I have to say that the people I work with at Fee / Hedrick Family Entertainment Group are amazing. Because of them, I don’t see working there as a “job”…they honestly make going to work incredibly enjoyable. I had an overwhelming reminder of that today as I had a HUGE surprise for me at lunch. A few of us typically go to lunch every Wednesday and some of them wanted to eat at The Alabama Grill today. As we walked in, there was a massive table where about 30 employees were sitting. I thought they were having a meeting, but all of a sudden they started clapping and cheering when i walked around the corner. I was puzzled at first and then I saw “Congratulations” on a banner, a chocolate cake made by the executive chef of the company’s catering division, and a rather large giftbox. I suddenly realized they were all there for me!

Kathy Turner, the Creative Director of the company, had organized this massive get-together to celebrate my recent graduation, upcoming wedding, and impending departure from the company to start my new life in GA. I have never seen this many people in the company together in one place at the same time…ever…not even the Christmas Party! I was completely floored. People from at least two theaters, three shows, and three businesses showed up…over 30 people in all! The president and vice-president were there along with general managers, marketing and sales directors, etc etc. A lot of great things were said and it’s something I’ll never forget. The people that came and that I work with every day are simply amazing. I love them like family and hope that the career I take in GA will have people that are just as great. Kathy has been an incredible person to work with and the company is extremely fortunate to have her as their Creative Director. I just can’t say enough about her and the rest of the staff!

As for the giftbox…well…I went to open it up and it was FILLED with dollar bills! I thought for a minute that it was tissue paper, but I then realized it was real! Everyone had pitched in to create this huge box of money. I just don’t know how I’m going to get this thing through the teller window at the bank…

Whew…WHAT a day! The money was a great gift, but the amount of people that showed up and signed the card meant so much to me. I know everyone had a ton of things going on at each business in the company and knowing they took time out of their day to be a part of this is simply amazing. I’m still floored.

Did the title scare ya? I graduated on September 23, 2006 from The Art Institute Online with a Bachelor of Science degree in Interactive Media Design. I spent 3 1/2 years working on it and am glad to say it’s finally over. Crystal has been patient and understanding of the lack of time I have had to give her, so now I’m sure she’ll want to catch up on everything we’ve had to pass up because of me being in school. I guess I don’t have a good excuse to get out of wedding-planning stuff now huh? HA!

Crystal is still the smartypants with her Master’s degree…but I refuse to call her “master”…

It’s no secret that I’ve been rather, um, horrible at helping with the wedding planning and getting things to Crystal in a timely manner. She often asks me to do the simplest things and I will completely forget an hour later. I could blame it on having a full-time job and full-time school (as I often do), but I just can’t stay focused on anything about the wedding unless I write it down. I admit it…I’m probably the worst groom-in-training ever. haha (Crystal probably isn’t laughing)

The fact is, if it wasn’t for Crystal we’d probably be getting married in a drive-thru chapel in Gatlinburg somewhere (no offense to anyone who has done that). She’s been amazing with the whole wedding planning tasks and is so organized with everything that I feel like a kid that’s just tagging along and going with the flow. I’m just going to show up and try not to get in her way at the wedding. hahaha

I also want to say thank you to everyone that has helped out with everything. There are so many names to list that I’d be here all day typing, but you know who you are. I’m amazed by all of the people that have pitched in their time, energy, talents, resources, etc. I wish I could take ALL of you to Maui with us…but you’re going to have to settle for free food at the reception…unless of course your Crystal’s parents. 😉

Wowie wow! These wedding plans are just consuming my days right now. It truly makes teaching interesting. I’d like to clone myself two or three times to take care of everything. If I’m not talking to the wedding coordinator, I’m talking to the caterer or the harpist or the violinist or the seamstresses or the DJ company or the photographer or the calligrapher or…..I could go on and on. I’m surely not complaining, as I’m trying to enjoy all of this and just take it in! So far, it hasn’t been too hard, it’s all just time consuming. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I know I’ll cherish it forever. Today, Mama, the florists, the wedding director, and I went to the church with all the “decor” for the stage. We set everything up and I think it’s going to be so beautiful! I think I’m on top of things…I guess we’ll see soon enough!

On Tuesday, August 29th, I was “showered” by items from Pampered Chef. The shower was given by three of my co-worker friends (Jennifer Crump, Amy Findley, and Amanda Jordan) at Jennifer’s lovely home. We had around 15 people or so there and had a great time. When I arrived Jackie (the Pampered Chef consultant) had a Barbie doll wedding dress cake there that the three girls that gave the shower were icing. Once they finished, I used one of the Pampered Chef icing tools to make her look pretty! They also had a white apron that said “The Pampered Bride”. All of the people who were there or ordered at school signed the apron…SOOO cute! I had a great time and I can’t wait to get all of the cool new kitchen gadgets in…I love to cook for other people (well….most of the time) and I really appreciate all the gifts!

