Real Long Island Wedding: Kim and Ronald

The proposal was amazing. My mother almost ruined it for me by reading her texts out loud. He sent her a text that morning to make sure I went with her to my grandmother’s: she stared reading “make sure Kim goes with you because I need to get…” Then she stopped. I figured he was going to get the ring, but apparently he had had that since January. To make a long story short, he got the ring a day in January when I suspected it and he made me think I was absolutely crazy. In February he went home, from college, to go to his aunt’s birthday party. This was the day before Valentine’s Day and I made him promise to be back by midnight. When he was late I blamed him for already ruining Valentine’s Day. He went to his aunt’s party and then afterwards went to my parents’ house to ask for their blessing.

The day of the proposal I arrived home and he was supposed to come over from dinner. He called saying that he didn’t feel good and asked if I could come by there for a few minutes to say hi. My mom and I were cooking dinner because her half-sister was coming over, so I was ready to say no; there was no one to take me and I didn’t have a driver’s license at the time. Instead my mom asked what he said, I told her and she looked around the kitchen at everything cooking. She said to give her 5 minutes. This was my 2nd hint that something was up, but I didn’t care to notice.

We get to his house and right away I notice a note on the front door. The first clue to a scavenger hunt; I knew right then what was up. He used to send me on scavenger hunts all the time to find gifts and such. All of the clues were in little poems, and had me going around the house doing part of a puzzle and running a small program he made on the computer. At the end he has me check an e-mail that said “Clue #7: Congratulations! You are almost ready to claim your prize. Look in the napkin holder on the kitchen table. Here you will find a key. Use it to reach me in the most likely place. This key may be for a door and not for my heart, but when you step through that door, my heart will be yours.”

I started crying right then and went to his room where he was on one knee with a dozen roses beside him. After he gave me the ring he showed me that he had his computer running upstairs to view what was happening downstairs; aka watching me go around doing the whole scavenger hunt. I was a little mad at him for doing this and not recording it, but it was an amazing night.
We knew we wanted our wedding to be special and dedicated to us. Not just another party where people forgot what they are there for. We wanted it to have a romantic and elegant feel in the room, and I think we got it just right. Instead of doing over the top flower centerpieces we did three vases with a submerged orchid in each. Then, instead of the dance lights, we had the DJ put up lighting in a purple to give the room a more relaxed feel. 
I chose sangria for the wedding color with an ivory to complement it. We also ended up having a double heart theme going without realizing it. 
I knew I wanted a pick-up ball gown wedding dress ever since we got engaged, and I found just the right one at David’s Bridal. It was the first dress I tried on and I couldn’t be happier. I got a veil that matched perfectly, and I felt like a princess.
I will also recommend Patken Photography to anyone. They were by far my favorite vendor. Steve captured the whole day wonderfully. We had so many pictures that we loved we had to argue on which ones should go in the album and which to just get prints of. I cannot wait to see our video. I am sure Mike did an amazing job as well. 
I think the most memorable part of my wedding day was when we were saying our vows. He means so much to me that I could barely get out the words, because each one meant so much. I cried so much during the ceremony and I don’t think anyone will ever forget how much emotion went into my vows to him. I know I will always remember my wedding day as the amazing time that I had, marrying my best friend. 
Every bride needs to remember a few things. Number 1, never forget the reason you are there. You are marrying your soul mate, your best friend, the father of your future children, and the person that will be by your side and you by his for the rest of your lives. Number 2, don’t sweat the small stuff. Your wedding may not be picture perfect, but don’t make it worse by freaking out by the little things. Take a deep breath and let someone else take care of it; if it can’t be fixed then why give it another thought? And finally, number 3. Take it all in. Step to the side and really just take in the whole day: right after your ceremony, when you see your room all set up, or whenever. Just make sure to realize how all your hard work panned out! This day goes by fast, enjoy it!