So Paul proposed on Christmas which means, if you do the math right, we'll be getting married in less than six months from start to finish. Of course the first question after anyone finds out you are engaged is, "So when's the wedding?" to which we reply with, "June 14th." That generally then receives the second question of, "2009?" or "Next year?" For some reason people are shocked to find out that we are in fact getting married this year. They look at us like we're ridiculous.
Now, I've heard of girls that literally go crazy while planning a wedding and consequently carry everyone else around them to the same mental state. I'd like to think that I have yet to venture anywhere close to this and have maintained a level head. I may just be in denial, but I'd have to attribute this stability to the fact that Paul and I have tried our very best to keep things as relatively simple as possible. The funny thing about that is simple weddings don't really exist. It's a lie. Trust me. We tried. We tried hard.
So, we've managed (with invaluable help of course) to plan a wedding in less than six months proving that it is in fact possible to do so and leave within safe mental state boundaries. We've checked off all the big things and are working through the details which basically means if we got married tomorrow things would be a-okay. There might not be centerpieces but hey, there would be people and rings and vows and cake. What more do you need? Now is just a waiting period.
I tried to describe this waiting period to my roommate. I explained it as wanting a pony for Christmas and being told in summer that you would in fact be getting a pony for Christmas but that you'd just have to wait. By Halloween you're all ready. You've set up a place for it, you've got food for it, you know how to take care of it, and you have taken precautions in case something goes wrong. The thing is you're just waiting. This is us. We're just waiting for time to move faster. Everything is set to go except there are 65 days in the way. I couldn't imagine if there were 430 days. I may have found the culprit behind these crazy brides. Too much time to think.
Anyway, my analogy apparently didn't work so well. All I got from my roommate was, "Are you comparing your wedding to a pony?" Maybe I should have used wanting a puppy instead.
-Alyssa
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
GIFT REGISTRY- Bed, Bath, Beyond and the way Beyond
So if any of you have seen "License to Wed," you will probally have a visual of what post-modern gift registry looks like. For those of you who haven't you should. It's a great movie with Robin Williams that exposes the flaws in this relationship between "Jim" from The Office and Mandy Moore. In the end, it shows that no relationship is perfect but if you are willing to work through your issues and communicate, then together you can accomplish great things, like true love.
Anyway, a few weeks ago Alyssa and I had the opportunity to register for gifts. They hand you a lazer gun. Not really but as a guy I have to wonder what would happen if they did. Anyways, they hand you a portable UPC barcode scanner and you have the opportunity to scan items that will allow you to establish your first home together. As the man that I am I was wishfully thinking that this task would take 15 mins and we would be out in time to get an evening surf sesh in. BUT NO. 3 and a half hours later, we had finally established our virtual home and were exhausted.
Needless to say we were successful in creating a list of things that you our friends and family could get for us to help us start our life together. Before you look at the list I would like to let you all know that nothing on that list is something that we must have, nor is it a materialistic list of things that "looked cool" and we are dying to have it. The list is of things that we feel we needed to sucessfully create a house in Southern California. I would also like to mention that the items on the list were choosen carefully for the least impact on our environment. Both Alyssa and I feel that it is important to have certain tools, but if we are going to have them we should at least be responsible about the items we purchase.
If you want to see our list check this out:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?order_num=-1&wrn=%2D1556046463
This is currently the only place we are registered. If you are interested in giving a monetary gift we are in the process of creating an account where you can deposit your gifts.
Also, if anyone can get us the nose hair trimmer and back shaver it would be greatly appreciated.
-Paul
Anyway, a few weeks ago Alyssa and I had the opportunity to register for gifts. They hand you a lazer gun. Not really but as a guy I have to wonder what would happen if they did. Anyways, they hand you a portable UPC barcode scanner and you have the opportunity to scan items that will allow you to establish your first home together. As the man that I am I was wishfully thinking that this task would take 15 mins and we would be out in time to get an evening surf sesh in. BUT NO. 3 and a half hours later, we had finally established our virtual home and were exhausted.
Needless to say we were successful in creating a list of things that you our friends and family could get for us to help us start our life together. Before you look at the list I would like to let you all know that nothing on that list is something that we must have, nor is it a materialistic list of things that "looked cool" and we are dying to have it. The list is of things that we feel we needed to sucessfully create a house in Southern California. I would also like to mention that the items on the list were choosen carefully for the least impact on our environment. Both Alyssa and I feel that it is important to have certain tools, but if we are going to have them we should at least be responsible about the items we purchase.
If you want to see our list check this out:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?order_num=-1&wrn=%2D1556046463
This is currently the only place we are registered. If you are interested in giving a monetary gift we are in the process of creating an account where you can deposit your gifts.
Also, if anyone can get us the nose hair trimmer and back shaver it would be greatly appreciated.
-Paul
The majors are done
I realized the other day that it has been quite some time since we have updated you all with the wedding plans.
As of now all of the majors are done. Now it's onto the details. YAY!!!! Ya right. If any of you know Alyssa and me (which if you are reading this I hope you do) you will know that neither one of us is a detailed orientened person. So this next month could be a bit stressful to say the least. Either way, what we have planned will be simple and beautiful, and yet simply beautiful.
Thank you for those of you who attended the engagement party this past Sunday. We both enjoyed either meeting you or seeing you again. For me personally there were many family and friend who I had not seen in quite some time. So thank you again for sharing this important time in our lives.
