Date Change

So Thad's business department Christmas party happened and it was interesting to see the space with people in it. I was a little concerned about what sound would be like in the space because the floor isn't carpet. But I don't think that it was too bad. They had set up about 14 tables and then some food tables in the middle. I felt like adding more tables than they had would be really do-able without too much hassle.

I think that the party just made us like the space more because we were able to kind of see what it could be. We both liked it and decided that if possible this is the place that we want to use.

So with that in mind we tried again to find a day that would work for both sets of parents to see it, which didn't really work out. So in the interest of getting it reserved for our December 5th date we decided to grab my Mom and go see. So before leaving on vacation with the Hughson clan for Mexico for a week (tons of fun!), my mom was pressuring us that maybe we should go to the cultural center since we think that is where we want it, to book the date. The logic being that if people have their holiday parties that weekend they may choose to rebook for the next year. So we maneuvered around our finals schedule and found a time that mom could come and look with us. We were planning to book it while we were there so we came check in hand.

We got there and met with the lady who is in charge of the events at the center. She was nice, but also a bit scatter brained and didn't feel like she really knew what was going on or what she was talking about. She informed us that she was new to the job and had only been there for a month. Which is exactly what you want to be hearing as a potential client (NOT.). Basically we learned that the space while completely usable is not where they want it to be yet. They are planning on adding some curtains and a kitchen to the building but there is no guarantee that they will be done when we use it. We aren't really too concerned about that at the moment.

What was concerning is that the cultural center did a Christmas bazaar on the weekends in December that we didn't know about and that would basically force us to do the wedding in the evening or face the no parking situation. So we left thinking crap this isnt going to work for us and what are we going to do. So we didnt use our check.

So then Thad and I got to talking and looking at dates again and came to the decision that December 2015 for that venue wasn't probably going to work if we couldn't do it on a weekend. So we decided since we like that venue so much, we are thinking we will be pushing it back to early January 2016. Which s we double checked with our East coasters will actually work really well! So everyone we were going to have to ask to fly out will still be home which is great! So now we are tentatively set for the 2nd of January.The ballroom will be free and no more holiday stuff to interfere with so it should be good.

We are a little bummed to have to now say we aren't getting married next year but the year after. In reality its only like a few weeks different, but we are so excited to get married that the other day Thad was grumbling about now having to wait longer. But we are still excited.

West Linn CC and Oregon Garden

So today we (Dad, Mom, Thad, and I) went to go look at two possible venues. We saw some things that we liked and saw some things that we didn't. Mostly we were going to look and see some other options that were out there.

First up, the West Linn Country Club. This was a site that Dad had been to before for a Legacy nurses conference. I had emailed the lady in charge of the venues multiple times so she had given me some basic numbers, basically saying that an early morning time frame would be reasonably priced and an evening block would be ridiculously expensive. So we went in thinking okay a 10-3 time would be what this space would mean in terms of a wedding reception (ie wake up painfully early to get ready). But I had liked the pictures online so I thought why not check it out.

The drive getting there wasn't too bad a little windy but looking at all the big fancy houses on the way up and imagining the decorated up for Christmas was fun. We got there and walked in the big wooden doors and were greeted by the bartender who called up for our guide. The lodge looked over the course and you could see the fog rising up from the hills. It was a very nice view. There was a little restaurant area which the lady said we could use for a rehearsal dinner, it looked pretty fancy.

Then we went out to the building/room that we would be using, and truly it was very beautiful and elegant. What I really liked was the draping and how elegant that made everything feel. It felt like a great place for a wedding and the space itself was very pretty. But what we didn't like so much about the space is how light it was, thus making it hard for us to use any lighting ourselves because the lights wouldn't be bright enough if the sun decided to show it's smiling face. The building ha lots of natural light which is great! But not exactly great for us in what we want to do.

We also weren't super thrilled with the idea of having to use their caterer. Not because they would be bad, but just because I don't feel like I can justify spending $12 a bottle on Martenelli's sparkling cider. Especially when I know I could go get some at the store right now for $2. And having to get married super early doesn't seem appealing because I want people to be able to drive home in the dark and see all the christmas lights and reflect on how awesome of a time they had. I also don't want a bunch of grumpy guests who had to get up early (or a tired grumpy groom ;-). Or really more myself...

