The In-Law Rendezvous and the Registry

You know the part in Father of the Bride when Steve Martin and Diane Keaton go to meet Brian's parents? For those that don't completely remember, basically Steve Martin shows up at this mansion and snoops around the dad's office, admires his checking account, accidentally flings his bank book into the pool and falls in himself... Well, this weekend our parents met, and sadly it was nothing at all like that. However, things went just perfectly with a wonderful mix of Mora Ice Cream, Dance Dance Revolution (of course), a boat ride on the Hinckley, and an outstanding dinner. For that matter, we didn't even miss a ferry, which for anybody who has ever come to visit me on Bainbridge, this is an incredibly unusual feat.

It is funny what things occur in my life that really ground me into reality, and this, amidst all of the wedding plans, has probably been the greatest eye opener that yes, in fact, we are getting married!

My parents loved the Dipos, and I wholeheartedly agree, I sure am marrying into an incredible family.

Today, Morgan and I began the registry registration... or something like that. We walked into Macy's and after a cup of hot chocolate, some free wine glasses and a few complimentary magazines, we were sent into the store with one of the deadliest guns known to a bride: a gift scanner.

So you would think I would have gone to town with so many options, my fiance at my side, and a quality scanner in our grasp; but rather, I froze! I couldn't decide, I couldn't make up my mind at all. Did I want this china with the thin silver band or the one with the silver band and a touch of floral? Did I want teflon pans, or stainless steel? I paced, I panicked, I spilled hot chocolate all over my face and white sweater, and Morgan kept asking if we were ever going to scan anything, as I looked wide-eyed over my wonderland. Finally, we began, and as we poured into the task, I kept reminding Morgan that we were looking for the best this and the best that, and he asked a painfully truthful question: 'Do you only think it's the best because it costs the most?'

Touche.

We have many more stops to make at Macy's before we go public, but we will probably end up at REI, Pottery Barn, and William Sonoma, though maybe Crate and Barrel.. If you have any suggestions on places to go, things to register for, oh please send them my way. I feel like a kid at the North Pole who has been told to choose one present to bring home and is so torn, they just run around like crazy until Christmas has passed.

Ok. Weird example, but you must know the feeling... No?

27 Dresses

So it turns out planning a wedding can really serve as a full time job, maybe I should look into that... Thus far we have hopefully pinned down a wedding venue, Newcastle Golf Club, but we are waiting to hear back on their available dates. I've looked at a few invitations, and have spent countless hours online researching nautical weddings, bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen outfits. I thought I had my wedding dress all figured out.

I was wrong.

So I headed over to my parents house this weekend to try on my Mom's dress she has been keeping in an air tight package for the past 27 years; she assured me we were the same size, and I was ready to pull off the 'vintage' look. Anyway, we bust out the dress and it is COVERED in what appears to be coffee stains, which were not there before the packaging, (they are positive it was professionally cleaned) so they are a true mystery. However, I attempted to look past the stains, comfortable the dress would be cleaned up with a few gallons of clorox and slid the dress over my head.

And that's about as far as I got.

HOLY SMOKES. A) My mom was a stick. B) I have GOT to get in shape for the wedding C) What exactly does a size 8 mean in 1983??? Because it sure doesn't mean the same thing now.

So, slightly crushed, and a little encouraged to actually buy P90X, I gave the dress back to its rightful owner who announced it shall now be apart of the landfills of Bainbridge Island. So much for lugging that thing around the last 27 years.

On the bright side, I get to go dress shopping! Well, I thought that was bright, until I began looking at the price tag on wedding dresses. My indulgence in cookies may be quite a bit pricier than I thought. Gulp.

So as I tackle my own dress, I'm scouring the web for bridesmaid outfits and sort of hope somebody just says here, this is the dress, deal with it, because to be fully honest, I don't really care as long as everyone is happy.

That's another question: does anyone have any thoughts about purchasing wedding party attire? As far as every book and website reads, that's something the bridesmaids and groomsmen pay for, but that just seems like quite the imposition to ask them to purchase a dress they may not even want or need.

