| The Engagement Period July 7, 2002 - March 22, 2003 |
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| July 7, 2002. You can tell I wasn't expecting John to propose - I wouldn't even wear this outfit in public! We were simply travelling home from John's parents' house in West Virginia when we stopped at a lake to sing worship songs together. You can read the rest on our Knot website. |
| I'm glad I had my camera so we could get a few photos anyway. These were taken about 5 minutes after John popped the question next to the lake. |
| The rock. The engagement ring John gave me had belonged to his late maternal grandmother, who we both knew as "Gammy." She died a few months after John and I started dating, and I think she already knew that I was the woman John would marry someday. (click picture to enlarge) |
| My dress. I found my dress on sale at David's Bridal. True to what I'd heard, I knew the moment I put it on that it was the one. During our engagement, I made a top-secret webpage of my wedding dress so my curious friends could get a sneak peek. John never knew about this page. You can view it here. |
| Planning the Big Day |
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| The bridesmaid dress. One of my proudest parts of planning. With 2 missionaries in my bridal party, I wanted something inexpensive. I also wanted a dress they could wear again. I found the perfect dress on clearance at Nordstroms' for $63. (click to enlarge) |
| The ceremony location. Easy choice. I grew up at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, MD, and John and I met there. We are both members there. |
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| The reception location. I grew up 2 miles from the Willow Tree Inn in Gaithersburg, MD. We were overall very happy with our choice of Willow Tree. |
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| Florist. An independent florist named Diana Conrad came highly recommended to me by 2 former bride friends. The results (click on photo to see the gorgeous centerpieces) surpassed my wildest imaginings. |
| We highly recommend: Florist: Diana Conrad, 301-365-7043 DJ: Brandon Renniger at Absolute Entertainment, 410-761-1212 Photographer: Judy and Mark Taylor, 301-439-7873 Cake: Jenny Byrne, 301-299-8884 Violinists: Heather & Erica MacArthur, 860-875-8579 We wouldn't recommend: Gingiss Tuxedo Rental |