The Big Event: Via Sally

So my Fiance has opted to give the world her take on the actual engagement since its been a hot topic with everyone around us asking how it happened, etc and wanting details. Yet,  upon reading her exact words I've noticed it captures the exact event but not really the months leading up into it where I did most of my work. All the deceit and convincing I had to do to her family, friends and especially her served as the groundwork foundation for this occasion. Looking back, it really it is amazing to reflect upon exactly how much work had to be put into something...I'm talking months, almost a year of preparation and planning. Our first trip to Disney World in Dec '08 is when I knew I wanted to propose at Disneyland and the ideas started flowing, just to give it some perspective. Over a year of planning...for about 30 seconds of our lifetime. Just incredible to think about. But anyways, w/o further ado, here is the engagement ver batem from my Sally:

12/01/10: A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes <3

            After my sister’s wedding in August 2009, friends and family consistently asked Chris and me the loaded question: “so when is it your turn?” At this point we had been dating just over a year and, while we had been talking about potential wedding ideas, actually getting married was something that wasn’t going to happen for quite some time… or so I was led to believe.  Chris and I had previously agreed that we didn’t want to be engaged while we were both still in school and not while we were still working at our “less than adequate” part time jobs.  At this point we were both still at school and still working.

            Fast-forward about a year and the questioning has only intensified and here is where our leading man begins to emphasize his acting skills.  In light of our big trip to Disneyland coming up in December, people began to ask when we were getting married on a weekly basis.  To this, Chris would reply “no pressure, right?”  Then, when we were alone, Chris would lament over me being disappointed when I didn’t get engaged in Disney.  He couldn’t stress enough that we were NOT going to get engaged and that he needed to know I wouldn’t be disappointed.  Truth was, I was NOT expecting it and therefore vowed I wouldn’t be disappointed.

            In the weeks leading up to our vacation, the questions and speculations didn’t stop, even up until the night before we left.  Still, I put it aside “knowing” that this vacation was going to be special only because it was our first trip to Disneyland together… boy was I wrong!

            Chris tells me that our first day in California will not be spent in Disneyland as he wants the first time I see the park decorated for Christmas in December, not on November 30^th.  Makes sense, right? Instead, we got dinner with his parents and then we headed out to see the “Toy Story Musical Show” in California Adventure.  Confused? You should be.  To give you an idea of just how oblivious I can be.  You see, there is no Toy Story Musical in California.  Chris and his family convinced me that the Aladdin show I’d been dying to see had closed and was replaced with a Toy Story show.  Now, rather than looking it up for my own knowledge or find out details of the new show, I took Chris’ word for it.  Simple mistake, right? Sure… but it gets better.  As we approach the show, the sign for the Aladdin show is blatantly obvious.  Here is where most people would realize they had been duped and were going to see Aladdin.  Me? Not so much.  My response was “That’s just rude! They don’t even change the sign so people who don’t know the show has been replaced think it’s still open!”  It wasn’t until the show attendant told us to “enjoy our magical carpet ride” that I realized Aladdin had never been replaced…. Imagine how red my face was.

            The following morning, Chris woke me up with the story of a dream he’d had in which his grandmother was helping us look for my promise ring (previously her ring) in Disneyland Park.  After he was reassured I still had said ring, he persuaded me to leave it at the hotel for safe keeping.  Gullible me agrees and we begin to get ready for our first day. Chris tells me I should dress up since we have such a formal dinner in the evening. My immediate thought was to wear a sundress Kayla had let me borrow. Chris soon talked me out of that, saying I wouldn't be comfortable in a dress all day. In reality, I never wear dresses so he thought I'd want to look like myself in our engagement photos. (He was right!). He got dressed in a black button down and khaki shorts (the very same outfit he wore when I first met him) and we headed out for our first day in Disneyland Park.  Disneyland Park is home to the Haunted Mansion which is seasonally decorated in the theme of Tim Burton’s film “Nightmare Before Christmas,” which is one of our favorite movies.  Needless to say, Chris and I were beyond excited to see the changes made to the ride.  However, Chris and his mom wanted to wait to see the mansion at night so we could see it in all of its glory.  Easy enough, I said to myself, it gets dark around 4:30! No big deal, we’ll go after dinner.