I just finished uploading the rest of our engagement photos that Victoria DeLoach took, so there are now something like 50 photos of us to look at. You can see then all be clicking here. Once again, we’d like to thank DeLoach Digital Photography for taking these images of us!

Victoria (our photographer) sent us a few more pictures, which I posted to the gallery. Just click on any of the images over to the right to see them.

Crystal called me this afternoon somewhat stressed about the wedding planning. I thought everything was going well…I mean, shoot, I’ve been breezing right through it! (That’s sarcasm for those in the back since I haven’t done much with the planning) I have to collect addresses of my friends and family, so if you’re reading this…and you’re my friend or in my family…send me an email with your name, address, and the names of the people you want to drag bring with you to our wedding. It’ll be a good time that you don’t wanna miss! Besides…there will be free food there! Well…free for you. I just hope you like spam sandwhiches.

You hope I’m kidding about the spam sandwhiches don’t you. Well, you’ll just have to come and find out and when you see it isn’t spam sandwiches, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with whatever it is! 🙂

Crystal and I have never spent so much time in front of a camera as we just got our engagement pictures taken in Rome, GA. Most of you that know me probably understand how weird it was for me to be in front of a camera as I usually spend most of my time behind one. I was completely comfortable though as Victoria and Eric Deloach of Deloach Digital Photography put me at ease knowing that she knew exactly what she was doing. Victoria did an amazing job of finding scenes, using various lenses, shooting at different angles, working with natural lighting, etc. She went to the places that we wanted to shoot at which were Broadstreet, the Clock Tower, and Berry College. Those three places are among the first “dates” that Crystal and I had so they were somewhat special to us.

Victoria took hundreds of photos while we cheesed it up, goofed off, hugged, kissed, talked to geese, and gave piggyback rides! The weather was great and we just had a great time making these photos. Victoria surprised us by quickly emailing us a handful of shots, which you can see by clicking on the photo of us above. There are soooo many more photos that I can’t wait to see and share!

If anyone out there is planning on hiring a photographer for any occasion I definitely recommend Deloch Digital Photography! They can be reached through email by clicking here.

Realizing that many people might not have a Sears or Bed Bed & Beyond near them, we created a registry at Target so now you have 1 less excuse for not buying us anything another option for a place to shop! There is everything from bedding to board games on the Target registry, so think about that if you ever plan on staying with us…you’ll have some nice new pillows and some board games to play! 😉

THANK YOU in advance to anyone who helps get our lives started.

If you could have only seen the look on her face when she saw the last page of the book where it said “Will You Marry Me?”!!! WOW!!! I barely got to see the look as she covered her face with her hands and boo-hooed like crazy, but I caught a glimpse of a huge smile and a huge glow that I’ll never forget. That alone made all of this preparation and effort worthwhile. I have to thank everyone involved for keeping this a secret and helping me throughout the entire planning. All of you have been so supportive and encouraging as Crystal and I have both made this huge decision in our lives. We are both blessed with amazing sets of family and friends that enrich our lives every single day and I thank God for all of you.

That little ring on her finger shows what a blessed and happy man that I am to have her in my life. I love that girl. 🙂

I have told so many people about the new exciting news. I’m sure I will NEVER tire of telling about my little “fairy tale”. It is so much fun showing everyone the clue cards, the proposal book, and of course my beautiful ring! I am incredibly blessed with an incredible guy!

HOLY MOLY!!!! I just came home all tired from a three hour drive and walked sleepily into my front door to what initially looked like a little mess (hehe) and then realized there were white and red rose petals leading up my stairs! They led me to my living room where the first of many clues was awaiting me. These clues were so creative, they led me all over my house to places that reminded us of times we have spent together. Each beautifully wrapped clue (red velvet Christmas boxes)led me to another and the final clue led me under the tree where a BEAUTIFUL coffee table book was wrapped. This book had First Corinthians (such a touching and personal verse) all through it with matching pictures of us (our relationship thus far). At the very end of the book, it asked me to marry him!!!!! The book is on this little bloggy thing somewhere. (Wowweee…my hands are shaking so hard right now it is difficult to type!) I then just started to boo-hoo (I’m such a sap!)and he gotdown on one knee and said a whole bunch of precious stuff and asked me to be his wife! I’m gonna be a “wife”!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect proposal from a more perfect guy. I know this is corny, but he does “complete me”. He’s my blessing, my best friend, and I love him very, very much! I have so many people to call (so many of you already know!!!) and he’s kinda wanting to open HIS presents!

