Tying the Knot: Rawry

I have to take a moment to introduce you to someone that is very special to Chris and I. His name is Rawry and he's the stuffed animal that Chris bought for me on our one year anniversary. Since then he has become a very special part of our lives. He was even involved in the proposal! We toyed with the idea somehow incorporating him into the wedding day, but we had bigger and more important details to worry about, so Rawry was out of luck.

Rawry did, however, make it into my overnight bag and came down to the hotel for the weekend festivities. I told Nicole that I would love it if she could capture a ring shot with Rawry. The results, in my opinion, are adorable.

When it was time for me to leave the bridal suite to see Chris for the first time, I kissed Rawry goodbye and put him on the bed. After the first look and the pictures, Chris and I had a moment alone in the bridal suite before heading to the church. We went to check on Rawry and he was gone. I panicked for a moment thinking that housekeeping had snatched him up with the bed linens and threw him in the laundry. But then we realized that somehow this little guy was determined to play a special part in our big day, whether we liked it or not.


When I walked down the aisle, not only was Chris beaming, but so was Rawry. He had snagged the best seat in the house, right inbetween us!

Stephanie, our fabulous DOC that I raved about here, and my Mommy gave Rawry a ride to the church so that he could be a part of our special day. It was just one more little detail that made us smile.

previously in the series "tying the knot": we did it, a preview, our honeymoon, our candy bar, lifesaver, getting ready, our first look, the bride and groom, bouquets and boutonnieres, the shoes, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the bridal party, the sock shot, favorites, the ceremony, the bubbles and the get away

all pictures by: nicole green. please link back to tying the knot when posting any of these pictures.

Trick or Treat!!

I was sitting on my couch last night, on Halloween, "pre-researching" florists and catholic churches in Indianapolis, when a trick-or-treater knocked on the door. I was in sweatpants and was too focused on my pre-planning research to get up so my roommate finally answered the door armed with a bowl of candy. Begrudgingly, I followed, because I do love Halloween and I wanted to see the kid’s costume. But it wasn’t a kid at the door. It was a full grown man in a head-to-toe SpongeBob Squarepants costume.
So after giving him four miniature candy bars, SpongeBob still wouldn’t go away. As we were closing the door on him, he held up a finger, motioning for us to wait. And SpongeBob said, “Happy Anniversary!” I started laughing at his cute surprise and thinking about how sweet it was that he had made the two hour drive up to Indianapolis just to surprise me for our two year anniversary (which is actually on Halloween). Note: I should mention that SpongeBob does hold a special place in our hearts. Often times, on Saturday mornings we find ourselves cuddled up together, laughing at SpongeBob’s antics, and sharing a relaxing and carefree moment before we start our day.
I went outside to help him out of his costume and I noticed the door slam shut behind me. I looked down into Chris’s trick-or-treat bag (which was a giant SpongeBob gift bag) and spotted a bottle of champagne and the stuffed animal, Rawry, which Chris had bought for me on our one-year anniversary. It was then that I saw the anxious/scared/excited look in his eyes as he pulled Rawry out of the bag, held him out towards me, and said, “Rawry and I would like to know if you would watch SpongeBob with us every Saturday for the rest of our lives…” And as I gasped in surprise he pulled out THE most beautiful ring, dropped to his knee and asked me to marry him.
Of course, I said yes and jumped into his arms! The initial shock still hasn’t worn off, and we spent the rest of the night drinking champagne, making phone calls, and being in complete happiness. I love re-telling the story and letting everyone know that Chris caught me completely by surprise, which was his goal. Anyone that has talked to me about the possibility of an engagement within the last month or two knows that I have had an outfit planned and strategy set out for why this was THE weekend he would propose and how he would do it. The fact that he caught me by surprise and how he thoughtfully did it isn’t the only things that I love about his proposal. Later that night, we watched a series of short video clips he made while going through the process of making the SpongeBob costume, asking my father for permission, and coming to my doorstep. In the videos, he expressed his excitement to become my fiancé, how much he loved me, and how he was ready to begin the rest of our lives together. I know that I will treasure those videos, and the perfect proposal, for years to come.

Have I mentioned that I love Halloween!?

after the proposal I made him get back into his costume to snag this picture....how great is this costume!? Did I mention that he got himself into size 10 women's yellow terrycloth sweatpants to complete the look!? He's quite proud of that...