Showing posts with label Engagement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Engagement. Show all posts
Monday, April 06, 2009
Photographer Blog
Gah! Robert's and my engagement photos are on our photographer's blog! Ick! Actually, there are only three and one of them is a photo I posted on this blog but still. They're just so... big. And out there. Ick. If you feel you must, you can check out the post at this link. (Clearly Lyndsay doesn't know us all that well - "Rob"? Really? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I referred to him as Robert all. day. long. Oh well. At least she got my name right!)
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Engagement Photos
Robert and I took our "official" engagement photos a couple Saturdays ago and were notified just last night that they are available for online viewing. Now, I have to say that my expectations were low, low, low - I didn't think I'd care for a single photo. Seriously. Engagement photos are not my thing. We wouldn't even have done them except they came with our wedding package and when we tried to wriggle out of them, our photographer was kind of like "Okay... but it would be really helpful for me to meet you guys before your wedding so I can get a sense of your style and personality." Which Robert and I grudgingly agreed made a small amount of sense. Fine. So, we headed to Washington (High School, that is) on the 21st for some drizzly, overcast photos.
Why Washington? Well, it was Robert's suggestion - he's very into our 'love story' and thought it would be cute to take our photos in the place where we first met. And since I could not envision myself strolling along a beach, frolicking in a field or gallivanting across some pier in San Francisco for some "romantic" shots, I was game. Because, honestly, I wasn't going to enjoy taking the photos no matter where we were. I am definitely not a fan of and am terribly uncomfortable with public displays of affection as it is but to have those moments forced and photographed? While trying to look candid? Oy. Not good. Not good at all. I had hoped that the photographer would give us some very specific direction, but all we really got was "Ooh! That's pretty. Do... something over there." Something? That could be anything! We could start wrestling or square dancing or playing rock-paper-scissors for crying out loud! I needed some real direction!! I was certainly not going to break out into a 'spontaneous' make-out session so I just laughed. A lot. I laugh when I'm nervous. I was fairly certain that about 98% of the photos would be of me, mouth agape, laughing. Romantic, no? Geez.
So, as I said, my expectations were low. But as we started scrolling through them last night, I was pleasantly surprised. There are actually a few good photos in there! None of them are terribly romantic - as I'd predicted - but they are still pretty nice photos nonetheless. Here's a sample:
Not too horrific, right? I'm not sure which ones or how many we'll buy; I'm just glad there are actually some that I'd even consider keeping! And I'm really glad that I don't have to take anymore engagement photos. :o)
Why Washington? Well, it was Robert's suggestion - he's very into our 'love story' and thought it would be cute to take our photos in the place where we first met. And since I could not envision myself strolling along a beach, frolicking in a field or gallivanting across some pier in San Francisco for some "romantic" shots, I was game. Because, honestly, I wasn't going to enjoy taking the photos no matter where we were. I am definitely not a fan of and am terribly uncomfortable with public displays of affection as it is but to have those moments forced and photographed? While trying to look candid? Oy. Not good. Not good at all. I had hoped that the photographer would give us some very specific direction, but all we really got was "Ooh! That's pretty. Do... something over there." Something? That could be anything! We could start wrestling or square dancing or playing rock-paper-scissors for crying out loud! I needed some real direction!! I was certainly not going to break out into a 'spontaneous' make-out session so I just laughed. A lot. I laugh when I'm nervous. I was fairly certain that about 98% of the photos would be of me, mouth agape, laughing. Romantic, no? Geez.
So, as I said, my expectations were low. But as we started scrolling through them last night, I was pleasantly surprised. There are actually a few good photos in there! None of them are terribly romantic - as I'd predicted - but they are still pretty nice photos nonetheless. Here's a sample:
Not too horrific, right? I'm not sure which ones or how many we'll buy; I'm just glad there are actually some that I'd even consider keeping! And I'm really glad that I don't have to take anymore engagement photos. :o)
Monday, January 05, 2009
We're ENGAGED!!!
Okay, so I know this is totally old news for all of you but I keep hearing "Oh, I haven't seen it on the blog!" so here it is (in a somewhat edited form!).
As you know, Robert proposed a couple Fridays ago, on December 19th. Robert had told me he was working off-site that day on a video shoot and I was to attend a departmental Christmas party at my boss' house from 3:30 to 5. (My point in telling you the minutiae of our day? Just to point out that we both got up and got ready for work, as per usual.) Well, the food didn't even come out until after 5 and I definitely didn't want to be the first to leave the party, so I stayed until about 7 or so. (Robert usually comes home late anytime he's off-site so I figured I was good to go as far as he was concerned.) When I got my purse and coat from the closet as I was leaving, I saw that I had a few missed calls from Robert. Everyone teased me ("Oooh, someone's in trouble!") but I figured Robert just wanted to check in. When I called him to tell him I was on my way, he said he was en route and we should arrive home about the same time. "Great!" I thought. "I'm starving. This will work out perfectly!"
