Normally I’d say that this wedding planning adventure began on the night that one nervous guy asked one elated girl to be his wife, but it turns out Danny and I began planning our dream wedding long before the proposal. After just a few dates we somehow ended up on the topic of weddings, and Danny told me how he always thought the most romantic wedding, his dream, would take place on a beach, barefoot in the sand, at sunset. Right then I knew he was the perfect one for me. 
Thank goodness our visions matched up, because that’s what led me to this board, to my DW knotties! After a couple months of lurking and being impressed with how helpful and incredibly funny the girls were, I finally got up the guts to jump in. I can’t believe that was about a year ago!! Like so many girls say, if it weren’t for this group of women, my wedding wouldn’t be half of what I know it will be this Saturday. I know that the most important part is the vows, but all the little details like the palm fans, OOT bags, flowers, brooches and pins, day-of-timelines, pocketfolds, and shoes, shoes, SHOES, are what make this thing real for me. I’ll always treasure the little details, and I doubt half of them would exist for my wedding if I hadn’t found you girls.
Okay, at this point my heart is pounding and I’m starting to tear up a bit, because I’m looking back at the past year and how important so many of you were to me. All of the advice, suggestions, and laughs helped keep me sane and from prattling on for hours to friends (and sometimes fiancé) who just didn’t understand. When I first joined, I admired so many of the “old marrieds” for both their planning and their personalities. Thank you to my STL nesties Mrs.S_0909/Katie and Danielle1978 (I love our g2g's!!), Siba1119/Tracy, Mrs. N.H./Normailed, DreamsBride/Cristina, Ashelysred, Choogirl/Rose, Natalee125, Natalie115, Nataliejp519, T1nkfan/Kelly, Lisa7, Ladybird09/Sarah, mariahoppe (thanks for passing on the KK, too!), Smilz4milz/Jenni, ericandcindy, ShelbyMadison/Janna and more recently Sarlah, PinkLori, and Salt78, for all of your help, friendship, inspiration, and entertainment value! Even if I didn’t get to “know” you all as well as others, you’ve all impacted me in some way.
I also have to thank my late night gmail chat girls, my silly group of Naughtie Nerds Gone Wild! Shelli/Catalina Island Bound, Meghan/beachybride10, Ashley/oolypinion, and Jenni/FutureMrsMcC, you girls have kept me up way past my bedtime, but I love you still!
So many of us are leaving now, and I’m so excited for us March girls! Robyn, Eliza, and Marci… I can’t believe we’re all either married or almost there! I’m beyond happy for you girls! There are some special girls whose dates are coming up soon and I can’t wait to come back to read those LP’s as well! AlaskanAlison (my favorite KW bride!), Bigwuhead/Cristina, simplymistaken/Jamie, drm6285/Danielle, slevesquemut/Sarah, nubiannqween/Tamara, Suzannepdc, lmydogally/Rachel, Mistym05, dew3162/Denise, and chosen175/Lisa. You have all been THE sweetest, friendliest girls I could ever hope to “know” and I’ve had so much fun planning my wedding with every single one of you. I can’t believe it’s all almost over, but I promise I’ll be on here often to cheer you all on to your big day, just like you’ve done for me.
To all of the new girls, there are so many of you, but you’re already proving to be a fun bunch! Thanks for sticking around and continuing the traditions of this board. It and the girls on it will seriously become your best friend in the months/years ahead of you. To anyone I missed (and I hate myself for doing that!) you have all contributed something to myself and everyone else here… everyone plays a part in making the DW board the best one on The Knot!
Well, I’ve already written a novel, but there’s just that much that I wanted to say to you girls! When I leave tomorrow with my best friend and soon-to-be husband, I’m definitely going to take the advice of all the girls before me and do my best to let it all sink in and savor every minute. I also hope to remember that even though the wedding day and the vows are life changing, it will be the next day - when I wake up next to my husband – that will be and should be the best day of my new life as a MRS!
Thank you so much girls! Much love to you all and I’ll see ya on the Flip Side!! J