Now that you know the engagement story, I am going to introduce you into the wild and crazy world of the wedding industry in America. First off, because I am a cynic, I will constantly reiterate the fact that weddings are a business, and as much as they advertise love, people really just want you to dish out money. And now that you know that, you can continue reading.
You know those commercials by Mastercard that are like:
Lollipop: 50 cents
Time it takes to untangle the lollipop from your daughter's hair: 1 hour
Time spent with your daughter: priceless
(Obviously I just made this up)
Well, I'm going to do a little play on that, just with more categories and a heck of a lot more expensive items.
Average photographer: $1500
Average videographer: $750
Reception for 180 people with average of $30/person and 6% sales tax with 18% gratuity (standard): $6754
Church: $500
Dress with alterations and veil: $600
Stationary: $400
DJ: $800
Flowers: $300
This totals to $11,604. It doesn't include accessories, hair and makeup on the wedding day, shoes, favors, wedding attendants gifts, musicians, and the other trillion little costs that are milked from a young couple just because they want to have a decent wedding. Granted, I knew weddings weren't cheap going in, and I knew there were ways to cut it, but a decent wedding will still cost about $7000.
So this is my plea to you. Please follow us as we try to do this, and give us tips along the way. You can either email them to us at alishabrodie@gmail.com, or comment right on this post. As of now, I have posted about 30 books on Amazon to sell (Buy them! Books are good!) and a couple of movies, but since I'm 21 years old and in college that's where the selling ends. Also, there are only so many hours I can work since I am still a student in college and have classes, so unless any of you know of a job that pays $15/hour with flexible hours, that's a rough area too. And hey, if the Holy Spirit so leads you, you can always send money ;-)
But our biggest plea is to pray. Pray for us as a couple, that we would grow into the people God wants us to be, that we would be responsive to his voice, and that we can be changed into the people that we need to be for each other. And pray that we honor God in all we do, from getting a real-person job to planning a wedding-- in everything.
Monday, December 6, 2010
The Engagement Story
Hello there!
So although it has been awhile, I plan to continue writing on this blog. I originally created it for people to follow my international journey, but now I will continue it so they can follow a different sort of journey: one beginning as single, now engaged, and onto marriage. I will start with the engagement story (a modified version, of course), and quickly dive into the craziness of the wedding world- all for your enjoyment.
The engagement story:
Steven was on his way back from Pittsburgh the day after Black Friday. I was just hanging out at my house, and we were trying to decide what to do for dinner. I asked him over (because my parents actually had food for once), but he insisted on calling around and reserving a place so we could have a date. Naturally, I did not protest. After calling different restaurants for about half an hour, he called me and said he made us reservations at The Tarragon inside The Atheron Hotel.
The Tarragon is a restaurant (probably the nicest in State College) that is symbolic to us. At senior prom, we worked really hard all night to win $80 to The Tarragon and then went there for our first anniversary. On that anniversary, we gave me a promise ring that I wore everyday, which we shall revisit later in this story.
We went to The Tarragon and had a wonderful dinner. We were sitting on one of the loveseats in the lobby, cuddling and enjoying each other before we met up with friends. There were little kids running around and destroying everything, and that's when I decided it's going to be a long time before I have children. Anywho, as we were cuddling, I reached around him and felt a little box, about the size of a ring box, by his hip. I gave him a side-ways glance, vowing not to say anything because I didn't want to ruin whatever was about to happen.
He reached over and started playing with my promise ring. "What did I tell you when I gave you this?", he asked. "You said you were going to see if I was the one you were going to marry", I replied. "That's right", he said, "And I want you to move to Washington with me." "Really?", I asked, slightly surprised. And in his suave, wonderful way, he stated, "And I want you to marry me." He slide off the couch onto one knee and asked, "Alisha, will you marry me?"
At this point I'm too busy crying to say anything so I shook my head. I knew I had to actually say something, so with all that was in me, I squeaked out a "yes", and kept crying as he got back on the loveseat and wrapped me in his arms. All the while, as our lives are being rocked by love, the little kids are still running around and destroying everything, and my vow about children is still kept.
So here we are: trying to plan a wedding in 6 months, 330 miles apart, and on a very tight budget. I hope you continue with me on this journey- I can assure you it will be an interesting one :)
So although it has been awhile, I plan to continue writing on this blog. I originally created it for people to follow my international journey, but now I will continue it so they can follow a different sort of journey: one beginning as single, now engaged, and onto marriage. I will start with the engagement story (a modified version, of course), and quickly dive into the craziness of the wedding world- all for your enjoyment.
The engagement story:
Steven was on his way back from Pittsburgh the day after Black Friday. I was just hanging out at my house, and we were trying to decide what to do for dinner. I asked him over (because my parents actually had food for once), but he insisted on calling around and reserving a place so we could have a date. Naturally, I did not protest. After calling different restaurants for about half an hour, he called me and said he made us reservations at The Tarragon inside The Atheron Hotel.
The Tarragon is a restaurant (probably the nicest in State College) that is symbolic to us. At senior prom, we worked really hard all night to win $80 to The Tarragon and then went there for our first anniversary. On that anniversary, we gave me a promise ring that I wore everyday, which we shall revisit later in this story.
We went to The Tarragon and had a wonderful dinner. We were sitting on one of the loveseats in the lobby, cuddling and enjoying each other before we met up with friends. There were little kids running around and destroying everything, and that's when I decided it's going to be a long time before I have children. Anywho, as we were cuddling, I reached around him and felt a little box, about the size of a ring box, by his hip. I gave him a side-ways glance, vowing not to say anything because I didn't want to ruin whatever was about to happen.
He reached over and started playing with my promise ring. "What did I tell you when I gave you this?", he asked. "You said you were going to see if I was the one you were going to marry", I replied. "That's right", he said, "And I want you to move to Washington with me." "Really?", I asked, slightly surprised. And in his suave, wonderful way, he stated, "And I want you to marry me." He slide off the couch onto one knee and asked, "Alisha, will you marry me?"
At this point I'm too busy crying to say anything so I shook my head. I knew I had to actually say something, so with all that was in me, I squeaked out a "yes", and kept crying as he got back on the loveseat and wrapped me in his arms. All the while, as our lives are being rocked by love, the little kids are still running around and destroying everything, and my vow about children is still kept.
So here we are: trying to plan a wedding in 6 months, 330 miles apart, and on a very tight budget. I hope you continue with me on this journey- I can assure you it will be an interesting one :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)