Hi everyone, my name is Melissa. I've posted a few times on this board, but haven't formally introduced myself. My fiancé Andy and I were engaged on April 9th and are very excited to be married! We met as a result of work. I applied for a part time job in college at the shop he manages. It’s a scuba shops and I had just come back from a yearlong study abroad trip in Australia where I learned to scuba dive. I thought it would be a great summer job while I finished up college. I applied, Andy was actually the one that interviewed me…and the rest is history! My mom loves to tell people that I travelled halfway around the world to meet someone that lived right around the corner.The engagement story goes like this: Andy just completed a training program for work for which he was in Malaysia for 2 weeks. I thought it would be fun to throw a dinner party in his honor at a local restaurant a few days after he got back. His family happened to be in town visiting his mom (she was in hospital as a result of a bad car accident in March – doing great now though!) and my mom and a bunch of our close friends all came out “to celebrate Andy”, or so I thought. Long story short, it turns out that he totally took advantage of my party planning. He got up to make a big speech about how everyone at the party had played an integral part in his career, whether they had been students, customers, etc (he is the manager and an instructor at the local SCUBA shop I teach). He starts at the opposite and of the table from me and works his way down. When he gets to me he goes on that he couldn’t have done anything he has accomplished without me and he loves me and all the cute stuff. He gets down on this knee and pulls out the ring. My heart was racing and I was in shock. My face turned all red and after I squeaked out a yes and apparently a “oh my God you’re really doing this!” I realized that everyone was watching me. It was an amazing way for him to do it because I didn’t know until afterwards that everyone at the table knew about it but me. He had already asked my mom’s permission, and some people had already even seen the ring. He totally pulled a big one over on me!We've been together for almost 5 years and it's about darn time we make it official. We picked our date and venue for February 9, 2013 at the Grand Hall at the Priory. Both the ceremony and reception will be there. We are taking advantage of the Winter White package that they offer. That is about all we have planned now. I have looked at some dresses at Alfred Angelo (definitely found a front runner). I have an appointment with Bridal Beginning in September as they are having a Jim Hjelm trunk show and I’d love to see those gowns in person. We are meeting with Kristy @ Limelight Images next month for a consult on wedding photography. I’m super pumped about that!I’m so excited about all these decisions, but it’s really stressful too. We have had a little bit of help from family, but we are doing the majority of it ourselves. That’s another reason I’m not too upset that we are planning for a 2013 wedding. More time to save!I look forward to getting to know all of you better and sharing our stories and experiences together. Thanks for letting me share!