So breakdown of West Linn Country Club
Pros: Elegant, draping was gorgeous, lots of parking, big,  has get ready rooms
Cons: Catering, $$$, early morning, sun ruining lights, walk outside to get to bathrooms, doesn't feel like ours

Then we went to the Oregon Garden to look at their space. After some awkward walking around trying to find where we were going we found the lady. She showed us the resorts restaurant and the lodge before we loaded into the car to go to the space.  (Picture taken from Google)

We got to like a very large warehouse looking building. She took us through the back entrance which I later reflected on that probably not being good business practice... So we saw the back storage area. We arrived to the actual room which was really large. It had some really cool christmas light netting above the whole room which was really cool... But I didnt have much positive else to say. The chairs that they had were white patio furniture chairs and the walls were pretty bare and lifeless. It looked like they just put up a basic wood exterior on the warehouse walls. I was not very impressed... They also require you to use their caterer, and this was the place that had numbers from $43-$76 per person for a meal. Their sparkling cider was also $15 per bottle. So I was pretty unimpressed really... Both with the space and what their menu really was.

When we walked away I was a pretty solid No so I was surprised when Thad said he liked it. But  when I said what did you like about it and he said the christmas lights and I asked what else he came up blank. So we are a pretty solid no on that one.

Pros: Christmas light netting
Cons: Bad walls, seems loud, not elegant, not personal, too big, $$$$$$$$$$$, catering

So what we learned today is that we still really like the Chehalem Cultural Center. We are hoping that we will be able to set up an appointment with Caleb soon to look at it, and hopefully with both sets of parents because we like it a lot.

Venue Hunting

So we have been discussing and doing some research on venues just because of the fear that having the wedding near Christmas or in that time is going to potentially be problematic due to holiday parties. We want to find a space that is big enough to fit the (recently cut) guest list that is currently sitting at about 325 for our probably Yes and Maybes, and not including our 25 probably No's. So I think we are in pretty good shape. Thad and I just sat down during a break and went over it trying to figure out who we missed and who we think we can get away with not having. It is sort of disheartening when you cut people. I think mostly for me because I know that no matter what I do someone might feel sad... But hopefully that's not the case.

Regardless, I started poking around for possible venues. And I've honestly been a little discouraged at the lack of indoor areas to have a reception. It seems like it should be easier to find a venue that can fit a lot of people indoors because we live in Oregon aka the temperamental weather state. I got to thinking that maybe the reason that so many people get married in the summer is simply because there aren't many locations indoors; or ones that are know they are one of few so they charge a billion dollars.

Maybe it is because we are looking at inviting a lot of people... But to us a wedding isn't just about getting married, it is about sharing it with our friends and family. It sure would be a lot easier to run down to the courthouse and get married...

A few nights ago I did what I was supposed to do and complained to one of my (unofficially asked) bridesmaids who is way more intelligent about locations in the area than I am. She had all the good ideas. :-)

Then as it happened the next day I was talking to Thad about it and he was like well it can't be that hard to find a ballroom big enough I'm going to one tonight. I was a bit surprised but it turns out that the business department is throwing a big Christmas party here in Newberg at the Chehalem Cultural Center where there is a 5200sq ft. ballroom! WOW! And here's the best part... No catering required! BINGO.

So I tagged among on his groups tour to give input on how they could light the area to be visually appealing for their party while having the secret agenda to look at it as a possible venue. Tha and I both talked about it and looked at pricing and it is pretty cheap to rent and it is a pretty good location. Caleb Thurston (who graduated from SH and was our director at one point) works there so we feel like we have some good connections to the space.

It is a large room that use to be a red brick schoolhouse that has been built around for integrity of the building. It has wooden columns on the sides and some wooden paneling type things. The ceiling have some round lights and some interesting white modern metal chandeliers. I really liked it. Mostly because it feels like a blank slate that we could do a lot to in order to really make it our own. It is cheap enough that we could get it for 16 hours and not feel super rushed to get it set up and torn down which I really like as well. But I think that there is a lot of potential to light it and decorate it in a way that is different and would really be unique to us, rather than walking into a pre-set up space.We both really like the space but we don't want to just go with it because it is the first one that we have really seen. But I am partial to it just because it seems to fit what I would want in terms of being able to personalize it more than I think is possible at some other places. And knowing someone in charge of the space makes me feel like I could ask more questions and have more liberty to work with the space...

So we both like it and think we may choose this location, but we also have made two appointments for seeing places this Saturday. One is at the West Linn Country Club and the other is at The Oregon Garden in Silverton. So it will be interesting!

