The Finishing Touch — Weddings, Events, Design, Paperie

We are so excited to share that our very own Stephanie is engaged! Stephanie and her fiance Greg were engaged this summer and are now starting out on their own wedding planning journey. Stephanie will be sharing her experience of planning her own wedding (as a planner!) throughout the entire process. We can’t wait to help put all of the details of her day together!

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People always say you find love when you least expect it, cliche or not, that is exactly how my story began.

I can remember the day my childhood friend Ashley called saying, “Remember when we were little and dreamed about our wedding day? Well, Jeff proposed and I would love for you to be one of my bridesmaids!”  Without hesitation the words rolled right off my tongue, “Of course I will, I’d love too!”.  Little did I know that accepting my role as a bridesmaid would change my life forever.

The details of the wedding began effortlessly falling into place, just as I had seen so many times before. In just a few short months, the wedding was here and I could not wait to witness Ashley and Jeff’s big day. The night before their wedding, the rehearsal was held to go through all of the elements of the ceremony. This was also the first time the entire bridal party would meet and right off the bat, there was one Groomsman who caught my attention. His name was Greg and he was the younger brother of the Groom. He seemed really fun and was making jokes the entire time which took away some of the ‘wedding jitters’ that everyone experiences.

The wedding was held on a beautiful June day and started off without a hitch. After the ceremony, the bridal party went with the Bride and Groom to do some fun photos around town. Greg and I had a little time to chat in between photos and once again he made me laugh and I was happy to have met him.

The Bridal Party Greeting the Bride and Groom!

We headed to the reception where the night was filled with great food, drinks and music. Seated on opposite sides of the ballroom, Greg and I didn’t see each other much throughout the night, but he was certainly on my mind. Towards the end of the evening, the lyrics of Eric Clapton’s ‘Wonderful Tonight’ started to fill the room.  Across the dance floor came Greg and he asked me to dance! I accepted and ever since that amazing moment when I hear those timeless lyrics I still get butterflies.

A week or so later, we connected and went out on our first date. After dinner and a movie, we sat outside under the moonlight and laughed and talked for hours. It was the perfect date with the perfect man. The next three years are a whirlwind of emotions, memories, laughter and learning.  Each memory feels as though it was yesterday. I have found my best friend, my soulmate, my other half.

Although each memory seems like yesterday our most recent milestone, our engagement, is slightly blurred. Vacationing on the beautiful, Long Beach Island, Greg had all of the details set.  Like most fairytales, nothing goes as planned which is much like how it happened for us that day.  We woke up early to head down to the beach to watch the sunrise. It was a chilly, foggy morning – not quite ideal.  Exhausted, I tried to persuade Greg to do something romantic another morning but he persisted and with much chagrin I agreed.

As we walked hand in hand from our house to the beach I smiled and thought about how lucky I was. The brisk ocean breeze took away the sleepiness and I was excited to watch the sunrise with my love. We propped ourselves on a giant sand mound which had almost formed into a bench- I guessed it was a sandcastle which the ocean had begun to wash away.  I’m sure the little kids who were feverishly building the day before had no idea this exact location which their castle stood upon held the start of the first chapter of “our” life. While the waves crashed against the shore and we sat gazing up at the parting clouds, the beautiful pink and orange colors began to shine.

The Sunrise!

As I was staring at the beautiful sight before me, Greg said how much he loved me and how he can’t wait to spend our lives together – you would think I’d catch on at this point but Greg and I were always talking about our future together so it was nothing out of the ordinary. As I turned towards him to thank him for bringing me to watch the sunrise, he was down on one knee with an open box and beautiful ring glistening in the now risen sun. “Stephanie, I love you, Will you Marry Me?!”  I wanted to speak but I didn’t move and the amazing feelings people always describe began to flood over me.  I knew that I was making the easiest decision I would ever have to make and I said YES!!

Engaged!

When we got back to the house like all brides do I excitedly called, emailed and texted all of my friends and family wanting to share the amazing news.  They all showered us with love and best wishes.

We are so excited to begin our lives together!

Follow me as I share with you the journey of a wedding planner turned bride from ‘How To’ to ‘I Do’!!