How it all Started

I'M ENGAGED!! And it's about time! You know that saying "always the bridesmaid never the bride"? Well that was me. After participating in 6 weddings over the last 2 years, it's finally MY time and I couldn't be more excited. Before I get ahead of myself I should tell you a little about us.

Rich and I met a few years ago at work. I can still vividly remember the first time I saw him. He walked into the room with his sunglasses on his forehead. Not on top of his head, but on his forehead. "Who does that?" I thought to myself, half appalled and yet half intrigued.

So it may not have been love at first sight but it wasn't long before my crush developed. My friends and family came to know him as "Work Crush Rich" and I began looking forward to showing up for work everyday. The crush soon became more than a crush, we (thankfully) found separate jobs and our relationship continued to grow.

After about a year of dating we took our first plunge, moved out of our PB apartments and moved in together. We were cruising along until I began to apply the pressure. There wasn't a single day that went by that I didn't bring it up. We'd been together this long and it only seemed like the next logical step....

It was time to get a dog.

He finally caved and soon enough we had welcomed our newest member to the family, Zulu our little puggle puppy. Now trust me when I tell you that Zulu is the cutest dog on the face of the earth. She hears it from everyone including the woman who actually pulled her car over to ask me what kind of dog she was. Our happy little life was almost complete....

Then came the most incredible, romantic, creative, making-all-the-other-guys-look-bad, and oh so very "us" proposal.

Rich and I flew to South Africa this past December to spend the Holidays with his family in Durban. In the middle of the trip we planned a "mini trip" to Cape Town. Rich and I flew in a day earlier than the rest of the family so we could spend a day alone touring The Cape. (Yes I suspected something was up).

Our main destination was Boulders Beach where we were to frolic amongst the African Penguins. (I had been talking about these penguins for weeks leading up to our trip). Rich was on a mission. With ring in pocket he was anxious to get to the beach and get it over with. But proposals never are that easy, are they?

As we were driving along I wanted to stop every 5 minutes and take a picture of this building or that cool doorway and Rich was not having it. After a little bickering and a lot of pouting (on my part) I finally got my way and he pulled over so I could snap some pictures. Once I was satisfied we hopped back into the car and made our way to Boulders Beach.

Rich had planned to pop the question in front of an audience of penguins. What he didn't plan on was an audience of tourists. So instead we hiked along the beach in search of what I thought was the perfect spot for a photo op. Rich and I are really into photography and we weren't messing around.

Equipped with our heavy duty camera and tripod we eventually settled on a large, flat boulder with a gorgeous view of the bay behind us. Rich sets up the camera and tripod and places me in the EXACT spot he wants me, then after setting the timer on the camera runs over to get in the shot. Only instead of posing for the picture he gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him!

And now the planning begins!! My gorgeous mother is flying down from Northern California this weekend to check out reception sites and offer support as I try on my very first wedding dress!!

I'm so honored to be able to experience this exciting time with all of you. I look forward to sharing my stories and hearing yours too!

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