How We Got Engaged

Without further ado, we present both sides of our engagement!

The Engagement… (Thad’s PoV)

Step One: The Ring

            Once I had decided to propose, I felt there was need for a ring that would symbolize my love for Kacy. I had secretly been gathering data from her about her tastes and her likes so I could effectively pick out her ring. When we first started dating she told me what her ring size was so I could plan accordingly and we wouldn’t have to go in to get it sized after the proposal.

            After I knew it was going to happen I had to secure some diamonds, let’s be honest I am poor and I wanted to give her the best gosh dang ring in the world. I had heard that it was a popular trend to take the family ring and break it down and reset the jewels in a new setting. With this in mind I contacted my grandmother with the hopes she would agree with my plan. After about two weeks she contacted me and told me that she didn’t feel comfortable destroying the ring. I was crushed, and started to panic as I knew that I was not going to be able to pay for a nice diamond and ring. Luckily my grandma wasn’t done telling her story. She handed me a bag with three diamonds in, and said I could use those instead. I was speechless, and beyond excited. The three diamonds weighed .5, .1 and .1 karats. 

When the day finally came to pick out the ring, I asked my mother to be present so I could have a second opinion to bounce ideas off of. We went to Shane Co. because “I had a friend in the diamond business.”  The sales rep. was really nice and forced me to keep my options to two rings at a time, it was good thing she did because I saw upwards of 8 rings that I kind of liked. After my mother and I debated for about thirty minutes I decided on a ring, not my Mom’s choice either, and also not the ring that Kacy had picked out as the ring she had wanted about a month earlier. We signed the paperwork with the plans of getting it engraved with “I love you” in French on the inside.  Unfortunately they were unable to engrave the ring, with reasons untold.

Step Two: The Date

With the ring safely hidden away I knew I needed to schedule a date that would work for both of our busy schedules. I wanted to propose on the 25^th so it would line up with when we started dating, but that didn’t happen. Instead we set the day for the 27^th of October to go out together. I had been wanting to get her to come try Benihanas, a Japanese show grill restaurant. Once we were done there we wanted to grab some delicious cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. The plans were made and the date was set, all we had to do was wait three week to go, and it was going to be perfect.

Step Three: The Plan

            The plan had been rushing through my mind since I grabbed the ring. I needed a venue, a speech, and a romantic gesture. After consulting with multiple professionals on all three needs, I still came up empty handed. What was I going to do? Why is it that I can plan events for the school and multiple game nights but I can’t plan a proposal? I had joked that we would go sky-diving and I would propose on the way down, we scraped that plan since we couldn’t film it in high quality. After much deliberation and since time was running out, I decided at 2:45pm on October 27^th (the day of) what I was going to do. We would go on the date, get dessert, go for a walk in the canyon at school and I would propose to her at the fire pit with roses spread all around, and it would be filmed. It would have to do since I failed to come up with anything better.

Step Four: The Execution

            With my year and half of event experience I know that they never go as planned, ever. So I knew that I would run into some hiccups in my plan. Speed bump number one, the ring box was far too noticeable in my pocket and I couldn’t think of a better place to put it. Speed bump number two, we arrived far before our reservation so we had to wonder around all while I tried to hide the box in my pocket. Speed bump three, I didn’t have a legit reason to go to the canyon, so I came up with the excuse of “I am fat so I need to go for a walk.” Speed bump four, I had forgot to plan a speech. Speed bump five I had no clue if the venue had been flowered up and if the camera crew was onsite ready to go. 

            Once we got there though we noticed that everything was in place. She stopped outside the fire pit when she saw all of the flowers. She graced me with acting surprised, even though she had seen the ring in my pocket and knew the whole night that it was coming. I lead her over to the bench and plopped her down. I dropped to one knee and said something like “I know we have been only dating for a year and half but we have been best friends for 8 years and that is a long time. Kacy M’lynn Helwig will you marry me?” As I opened up the box she gasped for air. I reached my other hand to grab the ring and put it on her finger only to be stunned in amazement as she quickly grabbed it herself and put it on.( I guess she was excited). 

          By this time the camera crew was filming and she hugged me with the one leg up and we kissed multiple times. I think she said yes somewhere in there, or maybe she just said thanks for the ring. I don’t really know. After that we went back to my apartment and started to contact people. Marcus brought back some sparkling cider and ice cream to celebrate.

