Fairytale, Chapter 10: The Engagement

I said yes! to Eric's proposal, and we were launched into 10 months of crazy wedding planning. Not to mention that we would both be graduating from college, moving, and applying for and starting real jobs in the next six months.

We went back to school in January for our last semester, and I had a candle passing at my sorority to announce our engagement. I loved the fact that I now had a beautiful ring I got to wear on my finger so everybody knew I was taken.

I had always dreamed of a September wedding, and really wanted to get married over Labor Day weekend like my parents did. Those hopes were quickly squashed when my mom told me that people generally don't want to attend weddings over holiday weekends, and the availability of our photographer and venue didn't match up on any September date. So, we settled for the first weekend in October.

Because I was only 22, I hadn't been to many weddings and didn't really know what I wanted. Therefore, many of the plans were copied from my sister's wedding from the year before--the same church, photographer and DJ company. Because our wedding would take place more than three hours from where we were, planning from a distance added an extra challenge.

Although many people thought 10 months was a quick timeframe to plan a wedding, it couldn't go fast enough. After we graduated in May, we both moved to the Des Moines area. I lived in Ankeny with one of my longtime friends in her townhouse, and Eric got an apartment (where we'd live together after our wedding) in West Des Moines with some of his college buddies.

Eric had landed a job in March at TMC in Des Moines. It took me a little longer to find a job, but I started at The Stelter Company (where we both work now) at the end of June. We both really liked our jobs, so that was a huge blessing. Over the summer, I started to make some great friends at work, and Eric and I also regularly attended Immersion, a church service for young adults at our church.

But living apart was a struggle. I worked just 10 minutes from Eric's apartment, so I would usually go there after work during the week. I vividly remember driving the 20 minutes back to Ankeny on many late nights just to sleep so I could get up the next day and do it all over again. I was so ready to not have to leave Eric at night!

And then, finally, Oct. 7 was here! Eric will share our wedding day details with you all next week!