I pulled into the complex, parked the car and grabbed the mail - nothing seemed amiss. When I opened the front door to turn on the lights and hang up my keys, I noticed that my key rack was missing. Then I saw part of a chalkboard out of the corner of my eye and was completely bumfuzzled. When I finally got the lights on, there was Robert, on bended knee with ring in hand, telling me he had a question to ask me. (He also looked quite dapper in his three-piece suit [minus the jacket].) I. Was. SHOCKED. Completely!!! It caught me totally by surprise - I honestly had NO inkling that he was thinking about getting married. I mean, sure we've talked about it over the years but we've never discussed a timeline, really, or about what kind of ring I'd want or anything like that. It was just sort of out there. We knew we'd get married eventually; we just didn't concern ourselves with the details too much.
Anyway, I was completely blindsided and just shrieked "Oh my God!" about a thousand times before poor Robert got to finish his little speech. I believe I finally shouted "Of course!" after he actually got to ask me to marry him... and things got rolling. :o)
Robert was quite the little worker bee - turns out, he'd been planning this for months. (He is the worst liar, so I'm that much more surprised he was able to keep it all under wraps so successfully!) Even though we'd gone to Centerville together, we only "met" the first semester of high school, in Mr. Koski's keyboarding class (where we also met Biji). As such, Robert had moved all of our furniture - and I mean ALL - out of the living room to reconstruct a classroom. He'd made three chalkboards, one of which said "Lauren, Will You Marry Me?" in letters he'd hand-crafted out of scrapbooking sheets and was strung on a wire across the center of the room. The other two chalkboards were strung on a wire directly behind the other board, and Robert had written "Please Say Yes!" over and over again on each in chalk. He'd bought and refinished two actual school desks from the district in Vallejo and set them up with old typewriters and typing books he'd bought off Craigslist. Our old Student of the Week photos (we each received the honor from Mr. Koski while in Keyboarding) hung over the mantle, on which sat a Student of the Week sign Robert had also made. On the other two walls hung about 80 photos of us through the past 14 years. VERY impressive!!
Robert had worked on everything in bits and pieces during those few precious moments I'd actually left the house, and he stored most everything in our patio shed. The desks he stored (and worked on) at his parents' house, and I guess they were the topic of conversation during Thanksgiving amongst his extended family but luckily I heard nothing of them at all. :o) Bob had helped Robert pick up the desks in a van Robert had rented, but Robert didn't want anyone to know about the proposal (he told his parents the desks were part of a birthday gift he was working on for me) so he managed to pick-up the desks from his parents' house during the one hour Bob goes on his morning walk. Again, I say - very impressive!!!
Robert had asked both sets of parents to come over for dinner later in the evening, but my late arrival sort of mucked that up for him. I guess he'd told my parents - who already knew of the proposal - to come at 6:30 and his parents to arrive at 7. When my parents arrived, Robert had to shoo them away because I hadn't yet come home. They ran off, drove around for a while and came back at about 8 or so, which worked out just fine. Robert also had to call his parents and, due to a minor family emergency, they almost canceled. He was eventually able to persuade them to stop by after their detour and we all wound up having pizza (and Taco Bell) at 10:30 instead of Robert's intended home cooked meal at, say, 9. But it all worked out well in the end. Poor Robert had to stand in the dark for two hours, though, because he'd expected me home at 5:30 and didn't want to be in the middle of something when I finally did walk through the door. I think his knee was a bit cramped by the time he finally got to stand up!
And that's pretty much it. A very romantic, surprise proposal and just about everyone we've told thinks it's a marvelous story. I wholeheartedly agree. :o) I realize Robert was under a lot of pressure - given his penchant for fantastic gift-giving, his reputation for inventiveness preceded him - but he pulled it all off beautifully. So now, 11 years, 1 month and 12 days after our first date, we're getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(And no, we don't really have any plans as of yet. We're thinking this summer, August maybe, outside and small. That's all we've got so far... sorry! I'll keep the blog updated, though, no worries.)
(Oh. And because I'm lazy, here's a [gigantenormous] slideshow of engagement photos in lieu of uploading them one by one to the blog. (Sorry.) Most of you have seen the photos anyway, though, so I figured a shortcut was OK. :o) )
As you know, Robert proposed a couple Fridays ago, on December 19th. Robert had told me he was working off-site that day on a video shoot and I was to attend a departmental Christmas party at my boss' house from 3:30 to 5. (My point in telling you the minutiae of our day? Just to point out that we both got up and got ready for work, as per usual.) Well, the food didn't even come out until after 5 and I definitely didn't want to be the first to leave the party, so I stayed until about 7 or so. (Robert usually comes home late anytime he's off-site so I figured I was good to go as far as he was concerned.) When I got my purse and coat from the closet as I was leaving, I saw that I had a few missed calls from Robert. Everyone teased me ("Oooh, someone's in trouble!") but I figured Robert just wanted to check in. When I called him to tell him I was on my way, he said he was en route and we should arrive home about the same time. "Great!" I thought. "I'm starving. This will work out perfectly!"