Thanks so much to everyone who had a part in this wonderful start to many, many more memories!

Crystal
December 24, 2005

I’ve been hearing Crystal ask “How much do you love me?” lately. As bad as I want to say “You’ll see” I don’t want to give anything away. Luckily I was woozy from taking Tylenol Cold PM last night so I was able to get out of answering that question. I just have to make it one more day and she’ll know exactly how much I love her. Maybe then she’ll stop asking! 😉

Here we are 3 days away from the “big day” and Crystal comes into town tomorrow (Thursday) to stay until Christmas Eve. We will be spending Christmas Eve here with my family and then driving back to GA that night…that is when she’ll get all of her surprises. There is just one problem…keeping the secret.

My family seems to have spread the word to other family members about the proposal and I’m worried that someone will say something during the big get-together on Saturday! I will have to dodge all of the questions like “So where is the ring?”, “I thought you were proposing today?”, or “So when is the wedding?!” If I can make it out of that house without spoiling the surprise, I should be home free.

The other part of keeping the secret is hiding all of the stuff! I have things on my computer (the images and pages used to make the book, online receipts, etc) that I don’t want her to see yet. I also have notes, papers, etc hiding in my dresser and file cabinet that has info about the ring, proposal, flight, etc. There are just so many things that can spoil the surprise. She may have to sleep outside! Ok, I kid…maybe.

On top of all of this I have to somehow fake some presents to put in my vehicle to make her think I am taking gifts down with me. I will probably put junk in a couple of big boxes and tell her not to touch it. Then I have to hide the ring somewhere…probably in my coat pocket. I also have to hide the perfume I got her as it came in after I gave her parents the box of gifts. I’ll have to sneak and plant that while she is distracted. Maybe I can just stick a picture of Matthew McCaughnahey in her stocking to distract her for a bit (I know I spelled his name wrong, but you know who I mean 😛 ).

Needless to say, the next couple of days are going to be more nerve-wrecking than the actual proposal!!!

Some people may think it’s old fashioned to ask for the parents’ blessing for their daughter’s hand in marriage, but I wanted to know that Crystal’s parents wanted me to be a part of their family. So I made plans to stop by their house before I went to Crystal’s on the weekend before Christmas. I asked Crystal to make some dinner as I would be busy with homework when I got there and I figured this would be the best way to keep her at her house. Being the sweet girl that she is, she agreed to fix lasagna and a salad for me!

I made the 3 hour drive from Pigeon Forge to Cartersville and tried to come up with the words to tell her parents how much I loved their daughter and how to ask for their blessing. I pulled up to their house with no more words than I left my house with and decided to wing it. I think I was more nervous about this than I am the actual proposal!!!

I carried what her parents believed were just ordinary Christmas gifts for Crystal inside with me and they asked to see what I got her. I told them that I had a few things I wanted to say first. It went something like this:

“I’ve put a lot of thought and prayers into this so go easy on me as this is my first time doing this…and hopefully my last. Crystal and I have been seeing each other since March. During that time, she has brought a lot of joy and inspiration into my life. She’s an incredible girl with an incredible family. You all have treated me like your own and there is no doubt in my mind that Crystal will make an excellent wife and mother and that you all will make great in-laws. With your blessing, I’d love to ask Crystal to marry me.”

There was a pause that seemed to last forever and I felt my heart drop. Her mom had tears in her eyes with a big smile and said, “You’re going to make me cry!” Her dad on the other hand…stoic…no expression. I thought, “Uh oh.”

Finally he said, “I have two things I want to say.” Here I am thinking “oh crap.” He goes on to say, “She’s my only girl and I want her protected and safe…always. I never want a finger laid on her. You seem like a decent guy and I know you’ll make her happy…she’s crazy about you and I think you’re crazy about her. The other thing is…I appreciate you doing this. Some people think it’s old fashioned to ask for the parents’ blessing, but you were sincere about it and I appreciate that.”

Whew.

He went on to ask about my plans…whether I will move and what I will do if I move. I told him about how well Crystal has done with her life with her career, house, car, etc and that I would hate to take her away from such a great family. I said, “I may not be able to give her everything she wants, but I’ll give her everything that I’ve got.”

Shortly after that, he stood up, shook my hand, hugged me and said, “Welcome to the family. I know you’ll make a great son-in-law and we’re going to have a lot of fun.” Mama jumped up and hugged me and I felt a HUGE sigh of relief wash over me…the hard part was done!!!

After that, I showed them my plans for the proposal, which they loved and agreed to help with! Everything is ready to go now!!!