            We had dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou in New Orleans square, which was just a short walk from the Haunted Mansion. "You should put your hair up like you do when you dress up! We can take nice pictures against the bayou," Chris recommended. Gullible me agrees and we enjoyed our meal.  After a beautiful dinner, I was ready to see this ride that we had all been dying to see.  “Ok, let’s go to Toontown to take pictures at night,” Chris suggests and his family agrees.  “Toontown…on the other side of the park…where we already went today…great,” I thought.  However, since I didn’t want to make this vacation all about me, I kept quiet and followed dutifully to Toontown.  By 6:00pm, I was rather uncomfortable.  We had spent the last two hours roaming around the park and avoiding the Haunted Mansion so I asked Chris why we weren’t going over there when it was clearly night time and I thought that’s what we had been waiting for.  Chris quickly informed me that he wanted to wait until 6:30 because, as a special event in December, Jack Skellington revealed a different present every day until Christmas and the first one was being revealed at 6:30.  Makes sense, right? Well if you believe that you’re just as gullible as I am.

            Now, the part you’ve all been waiting for! At about 6:20, Chris and I walk up to the front gate of the Haunted Mansion where he asks his dad to take our picture.  He takes a few snapshots and, when I think he’s finished, I turn to get in line.  Chris stops me, pulls me toward him, and asks “Are you ready?”  For the tiniest, most minute fraction of a second, I think he MIGHT be proposing.  Quickly I push that out of my mind and get ready for another picture.  It is at this point (6:26pm in honor of Chris’ favorite character Stitch) that Chris begins to recite the very end of the “Nightmare Before Christmas:”

My dearest friend if you don’t mind

I’d like to join you by your side

Where we can gaze into the stars

And sit together, Now and Forever

For it is plain as anyone can see

We’re simply meant to be.

            It’s at this point that he drops to one knee and asks me to be his Sally now and forever.  Dumbfounded, my first reaction was “Are you serious?!” but I quickly said yes and Chris presented me with the most beautiful, one of a kind engagement ring.  There was a resounding chorus of “Awwwww!” and “Congratulations!!” from the crowd that none of us knew had formed.  With tears flowing, we smiled and thanked those who congratulated us and turned to enter the ride.  The ride attendant, who is supposed to maintain a somber character, smiles at us through tears and says “Awwwwww! You’re going to make me cry!”

            With that, we entered the ride with big smiles and tear stained cheeks.  “Where does Jack reveal the present?” I asked once we had entered the mansion. Chris merely laughed and I’m absolutely positive the thought “Dance puppet…Dance” crossed his mind.

...Yes, I did laugh because she was stupid enough to agree to the rest of her life w/ me. 

One More Note...

One last thing to add for today...for everyone's wedding they want to look their best. Period. After that night, you can pull the rip-chord on your body and let the fat flow because you ain't leaving her and she ain't leaving you so there's no one left to impress. So figuring our ideal wedding is going to be held this upcoming October '11, that leaves me potentially 9 full months to try to get my porkchops into shape. Every Sunday, I'll finish a post with a bottom line that will keep track of my total progress of weight lost since today, Jan. 30. It'll look like this:

( - 2 )

Or something like that...meaning I've lost 2 total pounds. I just figured if I publicly post my progress on the interweb for all to see, I'll hold myself accountable a lot more often than not. I know before I met Brit, I had pushed myself to lose 60 lbs (yeah...I used to be a whale...now I'm an orca), so I know I'm capable of it, but once you get that girl, who cares anymore? This is going to make this blog a whole lot interesting.

First Things First...Party People

The first thing we've completed as an engaged couple is quite simply the easiest part, the bridal party and groomsmen. When you know you're going to eventually get married before even being engaged, you think of these things all the time, so of course it was the easiest decision and overall the very first item of our wedding to be set into stone. I wanted to post my groomsmen and Brittany's bridesmaid's with a short explanation why because I know a few things that came up in my mind when deciding was "who and why". I asked my Fiance to give me her bridal party with a brief explanation of why. What I got was a book....sorry. Here are her own words:

Maid of Honor: Kayla

            Kayla and I have been friends since the first day of Kindergarten when we were five years old.  She boldly marched up to me and asked, rather impatiently might I add: “Are you be my friend?!” Since that day almost 17 years ago, she has been my best friend.  She has stood by through everything, always offering a shoulder to cry on or a joke to make me laugh.  We have a unique friendship that has stood the test of time, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her.  She’s the Hermione to my Harry! (Why am I always the boy!?)