I watched Father of the Bride the other night with my parents. My dad cried an extraordinary amount, which is saying something from a guy who's favorite pastime includes watching Die Hard nursing Scotch on the rocks. I adore this movie, and hope to the high heavens we find a "Franc" to just take over the wedding, I am 100% positive anybody would do a better job than me.

Tonight I convinced Morgan and Danny to watch 27 Dresses, and so I've begun the wedding movie saga. I am open to suggestions: next on the list is "An Affair to Remember" followed by the "Wedding Planner." This is a precious time in life, and since I will probably never convince Morgan to watch these movies again, I've got to milk it for all its worth.

Playing Poker

Early love is like playing poker. You know exactly what your cards are, but you have no idea what your opponent might be ready to lay down. Sometimes, your position may not be very strong, but you can bluff your way through the game and still come out on top. Either way, it's always fun and exciting.

When I started playing poker....er, I mean courting...with Jenny, I hadn't been dealt very good cards. I had been home from my mission for almost three years and my actions in prior relationships had been much like a bull in a china closet. Needless to say, although I felt I knew how to play poker, I wasn't very good at it.

I'm sure Jenny is good at playing poker. For whatever reason, though, she always decided to show me her cards before I could even place a bet (in other words, she had no problem telling me exactly what she was thinking about "us"). I remember sitting with her on the couch at my apartment one afternoon before we started dating when she said something to the effect of, "Gosh, I really want to cuddle with you, but just don't know if I should!" Interestingly enough, I had been thinking the same thing, but certainly wouldn't have laid my cards on the table like that. With Jenny constantly showing me her cards and letting me win, our relationship progressed throughout the year.

That's not to say we didn't have stumbling blocks and disagreements, though. We even stopped dating for a short period of time because of our petty differences. But when you truly fall in love, you fall in love with the person, not just specific attributes. You love the whole package with all its beautiful imperfections and potential for divinity. Something I learned is that, if for no other reason, I should always love Jenny just because she puts up with me and my weaknesses like no one else can. She obviously has much more to offer (energy, humor, incredible beauty, love for everyone, fun-going personality, etc), and I appreciate every little part of her in my life.

Jenny also has very strong patience. Through showing me her cards early and often, it became pretty clear she was ready for marriage and only needed me to pop the question. I pretty much knew I was going to get there, but wanted to really be 100% first - something that, in hindsight, I probably already felt, but didn't realize. When she left for Peru and we had an over-dramatic goodbye at the airport, I knew we were going to be together forever. So, on April 16th, I made one of the biggest purchases of my life and, on April 17th, asked her dad if I could be the one to take care of her from here on out. On May 15th, I popped the question, and the rest is history.

As a very special woman, Jenny intuitively knows what's going to happen before it happens. That's probably why she never had any problem showing me her cards before the game even began. It turns out, Jenny is always right.

Let's start at the very beginning...

For whatever reason, this is one of those questions EVERYONE seems to ask, so it seems appropriate to start our engagement blog with the start of "us." Does that make you gag a little? Yea, ok, so I'm a little bit twitter-pated, but I have decided there is no place I would rather be than on Cloud 9.

After graduating from BYU with a solid resolve to not get married for a decade or so, I eventually found my way back home on Bainbridge Island. Attending the family ward, though fun, wasn't giving me the social life I hoped for. So one morning I hopped on the ferry and showed up at the University of Washington singles wards. There are 3 wards at UW and without knowing a soul, I plopped myself down in U3, and introduced myself to only two people there: Robyn Dipo (Morgan's sister) and Maile Stephens (Morgan's girlfriend). I looked up at the man they had in common, who happened to be the Elders Quorum President, and decided that U3 was definitely the ward for me.

From that day forward, Morgan and I grew to be friends, and when he entered back into single's life, our friendship quickly blossomed. The very first time we were ever alone, I remember looking over at him and my heart skipped a beat as I heard in my head a voice saying, this is the man you're going to marry.

The thought actually freaked me out quite a bit, and I battled with the idea for the first few months we were dating, constantly wondering why I had that feeling, and if I really was going to be with him. Well here we are 15 months later, and it turns out that feeling was pretty darn legit.