Our Airline Ticket Fiasco

Pretty much the entire wedding group decided to follow our lead and go through a travel agent to buy our airline/car rental tickets. We did this way in advance as suggested by most agencies to get the best rate....knowing that we may have time changes for example that could change slightly from the time of booking until the time we leave. However I never thought Northwest (our airline) would be bought out by Delta! Now none of us knew when were leaving....no confirmation....nothing. At this point my poor travel lady had a "frantic bride" on her hands. I have heard way too many horror stories.....I trusted her and knew that she would figure it all out, but weeks into the airline buy out we still had nothing. With the middle of March fast approaching and the wedding only being 3 months away....James suggested that I call the owner of the travel agency and demand an answer. So that is what I did....within 30 minutes of making that call I got a call back stating that mine & James itinerary had been updated and we are good to go & within 3 days I had the rest of the wedding group's tickets confirmed as well. Of course I'm leaving out a lot of the middle "freak outs" that I had over this, but I suppose the moral of this story is to be in top of things.....especially airfare at all times!! Luckily my travel lady was on top of this and it just took a few more calls to the airlines explaining the situation to change everything. Phew.....no more worries on getting there....we are on schedule to MAUI!!

P.S. If you need a travel agent please to hesitate to ask me who I am using because overall she has been great and very very very patient with me through all of this.

Where We Are Staying in Maui

We will be staying at Kauhale Makai - Village By The Sea

James & I will be staying June 24th - June 28th

P.S. My favorite part of this picture is that it says "Aloha" in the ground....Perfect!

Wedding & Reception at Five Palms Beach Grill

June 27, 2009

We are getting married in Maui, Kihei at the Five Palms. We will be having a smaller wedding with our close family and friends and then upon our return we will be having a big reception party with all of our family and friends in Washington. I can't wait to marry James in Paradise!!

The picture above shows the area where our reception will take place and we will be married on the lawn just outside the open aired window. I will have more to come on this once we get there....only 3 months to go!!

www.fivepalmsrestaurant.com

Our Engagement

We went on a family vacation with James Mom (Mary), Austin, James and I to Orlando, Florida for Austin's spring break from school. On one of the days we ended up going to the Epcot Center and I had fantasized about sipping coffee in the little make believe Paris, France they had setup. So James and I got a cappuccino and a strawberry tart and found a quaint little table on the Paris cobblestone street front. James started getting all goofy and fidgety which he never does….he’s usually outgoing and the life of the party! I asked him is everything ok? He then get’s up out of his chair and kneels in front of me….he could hardly speak a little “squeak” came out and then had asked “Will you spend the rest of your life with me?” Of course I started crying and said YES!! I was not expecting it at all; I couldn’t have been more surprised. It was amazing!! The whole time Mary and Austin were off to the side of the cobblestone street video taping the moment….I had no idea that was even happening….I was oblivious to everything around me. It was a very special moment for us both being able to include Austin and his mom in the moment and then having the video to share later with everyone else. We ended up all having lunch and I basked in the glory of my new gorgeous ring on my finger….taking what seemed to be at least a million pictures. The rest of the day I spent calling and texting everyone I knew to tell them and about our engagement and show them my new bling-bling. James did a great job picking out the ring….it defiantly gives me the princess feel that I would have picked for myself. A perfect once in a lifetime day!!

How We Met

James and I worked together at a software company in Puyallup. James ended up taking a different job about a year later and during this transition we stayed in touch as friends. We ended up checking in with eachother every few days it seemed just to say "hi" or "how are things going" and then that turned into every day. Before I knew it we were going out for drinks more often, hanging out, chatting about everything under the sun…..and then James invited me to his work Christmas party.....little was I to know that this is the same night I would fall in love with my best friend. I started getting ready the night of his Christmas party and it dawned on me…. “Was this a date?” ….I immediately called my sister and had a womanly “freak out” moment. The night ended up being great. A few weeks passed after the Christmas party that we didn’t talk as much…honestly because I knew that James was going to change my life and I was not sure if I was ready. Common sense ended up kicking in and James and I went to lunch, continued the date onto a coffee shop and then on to wine that evening. I started just stopping by his place to say “hi” (using my sister as an excuse to be in the area, since she lived just a few blocks from him) the tricky things we do. Then one evening I was leaving James place and he walked me to the door….only to open it and then shut it quickly…turning to me he says “I can’t let you leave without kissing you”….my heart raced…I was literally having another “freak out” moment….we kissed and then I rushed out the door. I felt like a school girl….like I was 15 again….never had anyone made me feel this way. I left for a girls trip to Vegas a few days later and upon my return James picked me up at the airport….we went to his place and I never left. The rest is history. He is an amazing person and I don’t know how I made it this far without him in my life and I can’t imagine a day to come without him in it. I am a fond believer in “Love will happen when you least expect it”. Who ever thought that I would end up marrying my best friend? It’s just perfect!