Engagement Pics- Zihuat, Mx- March 2008

The March to the Wedding

So after a very long respite I'm back to blogging and this time as an engaged woman! I've decided to come back to The Hokie Pokey to document the wedding process or what I am terming "the march to the wedding....."

The Engagement- March 1, 2008
Mr Pickels and I took a vacation to our fav spot in MX in March and he popped the question on our first night. In a perfect setting he got down on one knee in our private dipping pool on our private balcony, and...well I'll spare you the intimate details, but it was very fitting for someone that has spent so much of their life in a pool. It was amazing and I spent the week in shock staring at the rock on my finger!

March 8, 2008- Present Day
Since then, it's been a whirlwind couple of months...between attempting to contact everyone to give them the good news, traveling (DC to see my fam and Boston to see my college roomie get married), and then attempting to figure out where/when/how to throw a wedding...well it's all been a wee bit overwhelming.

After arriving home, reality set in, and all the sudden I found myself saying "what the f, I'm getting MARRIED??" Instead of running out to buy bridal magazines and start planning my "dream" wedding, I completely ignored all that. Wedding, what wedding? In fact, I was in such denial that I couldn't even pick up a bridal magazine until a few weeks ago. Without really wanting to, the logical side of me chose to look at marriage as a a reality and started to ponder what it means, what a responsiblity it is, and how much hard work it takes to actually succeed in having a healthy and happy marriage. Believe me, when I started to ponder all that, it SCARED the crap out of me! What happened to let's go out, get drunk , drive to Vegas at 2am, and not have any worries or anyone to answer to the next morning?? That just went out the door...

I've asked alot of my married friends if they went through a similar process and some were very honest and admitted they questioned all of this too, which was very relieving to hear. You mean I'm actually normal for feeling this way?? So my next question is ummm helloooo, why didn't anyone warm me about this?? It baffles me that women don't really discuss this topic openly with eachother. Society has bulit up the wedding industry so much that everyone assumes the engagement period is such a happy and blissful time in your life, when in fact I have found it to be one of the more confusing and anxious periods in my life. Call it being older, being financially independent, not wanting to mold to society's expectations of what/how a traditional wife acts, not wanting to stay home with kids while my husband works, or give birth at all for that matter...call it any and all of those. In the end though, even after weighing all those heavy questions, I'm in love and in life doesn't love always prevail? No really, in all seriousness, I've found someone that I want to spend the rest of my life with and in the end that is a very special thing in life. It's been a process, taken alot of soul searching on my part, and many serious conversations with Mr. Pickels (thanks hon) to finally be at peace with the fact that I will be walking down the aisle on May 16, 2009.

Yes, we finally have a date! Undoubtly the hardest part about planning the wedding, esp. when you and your fiance are from different coasts. After much thought we've decided to have the ceremony at the church I grew up attending in MD, and the recpetion will be held at a family friends house immediately following. The reception site has very special meaning to my family as we used to live next door to the owners and are still very good friends with them. After discussing all the options and looking at a ton of venues we decided to go this route as it fits both of our personalities.

So that is the plan, and as you can see the last 3 1/2 months has been sort of an emmotional roller coaster for me, not always easy but definitely necessary in order to be at peace with where my life is at 30 years old (okay almost 31). So hence starts "the march to the wedding"....we have approx 11 mo to go, hope you enjoy the ride as much as I will (well hopefully)!