Unfortunately, the SD card to the video camera got lost shortly after.   

The Engagement... (Kacy's PoV)

So in about July Thad and I started to talk the talk about getting married. Well, let’s be honest we started hinting at it with each other for a long time. But when we really started talking about it was in July. I think some people would be unhappy with us talking about it and it not being a huge surprise, but getting married is a pretty serious thing and I’d rather we talked about it. But anyways it was around then that Thad and I talked about a ring and what I would want. He wanted me to pick out a few so he could get a feel for what I would like. Mostly so that he wouldn’t buy me some ugly ring that I would have to be stuck with for forever. So I showed him a few, and found one that seemed to fit my personality. He agreed and then said “okay”. And then that was the end of that.

Then in early October Thad approached me with the idea of when would be a good day for a date night for the two of us. I hesitantly said “uhhh…. not for a long time”. I was busy working on the theatre production which was about to go into Tech Integration Week. We found a day that would possibly work, three weeks away on a Tuesday between the run of the shows before I had marching band finals that weekend and Thad was gone to Miami the next. So Tuesday it was! Then, Thad made an offhanded comment after saying, “how crazy is this that we literally are both so busy that we can’t even find time to get-“… Then my brain said “Ohhhh yeah here we go!”

So for three weeks I looked for all the signs that it was coming. He made reservations for some weird seafood restaurant that he claimed to me served other things. I was less enthused. But then he said we could go to the Cheesecake Factory afterwards, so I had to say yes. Cheesecake Factory has been one of our “things”. We go in and get the cheesecake to go because the restaurant is too loud, and then we typically eat it in the car. So at that point I couldn’t resist. I bought a new dress for our “date night” and then hung it up in my room so it wouldn’t wrinkle. I could tell whenever the date was brought up that something wasn’t quite right, so when the day finally came I was about 85% sure it was happening.

When the day arrived after class I went over to his apartment in order to change. We got all fancy and then when Thad complained that there was no umbrella in my car, I thought it was weird. We are Oregonians, we don’t need umbrellas. So finally we decided instead of sitting around his apartment we would leave early to avoid traffic and stress about not making our reservation. So when we got in the car and Thad insisted on driving I was about 95% sure. When we were sitting in the car and I looked over. I saw the conspicuously ring box shape in his pants pocket. DING DING DING! We have a winner! 100%! I smiled and then decided I would play along. I figured he knew that I knew and since he wasn’t saying anything about it, I wouldn’t either.

We got there early so we decided to go walk around the Petco there, one of my favorite waste time stores. We looked at fish and turtles. Then we walked over to Best Buy and wasted time there before going to meet our reservation. 

When we got to Benihanas, I was pretty impressed. It was really a cool vibe inside the restaurant and very fancy. We sat down at a table with a grill in front of us and they cooked our food while doing tricks. They spun eggs around on spatulas and tossed pepper containers. It was really cool to watch them cook; it was more like a show than just dinner. I liked the food but I was too excited to really eat very much of it.  At our table there was a woman wearing a star trek outfit which we found pretty funny. It was a cool experience though. After that we went over to the cheesecake factory and got some dessert. I ate half of mine in the car but Thad was too full (nervous?) to eat his.

We headed back to Newberg after a stop for a water bottle where Thad kept checking his phone. We got into town and Thad missed the turn to go back to his apartment. I said, “Hey wait you missed it” and he made up a lame excuse for why we were going to the school. We parked and then started walking around, going through the trees on a little path and over a little bridge. I knew it was coming but was trying to play along, but mostly I was excited.

We came out from under the trees and into the light and went to a little covered area. We walked in and then I saw the roses and just stopped. It hadn’t really hit me like I thought it would until then. I pretty much just froze, so Thad pushed me over onto a bench with roses on either side and rose petals spread all around it. Once I was sat down, He got down on one knee and pulled out the conspicuous box I had been eyeing all night, and said “I know we haven’t been dating for very long just a year and a half, but we have been friends for 8 years”. I stupidly replied, “Yeah and that’s a long time”. He sort of chuckled and said “yeah it is a long time. So Kacy M’Lynn Helwig, will you marry me?” And I said’ “YES!” And jumped up and kissed him and hugged him and then apparently took the ring out of the box and put it on, though it all happened so fast I don’t really remember. But I was/am happy :-)

AND, the ring was not the one I had originally shown him… IT WAS 10,000,000 TIMES BETTER. <3