Bridesmaid: Brianna

            Since Brianna and I were little, we were always of the understanding that we would have our childhood best friends as our Maids of Honor.  We both realized that we have the bond of sisterhood to tell one another just how much we care; that the honor and sentiment behind the position of Maid of Honor should go to someone we love who doesn’t share that bond with us.  Brianna is the most kind, caring, and sensitive older sister.  She was always one to look out for me and help keep my head on straight.  Despite our many differences, she’s still my sister and I love her so much, even though I reject her hugs 90% of the time ;).

Bridesmaid: Nicole

            Ohhh my Wifey! I met Nickie in 2004 when we worked together at Stop and Shop as Personal Shoppers for Peapod.  The beginning of our friendship was anything but typical.  Nickie is really shy when you first meet her and thus, she can come across as “stand-offish.”  Regardless, we became very good friends pretty quickly with the help of our “hood time” and eventually became one another’s “wifey.”  She always has an ear to lend if you’re upset, is incredibly selfless, and one of the most dedicated people I know.  

Bridesmaid: Bryanna

            Even though Bryanna and I just met in 2010, she is quickly becoming a very close friend.  We met when she began dating Chris’ friend Sean.  We became close in going on double dates and joking at the blooming “bromance” between our significant others.  She is incredibly kind and generous.  Bryanna is definitely one of the bubbliest people I know and can always be seen with a smile on her face.  Even though we’ve only known each other for a few short months, she has become one of my closest friends.

With that out of the way, I'll post mine as well and keep the novel to a minimal. 

Best Man - Mike

         My best friend, without a doubt the only person I'd even consider as a Best Man. Plus, when you've been drunkenly telling him you're going to need him as a best man well before you even meet your future life partner, you're pretty much bound into a verbal contract. 

Groomsman - Smitty 

          My oldest friend. I have known this kid since Kindergarten, going as far back as being in the Cub Scouts together. When you've known someone as long as you've been capable of making your own friends, making fun of each other for getting glasses and hiding wine bottles in the backs of his toilet...you can't walk down an aisle without him there too. 

Groomsman - Corey

           Funniest kid I know. When I moved back to Woonsocket in 6th grade from Connecticut, he was one of the first friends I made when returning and we've all been close since Middle School still. When you move into a new school and have little to no friends, you gotta stick to the ones who say they're collecting money for a pizza party at the end of the year, then take your money to McDonald's on the way home. 

Groomsman - Sean 

            Met at Game Crazy as co-workers, hated working w/ someone who wouldn't talk and was known for killing the air at work with his awkwardness. The truth comes out when you find common grounds with Arrested Development and suddenly you're getting offered dollar bets to do the most random things in public. Grown into one my closest friends over the past few years, you hope everything works out for each other and now my Groomsmen list is complete. 

 There it is, the first item of our wedding set in stone. The only thing that has bothered me is this ranking system that I know everyone's going to be viewing the 8 of these friends. For me at least, these friends aren't ranked 1, 2, 3, 4 and I want everyone to know that. When you have such a close knit group of friends, there is no rank, just equal standing. Of course you're going to favor certain friends on certain occasions for certain events, but in something like this, it's just simply your four closest friends by each of our sides. Almost two months of being engaged, and it seems we have finally gotten the ball rolling. 

- King Trembeaux -  

Baby Steps...One at a Time

Throughout this blogging ordeal, we'll be sharing most if not all of our experiences in the process of planning and managing a wedding. However, there are some things are to be kept under lock and key. If anyone knows anything about us, it's that we are by far the biggest Disney... Nerds/Nuts/Fanatics/Groupies, pick your adjective. Love for all things Disney was and still is our greatest common interest between each other. In fact, during the whole court-ship process...Disney was the ice breaker. She started working at Hollywood Video, I was at Game Crazy, so every shift I would be able to see her through the fences that divided our properties and was always contemplating that initial move into getting to know the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. But I'm shy, I'm not outspoken, I don't make first moves...which is me subtly saying I don't have game. But when the common interest of "Disney" was touched upon, game over.

