I must say that I am really enjoying this time.
As hard as it is to believe, Jeff seems to be alright with it also :)
We don't talk about the wedding every day - with 2 1/2 years to go, that would just be silly. But, we do talk about it at least once a week. In fact, last week over dinner, Jeff asked me to draw him a picture of the wedding day vision I have in my head. We have a whiteboard on our fridge for grocery lists and important to-do's, so I got up, drew a birds-eye view of a venue I like, and as if teaching a class, walked him through everything. As with most of our talks, this led us into discussions about sunset ceremonies, dancing, cocktail hour, whether or not to do a first look, and much more. We're both really excited about the ideas we've discussed (some have been total busts though too) and are looking forward to putting these ideas to work, slowly, and without stress, over the next two years.
From time to time I will get a little anxious - when you're brainstorming, sometimes it just feels like you're lost in a sea of ideas. How do you know which ones you really like? How will we make all the ones we like work well together?
Regardless, it's fun learning what each of us does and doesn't like and we have had so much fun laughing together about silly wedding stuff. I've learned that even though I am a huge fan of lace in my wedding dress, most of the lace dresses in magazines remind Jeff of doilies (psh, men). I've learned that even though Jeff says he wants a small wedding, he is more likely to balloon our list to 200, while I struggle to hold it around 100.
This time has also given us more opportunities to talk in depth about our hopes and dreams for the future at large; To plan out a hugely extravagant, out of our budget, honeymoon of our dreams that we can think about cutting back on later; To have great heart-to-hearts on our values and beliefs; and, most simply, to just love each other.
Jeff has gotten down on his knee and told me that I am the one person he wants to spend his life with. I (although in an embarrassingly high pitched tone) have accepted his ring and told him that I want to spend my life with him. As Ben said to Courtney (despite the groans that rang out across America) 'You are my forever' (ps, I wrote that on our whiteboard that night in big fancy handwriting. In the morning, Jeff had erased his name, and in a different colour written mine, and added 'too' at the end. Yep, that's how corny we are). For those of you who made it through that without feeling nauseous, my point is, that we have been vulnerable with each other, yet agreed to accept each other, flaws and all. It makes loving each other so much sweeter when you have that feeling of complete and utter acceptance.
Along with all of this joy comes the plans to document said joy through engagement photos. A good friend of ours has already offered her services for this purpose, which we are thrilled about. Not only does it help our budget, as she is taking the shots purely for experience, but having a friend (whose photos I love, by the way) take the shots, makes you feel much more at ease that they're going to truly be able to let your love shine through in the images.
Our only challenge: I view e-photos as the chance to showcase your love and what makes you, as a couple, unique. It's the time when you get to let your goofy hang out. When the wedding photos come around, often the best you get is the jumping in the air shot - engagement is when you get to really show you. But what makes us unique?
Seriously, this is a stumbling block for us. We've tossed around a few ideas, and at the very least, we know we will take these photos in the summertime, when weather shouldn't get in the way of our planned shoot. But, what photos should we take to showcase us?
I'm turning it over to you! Post in the comments below answers to any of the following:
1) What makes us, as a couple, unique?
2) How do you describe us to other people?
3) Where should we do our photos (describe a setting)?
4) What are some specific photos we should have in our collection (ex: activities we should be doing in the photo, poses we should use, etc)?
5) How nauseous were you when I talked about being vulnerable and accepting each other? :)
