little bitty girl

It's not really a gunshot wedding, but sounds so much more dramatic when you say it that way, don't you think? Stefan and I always said we would elope when we got married. I believe we brought up the subject up on our third date and after, we were a little creeped out that we both were so in sync straight off the bat. We said we wanted to go somewhere hot and it would just be the two of us and that is exactly what we did. Here is a short diary of our engagement and the planning leading to the BIG DAY.

November 11, 2005
We went on a date today and Stefan was being very indulgent. I mean, he usually is when we go on dates but this time he let me pick the movie and everything. Salad King was our destination of choice and as usual there isn't any more SOUP! Geez! You would think that if they run out by 8 pm, that they should simply make so much more. We pick up the movie (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - LOVE Johnny Depp) and head home. It's really clean and even though the apartment wasn't a complete disaster, it definitely wasn't that clean. All of a sudden, Stefan is down on his knees and I think he's hurt himself but he's saying really sweet things and somewhere in there, there is a "Marry Me" but I am too busy smacking him and telling him to stop playing around. He gives me flowers and says that we have to get my finger resized by the jeweler.

November 12, 2005
I keep asking him to ask me again. It feels unreal. We head over to Richard Booth, where we had gone so many months before. It was a perfect Fall Saturday, the autumn leaves have just turned and the weather just right. Richard kind of pokes fun of us and says I have a "glow" from the last time we saw him and that my finger is half a size smaller. I say I've been working out but then confessed about the proposal the night before. He said that must count for "the glow." As we walk home and kick up leaves, I just realized that I promised to spend the rest of my life with this man. Oh My God! This is a really big deal, what have I done? But then Stefan says something and I am laughing so hard, I nearly pee myself and I know I did the right thing.

November 14-30, 2005
The worrier and organizer in me kicks into overdrive. I've co-ordinated other people's weddings before and I know how stressful it can be. I want it to be as painless as possible. Stefan is at first reluctant to want to start looking as he says he's done the hard part and he wants to just mellow in that. He also wants to get married in December! I really want to kill him. A little more notice would have been good and now I am really panicking as I know there are documents to fill, we both were not born in the Canada etc. More importantly, I have to somehow fit into a bikini after I was getting all ready to put on my winter insulating fat. Boys don't think about the details.

I am sworn to secrecy as Stefan does not want anyone to know. This is a bit of a dilemna. I talk to my parents and brothers practically every day for Pete's sake. Stef is just planning to leave with no word but we agree that we're both responsible for our own parents. I have to just tell my parents that we're going on vacation. Otherwise, they'll think we're both dead. My parents worry like that - it's not really rational, if one of their kids are missing, it means they're dead. There's no in between. I worry a bit that my parents had some fantasy about marrying off their only daughter in some big bruhaha. Then I remembered my last conversation with Mama Kang about the subject and she said she wouldn't care if we eloped, as long we were happy and "had papers."

We're hmming and humming about where to go. We're going in peak season and we've both never been to the Carribean. Is it still hurricane season when we're planning to go? We're both on Trip Advisor constantly. This secrecy is also driving me crazy. Every other bride gets to at least talk to someone about their dress. I only have Stef and he says he doesn't care what I wear. He suggested the dress I wore to Maggie and Richie's wedding. First thing, it's a dress I've worn several times and it's pink! Fat lot of good he is.

My constant appeals for his opinions about the dress has driven Stefan mad and he's capitulated. I can tell one friend and he picks Marie, because she lives on the West Coast. Not sure what the reasoning is behind this but anything works for me.

Ugh Ugh Ugh. There are hideous dresses out there. I hate all the fluffy dresses. Let's be honest, I am short. Any dress with a tutu is going to make me look like an upside down mushroom. I don't like dresses with too many gee-gaws all over.

I honestly don't see why I cannot get married in green but Stefan, who is insistent on this non-traditional wedding is insistent on traditional colours for the dress. Thank goodness for being Asian, because at least red is also an option. I am already bored with the whole process.

Woo hoo! Marie and I are practically brain twins when it comes to fashion and have gotten down to business quickly and narrowed it to two dresses. I wanted something pretty but that I could wear again. I have no fantasies about future children wanting to wear it.