This is emipearce's Blue Wedding!

Good thing we're more than likely having our wedding in my backyard. I think by choosing white roses and gardenias, I've just blindly selected two of the most expensive flower choices for a wedding.

Since I live out in the country, Dustin and I are already guaranteed beautiful landscaping, lush greenery, and a feeling of being in a totally different world surrounded by nature's offerings. Our swimming pool offers us another chance to exercise some creativity with floating centerpieces like candles, etc... but that's for another post. What I'm trying to say is that I'm basically going to be able to cut corners on floral costs and concentrate what money we do allot in this area into more specific areas: my bouquet, the bridesmaids' bouquets, and a few centerpieces.

The photos capture exactly what I want. My bouquet looks like one big flower, but it's actually made up of small white rose petals strung together and around a base to give the illusion of one. I absolutely love its combination of simplicity and class.

The rightmost photo is a larger version of how I picture my bridesmaids' bouquets. I feel gardenias are a beautiful accent next to my rose bouquet.

I didn't have to try on many dresses in order to reach a conclusion. At first I went to David's Bridal, but I felt that the assistance I received there was so impersonal. Plus, it really seemed as if I was "settling" because I was striving to keep costs down.

A few weeks later I attended a bridal convention with my mother, however, and saw a dress being modeled on a friend of mine. Her mother insisted that I try it on as well and it looked fabulous on me. I discovered that it was a Maggie Sottero gown, a designer I had looked at a few months ago just for kicks. I loved the fit, the quality, and the fact that despite it being obviously a better dress than the David's Bridal one, it was actually cheaper! I had once again decided on a dress.

Last week Mom and I went to Georgio's, a local dress shop, and planned on trying on the same dress I tried at the convention. We oo-ed and aah-ed over it again but for the fun of it we also decided to try another Maggie gown. And oh my gosh, I'm glad I did. This one completely knocked my socks off and was in every way a head turner. I felt like a princess walking out of the dressing room and stepping up onto the pedestal in front of the mirror. The girls there were so much helpful than at David's Bridal also... they went and got lots of accessories for me, including something I'd wanted to wear from the very beginning, a beautiful crystal birdcage veil. They completed the look with a Swarovski crystal necklace and earrings. Looking in the mirror, I felt like a bride and was immediately sold.

We're paying the first deposit next week. Hooray!

So I'm officially going to become Mrs. Chappell in a matter of months.

Last fall, Dustin and I were both in Europe. I was studying abroad through Baylor University's educational program in Maastricht while he, after graduating from Baylor in May, was teaching English in Flers, France. We had so much fun traveling together and experiencing some amazing things... Oktoberfest in Germany, ice climbing on glaciers and authentic fondue in Switzerland, a real gondola ride and delicious pizza in Italy, and the historical wonders of Rome. These are just some of the few opportunities we had that strengthened the incredible bond we already had. However, I had no clue was was to come.

On November 17, 2007, it was inevitable that I was to leave Europe to return to the US. Dustin, however, had to remain and complete another semester of teaching in France. We were determined to make our last few days count while celebrating our nine month anniversary. And what better place to do so than the city of romance, Paris?

Dustin and I rented an apartment in Paris and made plans to live it up. I bought a new dress, new shoes, and made the obligatory stop in Sephora. We also purchased some champagne to end the night right. Then our plans commenced and I gave myself over to Dustin's surprises.

Amidst political turmoil and public transportation strikes, we took a brief metro ride up to Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur where hand in hand we watched the sun slowly crawl down the Parisian sky and set the stage for the City of Lights to dazzle along with its famous sparkling tower. Another brief metro ride took us down to Montparnasse where we enjoyed another cup of Starbucks, my favorite, while awaiting our dinner reservation. We enjoyed a super fancy dinner atop the Tour Montparnasse, 56 floors above city, in front of a panoramic window filled with a distinctly Parisian palette of color. Three courses later we descended and eventually found our way to the Seine where we strolled hand in hand until we reached the Pont des Arts, a pedestrian only bridge that I previously had declared as my favorite place in Paris.

I don't handle cold very well. And I was freezing in that moment. However, as Dustin took me in his arms and started to sing our song, Andy Davis' "Bigger Than Us," I admit I started to forget the frigid temperature. Dustin led me in a dance to our own music as tears came to my eyes at the idea of leaving my soulmate for months. As he concluded the song, Dustin asked if I could be any happier. Of course not... then, he told me he had another question and before I could comprehend what was happening, he was on his knee and asking me to marry him.

I was a complete mess and struggled to formulate the simple response: yes! How could I refuse spending forever with my knight in shining armor?

It is with great enthusiasm that I begin planning the ceremony that will join us as wife and husband and complete a missing part of me I never knew was gone.