to connect and piece together my beautiful, bling! bling! ever so sparkly ring that I’m so in love with. We went in over the holidays (she wasn’t in when Kyle picked up the ring ) to say hello and show her the beautiful job they did with the ring. She was such a doll and was so happy to see us. Even though we had dropped in unexpectedly, Rosemary spent a good hour with us chatting and looking at rings for Kyle. Other than me loving her to pieces, Tappers quality and customer service is top-notch. I was so impressed with them I don’t know that there are enough words to sing their praises…

Want to check them out?!? Locations:

Orchard Mall, 6337 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322

Twelve Oaks Mall, 27716 Novi Road, Novi, MI 48377

Online: http://www.tappers.com/

What about you? What’s your bling story?

~ The 411…About This Blog & Why… ~

 I’m you. I’m a bride to be. I’m probably as excited, frustrated, overwhelmed and emotional  as you when it comes to planning the big day. Our fiance’s would probably have the same opinion of us if they shared in some beers and conversation between plays of the football game…and they would probably also breathe a sigh of relief to know that the woman they proposed to is not the only one who has lost their senses when it comes to wedding planning. It’s really a strange phenomena…

So…I’m actually guilty of starting my planning prior to ever being engaged to my fiancé. He had lived in Japan for a year before I made the leap of faith to move overseas to be with my “boyfriend.” Yes, I left without a ring on my finger much to the surprise of many people who just couldn’t fathom that a person would move to another country to be with the one they love without a ring. While I respect their opinions, my thought is this…whether or not there is some bling on my finger doesn’t change the love we have for one another. Although it is very pretty and sparkly, It’s still a piece of rock dug up from the earth. We decided we were either going to do this relationship together in physical proximity or move on. So, after seven months of trying to figure out what to do with my house in the midst of lost housing values, my schooling (working on my MBA at Walsh college) and most importantly, my beloved job and my more beloved paycheck ( I landed a sweet gig working with foreclosed homes…job security!), I packed four fricken heavy suitcases and left on a jet plane to Japan.

Upon arriving in this new country after 18 hours of travel (yuck!), I found that I was bored. Really bored. Extremely bored. I went from an 8-5 job, school 2 nights a week, a volunteer gig one night a week, family dinners and a super awesome social life to a world of online classes and solitude from  8 am until 7 pm when my boyfriend returned from work. So, in an effort to lift my spirits, I started looking at wedding dresses online. One thing led to another and the next thing you know…I’m in bed with my computer researching everything wedding related.

Like you…I’m busy. Well, I was busy and now I’m blogging. In an effort to offset countless hours of my life spent researching wedding items that I can’t find or afford, I realized there has to be a better way to do this. I can’t imagine trying to plan this type of event with the schedule I used to keep up that you probably still do. Actually, I can’t imagine planning my wedding from a different country either but the journey has begun. I’ve literally spent hours upon hours researching on the internet, reading magazines, purchasing the wedding planner and to no avail…am no further than when I started.

My one breathe of fresh air in research has come in the form of bloggers. Who knew?!?! I’ve found bloggers to be the best resource because of the community of people you are able to reach out to for help. These people have even done the homework for you…bonus!!! So, here I am…blogging in an outreach effort…

There is still so much more I want to know though. Like what things cost. What a pain trying to piece together a dinner and drink menu when its listed per person per hour per day per season per…holy swear word! Just tell me what it costs. This is my why. Why do this blog (yet another piece of my life I never saw coming…) I decided to reach out myself and share my homework and research. I’ve already done it so why not post it and let others benefit. Seriously, save your sanity (check out The Nitty Gritty for vendor reviews and prices!).

Everyone wants the sun, moon and stars to align perfectly on the big day…we want to wow our guests, see the tears of joy in our parents eyes and make our fiance’s jaw drop once he sees us walking down the aisle all dolled up. We all want that day to be everything we imagined and we want to feel that all of our hard work and efforts make for a smashing affair that our friends and family will be talking about for months.

Since this whole blogging thing is a new deal for me…my wish, hope, goal, vision for this blog is to get down to the nitty gritty of what we really want to know, tangible resources and ways for us to be able to utilize one another to create an AMAZING wedding … and within budget (the least pretty word I know)!!!

Please, feel free to email me with ideas/suggestions/feedback/advice/whatever anytime :0)

~Frances