"Goin' to the Chapel...."

Chris proposed on Wednesday night!

It was sweet and romantic and kind of spontaneous (if you can count our two hour drive each way, lunch, then 2.5 hours with the jeweler during the day Wednesday as still being spontaneous -he said I was not going to get the ring for awhile!)

We have to go through the annulment process for Chris' previous marriage if we want to get married in the church. UGH. We meet with "The Church Lady" on Monday. Apparently we can't set a date until that is complete.

I have learned the flurry of questions that this brings out. And actually a male friend who also is recently engaged teased with his list of questions, and prompted me to write up my FAQs. So here they are:

Wedding Party?
My sister and our collective three boys.

Place?
Blessed Sacrament (unless I get too frustrated with the Church Lady).

Reception?
Likely the newly renovated Anchor Boat Club so we can have a more relaxed reception, not try to limit the guest list as much, and not still be paying for the wedding when it is time to pay college tuition. We can also use the decs from the ISPE "Survivor" convention - lanterns, bamboo & palm planters I made etc. (maybe not the netting and grass skirting, but you never know!) If the Church Lady says spring or summer time, we might get the party barge too. If it is winter, we may reconsider.

When? Ask the Church Lady.

Colors? Depends on time of year, so ask the Church Lady and my sister. She gets to pick her own dress since there will only be 1.

How Many People? - Probably 100-125 (unless they all die off before the Church Lady says we can get married).

Ring? Just under 1ct round with 5 channel set stones on each side. Matching band with 13 stones. His is tungsten, industrial looking because he works in construction. We went to a jeweler I know in Quincy so got it all at once.

Is it too soon? Not really. After being in the dating world since I was 15 or so - some 23 years - I think I know what I am looking for. But the Church Lady might think so.

Do you want more children? We have three great boys, so probably not. (plus, I can't have more children...so my guess would be NO)

Where will you live? My house. We have a room set up for the two older boys downstairs they love, downstairs family room almost done, and we just need the basement toilet to be functional again (new wax ring and new inerts - will actually probably just replace it), and we will be set. It would take the PERFECT house set down on my block or adjacent to my block for the same price I paid for my house to get me to move.

Have you told your parents? Yes. Dad is happy. Mom was too sick to talk. [From my sister-in-law, who thinks it is too soon - they dated for 4 years. I told her the conversation went much better than the 'I'm pregnant" call.]

How did he propose? On the couch without the ring in hand after watching Couples Retreat. It was actually romantic, spontaneous and I think much more meaningful for the two of us than his original "plan."