Three wonderful years...

Kami posted the following fun tag on her blog a few weeks ago. And, since today is our 3rd anniversary, I think it's only fitting to play along and reminisce about our special day!

1. Where did you and your husband meet? As mentioned previously here and here on Sprik Space, we met online in March 2005. I made him wait until mid-May before meeting face-to-face... In fact, the day he was coming to Phoenix, he ended up catching an earlier flight than planned. I had already mapped out my day, which included leaving work early to run home to freshen up. I think he had landed, already at the airport, by the time I was ready to leave work, but I still made him wait until I was able to run home quick. (So glad he was patient, though he was told that I had to "work late"!) When I picked him up curbside, I was so dumbfounded that he was normal, I couldn't stop saying "I can't believe you're here!" I drove us straight to In-n-Out Burger, because I was so nervous and knew that was one of his favorite places. There we immediately began our first official date (all for less than $9)... romantic, huh?

2. How long before you kissed? Ummm... just a few hours after meeting face-to-face! It was later that night at my apartment. Of course I made sure he bought me dinner first. ;)

3. Who kissed who first? He kissed me... naturally.

4. How long from the time you met until you were engaged? How long from the engagement to the wedding? We were engaged on July 1st of that same year (3.5 months after meeting online, 1.5 months after meeting face-to-face)... and married on December 10th (5 months from the engagement).

5. How did he propose? I had flown to Denver to see him over the Fourth of July weekend. That Friday, I had scheduled time with my friend, Andi, for her to cut & color my hair, and for us to sneak over quick to a local bridal shop. We were running late leaving downtown to get to Andi's, but Brian insisted we stop by the temple on our way. I was completely oblivious to what he had planned, but decided to be kind and indulge him, even though I was a little annoyed and didn't want to be late. We pulled up to the temple, which was closed at the time for renovations, but one of the gates was open for the workers and Brian barreled on in. We parked and got out to stroll around for a minute, when suddenly he was down on one knee. I was caught so off guard, that to this day, I still don't remember the words he said, just the emotions I felt.

6. Did he pick out the ring or did you? He picked out the ring, all by himself. He knew I wanted a solitaire in white gold, and he had my ring size, and that was about it.

7. Do you still like the ring? Yes, I love it! It's very simple and classic, but set in an interesting way. I just wish it fit a little better right now! (ahhh, pregnancy)

8. Where was your wedding and reception? We were married in the Denver LDS Temple, and had a small luncheon reception at Il Fornaio with 30 of our closest friends and family (who either lived in town or had traveled to be with us). Our wedding was practically a destination wedding, with both sets of parents and many friends having to travel in from Arizona, Illinois, and Michigan. We kept the luncheon small and intimate, just the way both of us wanted. It really couldn't have been more perfect.

9. How many bridesmaids did you have and who was your maid of honor? I didn't have any bridesmaids at my wedding, though I suppose technically you could say Andi was my maid of honor (she got stuck with hair and make-up duty the morning of the wedding).

10. What did you do at your reception? Besides having lunch together, we also held a small ring ceremony officiated by the bishop of the ward Brian was baptized in. It was a really special way for us to have the opportunity to say how we felt about each other, in front of everyone present. The bishop said a few words, and we also had toasts offered up by siblings and close friends as part of it.

11. What was your bouquet made of? Just white calla lilies (and a few fronds of green grass), all bundled together with ribbon.

12. Who gave you away? I suppose you could say that both of my parents did. It was a temple ceremony, so there was no walking down the aisle, persay.

13. Did you cry during your wedding? A tiny bit before, during, and after. I'm pretty sure I was a little teary all day long.

14. What style was your dress? I actually almost didn't buy a wedding dress... but then I found the one perfect for me. It was a very simple A-line style which I had altered from cap sleeves to 3/4-length sleeves, with satin banding the neckline and hem, and a small amount of beading detail at the empire waist.

15. Was your wedding kiss sweet or sexy? Short and sweet.

16. Who caught your bouquet? I actually never threw my bouquet. I think my sister was the only other single girl in attendance that day. Pretty sure the flowers spent the weekend at Andi's while we were on our honeymoon.

17. What flavor was your cake? My memory on this is a little fuzzy... I think it was a white chocolate cake with a strawberry or raspberry filling and buttercream frosting. It was small, only 2 tiers, but we had plenty of leftovers, which we devoured on our honeymoon.

18. Did you smash the cake onto each other's faces or feed it to each other nicely? We fed each other in a civilized fashion, of course! We hadn't talked about it before, so I was relieved we were both on the same page.

19. What was "your song" that you danced to at your wedding? We didn't have dancing at our wedding... middle of the day, small private room at the restaurant... no room for it really. If I had to choose a song that was "our song", especially at the time, I would say that it was "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever" by Stevie Wonder.

20. What did you serve your guests to eat? If I remember correctly, we chose this menu for our guests, along with a couple of appetizers. It was most certainly delicious!

21. What did your friends or family do to decorate your car? They didn't... thank goodness! Given the fact that it was below freezing (yet blue skies and sunny) that day, I don't think anyone was inclined to do the dirty prank.

22. What was your favorite wedding gift? We mostly received cash and gift cards for our wedding, which was a huge blessing. We had just bought a new house, so we were able to purchase accessories, accent furniture, and even some exercise equipment, thanks to everyone's generosity.

23. What was the worst wedding gift you got? I don't really remember a "worst" wedding gift. If there was something we received that we didn't really need, we were able to return it.

24. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Breckenridge. We drove up into the beautiful mountains of Colorado, and stayed in a condo for a few days at the Mountain Thunder Lodge. It was snowy, cold, and absolutely gorgeous up there. Afterwards, we traveled back down to the Denver area to pick up my things, and drive on to Chicago... stopping for a night in Nebraska, to tour Winter Quarters the next morning.

25. Looking back, is there anything you would have changed about your wedding? The wedding day and luncheon were absolutely perfect - I don't think there's one thing I would change about it. (Sure not everything went according to plan, but those details are trivial and don't really matter.) What I would change is the amount of stress we had circling around us at the time... I moved to Denver in August to be closer to Brian, but then he left for a job opportunity in Chicago just 2 weeks later - so we were long-distance, again! Just about every other weekend was full of traveling to see the other and taking care of the loose details we couldn't handle long-distance. September was spent house hunting and Brian was adjusting to a new job; October was all about buying the house. In November, I was trying to coordinate the movers and getting everything settled (all while finalizing wedding plans and attempting to do some freelance work). Then, the wedding in December, and finally being together. Things were so crazy and stressful, I'm honestly surprised we survived! Without the support of good friends and family, I'm not sure we would have made it through all of that. (But, in the end, it was all worth it, and we became stronger because of it.)

Thank you, Brian, for the past three, very wonderful, years!
You were definitely worth the wait! ;)

Like Kami, I'm opening this up to everyone I know that reads this post... I'd love to see your answers! Come on, play along!