I pulled into the complex, parked the car and grabbed the mail - nothing seemed amiss. When I opened the front door to turn on the lights and hang up my keys, I noticed that my key rack was missing. Then I saw part of a chalkboard out of the corner of my eye and was completely bumfuzzled. When I finally got the lights on, there was Robert, on bended knee with ring in hand, telling me he had a question to ask me. (He also looked quite dapper in his three-piece suit [minus the jacket].) I. Was. SHOCKED. Completely!!! It caught me totally by surprise - I honestly had NO inkling that he was thinking about getting married. I mean, sure we've talked about it over the years but we've never discussed a timeline, really, or about what kind of ring I'd want or anything like that. It was just sort of out there. We knew we'd get married eventually; we just didn't concern ourselves with the details too much.
Anyway, I was completely blindsided and just shrieked "Oh my God!" about a thousand times before poor Robert got to finish his little speech. I believe I finally shouted "Of course!" after he actually got to ask me to marry him... and things got rolling. :o)
Robert was quite the little worker bee - turns out, he'd been planning this for months. (He is the worst liar, so I'm that much more surprised he was able to keep it all under wraps so successfully!) Even though we'd gone to Centerville together, we only "met" the first semester of high school, in Mr. Koski's keyboarding class (where we also met Biji). As such, Robert had moved all of our furniture - and I mean ALL - out of the living room to reconstruct a classroom. He'd made three chalkboards, one of which said "Lauren, Will You Marry Me?" in letters he'd hand-crafted out of scrapbooking sheets and was strung on a wire across the center of the room. The other two chalkboards were strung on a wire directly behind the other board, and Robert had written "Please Say Yes!" over and over again on each in chalk. He'd bought and refinished two actual school desks from the district in Vallejo and set them up with old typewriters and typing books he'd bought off Craigslist. Our old Student of the Week photos (we each received the honor from Mr. Koski while in Keyboarding) hung over the mantle, on which sat a Student of the Week sign Robert had also made. On the other two walls hung about 80 photos of us through the past 14 years. VERY impressive!!
Robert had worked on everything in bits and pieces during those few precious moments I'd actually left the house, and he stored most everything in our patio shed. The desks he stored (and worked on) at his parents' house, and I guess they were the topic of conversation during Thanksgiving amongst his extended family but luckily I heard nothing of them at all. :o) Bob had helped Robert pick up the desks in a van Robert had rented, but Robert didn't want anyone to know about the proposal (he told his parents the desks were part of a birthday gift he was working on for me) so he managed to pick-up the desks from his parents' house during the one hour Bob goes on his morning walk. Again, I say - very impressive!!!
Robert had asked both sets of parents to come over for dinner later in the evening, but my late arrival sort of mucked that up for him. I guess he'd told my parents - who already knew of the proposal - to come at 6:30 and his parents to arrive at 7. When my parents arrived, Robert had to shoo them away because I hadn't yet come home. They ran off, drove around for a while and came back at about 8 or so, which worked out just fine. Robert also had to call his parents and, due to a minor family emergency, they almost canceled. He was eventually able to persuade them to stop by after their detour and we all wound up having pizza (and Taco Bell) at 10:30 instead of Robert's intended home cooked meal at, say, 9. But it all worked out well in the end. Poor Robert had to stand in the dark for two hours, though, because he'd expected me home at 5:30 and didn't want to be in the middle of something when I finally did walk through the door. I think his knee was a bit cramped by the time he finally got to stand up!
And that's pretty much it. A very romantic, surprise proposal and just about everyone we've told thinks it's a marvelous story. I wholeheartedly agree. :o) I realize Robert was under a lot of pressure - given his penchant for fantastic gift-giving, his reputation for inventiveness preceded him - but he pulled it all off beautifully. So now, 11 years, 1 month and 12 days after our first date, we're getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(And no, we don't really have any plans as of yet. We're thinking this summer, August maybe, outside and small. That's all we've got so far... sorry! I'll keep the blog updated, though, no worries.)
(Oh. And because I'm lazy, here's a [gigantenormous] slideshow of engagement photos in lieu of uploading them one by one to the blog. (Sorry.) Most of you have seen the photos anyway, though, so I figured a shortcut was OK. :o) )
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