On October 23rd last year, I was on my way home after a late night of parent conferences – never suspecting that the most incredible man was waiting for me on the waterfront in Old Town to ask me a very important question.

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Over the last year, we’ve realized so much more about our relationship.

1) Planning a Wedding is HARD – We place more emphasis on the marriage than the wedding, but even planning a small, intimate party for our nearest and dearest is proving difficult. So many decisions, so many ideas, and so many disagreements. Yes – it’s true. “Wedding” talk has brought out two vastly different personalities, and we are still learning how to marry our perspectives. Pun intended. 

2) Private Date Nights – The blog has allowed us a million opportunities, of which we are all truly thankful. But as we continued to publish our dates, we realized that the quality private time we are supposed to have during a nice dinner became the recipe for our next blog post. We’ve put the phone down, and now enjoy our own time more often than before we got engaged. 

3) Wedding Research – We have had 5 weddings this year, 3 of which we play a part in the bridal party. While we love attending on behalf of our friends and family, we have used this time to scrutinize the little details: flowers, music, venue, unique flourishes – we’re taking note of them all. 

4) Time Flies When You’re Engaged – No, that’s not true. It flies ALL the time. But now that we have added so many “to-dos” to our already packed schedule, the wedding related items have absorbed what little free time we had.

5) Endearing vs. Annoying – We’re talking quirks. It seems that over time, the little annoying habits that used to creep us both out (my leaving coffee mugs in the bathroom, Scott throwing dirty clothes on the floor where the hamper should go…) have oddly, become endearing. 

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6) Family of 3  – This has been one of the most satisfying – albeit heartbreaking – aspects of our engagement.  When Scott proposed, Miah was heading downhill fast. All of our energy was spent dividing time between the pups, and I lacked the mental energy to talk about anything other than the day-to-day.  When we lost Miah this summer, all of our routines changed and the time we had to focus on our relationship increased dramatically. Now, we are creating a bond as our own small family – the three of us. Though let’s be honest, Miah is still with us every day.

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Tonight, we are celebrating our engagement with a romantic evening out, dining at Rasika in DC and talking love to each other.  But that’s not something new ;)

Happy Weekend, all!

-Al