So, essentially two and a half years later, everything about our lives has a hint of Disney involved, and our wedding will be the ultimate testament to that love. We've been "planning" this wedding as I've said for years, just by throwing out ideas to each other, keeping a book of concepts and designs we wanted, etc. When you know you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, there's no need to wait until a ring appears on a finger to think about that big day, when it's just a formality to the inevitable.

So while I am going to be sharing a lot of the behind the scenes features of this process, there's a lot that won't be shared publicly until the actual day arrives. For you see, the greatest part, in my opinion, of the Disney Resorts experience is that out of world experience upon stepping into one of their parks, that same type of feeling that takes you out of your normal element of your mundane life and gives you that, excuse the corniness, Magical feeling. That's our goal for our wedding. Of course we're going to do some traditional elements but almost everything is going to have a touch of Disney to it, and no ones going to know what's going on until they're already there. In fact, our bridesmaids and groomsmen won't even know what music they're walking into. We might drop a few hints here or there, but almost everything is going to be kept under-wraps and the only people who will be in the "know" is the immediate wedding party.

So now that that's out of the way, there is one thing we have finally confirmed and set in stone that we can share with everyone. I always tell Brit "one step at a time"...with everything. Whether its cleaning a room, making a dinner, anything. I don't like to be all over the place, I like controlled chaos and I like to have a general idea of what I'm doing in a specific order. If I'm cleaning a room or organizing, I do it one section at a time, like a virus slowly spreading. I don't bounce around between areas, I start in one location and move forward until completion and as will be the case with this wedding. We don't have a wedding date, or a venue as of yet and haven't even really started focusing on that as of yet. But as of Friday (1/28) we solidified the wedding party, and at least that is something I can share with you guys....but I'm hungry. Lunch break.



- King Trembeaux -

The Idea For a Blue Print

I'm 22 years old...I'm on the cusp of entering the real world with a college degree in Sports Management from Johnson and Wales University...I live with my parents....and I have a wedding to plan.

I got engaged on December 1, 2010 in Disneyland (Anaheim, CA) after less than 2.5 years with my then girlfriend, now Fiance, Brittany. How it all went down is actually completely irrelevant to this blog and the purpose of said blog, however it is still single handedly the most mind blowing moment in my life when looking back on all the extensive routes of planning and deceitful webs spun, but that's for another day. In fact, the whole point in making the moment just THAT special was for Brittany to be able to re-tell it with fondness, and not for me to toot my own horn. I personally feel uncomfortable telling it from my point of view because I didn't do the things I did to one-up people or build my case as the standard or bar to be compared to with other engagements....Perhaps I'll have her write it out in her own words to post on here to share, if she'd want to. But I digress...

By getting engaged in December '10, and only being 22 years old, I have officially become the first out of my Justice League of Friends to do so. Between the two of us, we have about 8-10 really close friends that matter more than anything to us, and there is no sign in sight of any of them getting to the point in life where we are...relationships itself aren't a frequent occurrence either, and we were the only "couple" for the longest time. With this engagement, comes the obvious follow up question, "when's the big day?" and to be honest, we have nothing planned as of yet. To be even more blunt, we don't even know the proper steps and avenues to begin searching with. Yeah, we're getting married, that's what getting engaged means, and yeah, we've semi-sorta been planning our wedding long before the actual engagement. But...the fact remains...when you suddenly go from 'boyfriend" to "Fiance"...shit gets real, fast. Suddenly, all those conversations about potential ideas and concepts become for realsies and suddenly you're just not brainstorming, but you're starting to write things in ink.

Without getting too ahead of myself, that is what this blog will boil down to. Of course, it's going to be also a lot of musings and thoughts for myself to vent out to since I'm a very opinionated individual who often finds a lot of fault in his generation,  but more than anything this blog is going to be a documentation of the engaged life, and act sort of as a blue print or playbook for friends and family to look back on and even possibly use as a reference. Being the only ones amongst our close knit friends, we really don't have too many resources at our disposal, so if we have to be the guinea pigs, then so be it. All our friends seem to be fascinated with the concept of a "wedding" and it ushers in a new era amongst all of us that everyone goes through in their lifetimes where it seems everyones' getting married at once, so now they have a place to indulge. I already know our wedding is going to be a perfect event for us, it's just a matter of how we travel down the road to perfection and what steps to take in getting there.

- King Trembeaux -