1. How did you two meet or how did he propose?:
We meet at the gym Andrew worked at. I was a regular member of Planet Fitness, and he made sure he checked me in every single day until we finally became conversational. I would come directly from work (I'm a teacher), and he always noticed my name tag and my professional attire. He thought I was a doctor or some other occupation! The first thing he ever really said to me came when he stopped me right in the middle of my workout to say, "Hi, my name is Andrew.", and I responded, "I know, it's on your name tag!". That day one of the other regulars, a VERY large Samoan man named T cornered Andrew and asked him when he was finally going to ask me out, in a rather intimidating fashion! Shortly after, Andrew asked me out. He says he was so embarrassed by both of these exchanges, but they are some of his favorite stories!
To propose, Andrew was sure to pick a time of year when a teacher is particularly busy: benchmark testing time. He said he had set up a dinner with me and my friends for me so I had a chance to relax. I was also finishing my Masters's Degree, so I was so tired and busy that I didn't question it. My friends contacted me and asked if I wanted to go to dinner, and I agreed. I hadn't seen them in so long. They asked me to dress up, but I crudely (and in Brittany fashion) said, "I dress up every day for work I'm not ******* dressing up!". So, I threw on my black combat boots, black leggings, Guns N Roses shirt, and a jean jacket. When my friends and I were on the way to dinner one friend mentioned we needed to stop at someone from her work's house so she could pick something up. She was so unspecific. We had never picked a place for dinner. They weren't dressed up. It was all so apparent that something else was happening, but I was so overworked and tired I was just along for the ride! When we pulled over to "pick something up" for my friend, I actually saw one of Andrew's friends out in the woods where there was a path. I thought "That's so weird that Demar would be out here, we're like an hour away from his house". Still, I had NO awareness of what was happening. I walked over to say hi to Demar and saw the photographer and Andrew behind him, and FINALLY, it hit me!
2. Were you happy with the venue?:
The venue was perfect. It photographs like a beautiful secret garden outside, and inside the brick walls are beautiful in the images of our guests dancing and catching up around the room. Tony and Linda are so incredible. They made the process clear and as smooth as possible. The vendors they work with were all professional, and thorough, and their products were wonderful.
3. Describe the theme or color scheme of your wedding, and what you chose for your table setting at the reception:
We went for a low maintenance, more casual look. The venue is naturally beautiful. The bridesmaids were champagne, burgundy, peacock, and rust. The men wore a light tan color that matches the champagne. Andrew actually went rogue and wore a forest green suit, and it looked great. The tablecloths were white, in the center were wood bases with a white lantern on top, a large white glowing candle in the center. A eucalyptus leaf was wrapped around that base loosely and small pumpkins of white and orange were placed on the wood base. The number markers were small solid wood signs that matched that wood base.
4. What piece of advice would you give other brides planning their big day?
The advice I heard over and over again was that it goes by fast, so enjoy it. It won't all go according to plan, but it can all be perfect.
From my own experience, buying a wedding planner was huge for me (but it may be the teacher in me). There are so many things you can do, that people tell you to do, that people expect you to do, that TIK-TOK tells you to do. But having a planner let me organize my own ideas and visualize and plan out exactly what we wanted. They typically include a timeline of things to accomplish, which was huge for us with our busy schedules.