As of now all of the majors are done. Now it's onto the details. YAY!!!! Ya right. If any of you know Alyssa and me (which if you are reading this I hope you do) you will know that neither one of us is a detailed orientened person. So this next month could be a bit stressful to say the least. Either way, what we have planned will be simple and beautiful, and yet simply beautiful.
Thank you for those of you who attended the engagement party this past Sunday. We both enjoyed either meeting you or seeing you again. For me personally there were many family and friend who I had not seen in quite some time. So thank you again for sharing this important time in our lives.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The Story
We have had many e-mails and phone calls requesting the full in-detail story of the engagement. Like all things in life there are two sides to the story. So, we have decided to write our two separate accounts of our memorable day together.
According to Paul:
Before I start my version of this story I wish to inform you that Alyssa is probably the hardest person I have ever met to surprise. Not only with big things but with little things. She is so perceptive. Another problem I had (which I consider to be a good thing) is I hate, hate, hate keeping secrets from her. So I was in a bit of a conundrum ...
My idea was to have Alyssa over early in the day, around 11 and then tell her that I wanted to take my dog to the beach and hang out. In typical Alyssa fashion she didn't show up until 1. Those two hours of anticipation nearly killed me. I did nearly everything possible to calm my nerves. I even spent time jumping on my parents trampoline.
When she finally arrived I could barely get my words straight I was so nervous. Not nervous to ask her, for I knew what the answer would be (one should not be asking questions of the sort unless they know the answer) but more so nervous for what asking her meant. I spent the next few minutes attempting to sound as normal as possible. We loaded the dog into the back of my car and over to dog beach. Fortunately, I found the energy to remain calm and normal. When we got down to the beach there were lots of people enjoying their Christmas on the beach with their families and pets so I sort of herded the dog and Alyssa north up the beach away from the crowds.
The tides have been ridiculously low due to winter and the full moon so the reefs were easy to walk out onto. After awhile of throwing the ball for my dog and pretending to be normal I took the ring from my pocket and walked over to some rocks pretending to pick one up. I asked her to come over and check out this cool looking rock. She anxiously walked over hoping to see a cool rock. Instead I opened my hand to reveal the ring.
The first few seconds Alyssa just stood in shock. I believe she was half expecting to see a sweet looking rock. After the moments of silence she gave a slight nod of her head at which time I got on my knee and said, "Alyssa Marie, will you marry me?" She barely had the energy in her but she squeaked a, "yes, of course." At which time we embraced the first of many long embraces. And then we looked into each others eyes and she said,"Really? Really? Really?"
After many embraces, kisses and smiles Alyssa began to connect the dots in her mind and said, "Wait, does my family know? Wait, who knows about this?" For which of course i replied, "Yep, they are probably at my parents house now awaiting our arrival."
We got back to my parents house and were greeting by many open arms. An embrace of family welcoming both of us into each others respective sides.
Not attempting to sound smug or anything but I did in fact surprise the unsurprisable.
According to Alyssa:
I must begin by defending myself. I admit that I am often, well, running rather late. However, Christmas is a time to spend with family with little to no agenda. So, while Paul was waiting for me to be on time, I was checking out my Christmas presents and taking my sweet time without a clue that I was supposed to be anywhere "on time."
So I get there, oblivious to anything, spend time with Paul and his family, still oblivious. We go to the beach and I'm just thinking how nice it is to be out on Christmas as I never really get out and do anything. Generally I'm lucky if I make it out of my pajamas before dinner. Now, clever Paul tricks me by making me think he's found a cool rock. This may sound odd to some, but I myself am probably the odd one in that I like to look for rocks. I'm not sure what makes a rock particularly interesting, but he had my attention. So he tells me he has found a cool rock and I come bouncing over to check it out. The only thing is that I was completely thrown off when his hand uncurled to hold something entirely different than what I was expecting.
I'm not quite sure what happened after that. I'm pretty positive that I went numb and didn't say anything, and then made some sort of utterance or gesture to let him know I understood and that the answer was, of course, yes. After that, he'd have to tell you. My body and brain went numb. Wait, that is a lie. I do remember saying "Really?" over and over. I don't even remember driving back to his family's house. I just remember walking back in and seeing my family and his family and everyone saying, "Congratulations!"
Before I continue, I'd like to remind you that at this point I am still numb, rather shaky, in shock, and unprepared for any further excitement. After many hugs and such, someone was bold enough to throw out the question, "So, any idea on when?" to which Paul replied, "Well, we're driving through Vegas tomorrow." Now, I've never passed out before, but that might have been my chance. Regardless, it was perfect and I didn't have a clue. Well done Paul. You surprised me.
According to Paul:
Before I start my version of this story I wish to inform you that Alyssa is probably the hardest person I have ever met to surprise. Not only with big things but with little things. She is so perceptive. Another problem I had (which I consider to be a good thing) is I hate, hate, hate keeping secrets from her. So I was in a bit of a conundrum ...
My idea was to have Alyssa over early in the day, around 11 and then tell her that I wanted to take my dog to the beach and hang out. In typical Alyssa fashion she didn't show up until 1. Those two hours of anticipation nearly killed me. I did nearly everything possible to calm my nerves. I even spent time jumping on my parents trampoline.
When she finally arrived I could barely get my words straight I was so nervous. Not nervous to ask her, for I knew what the answer would be (one should not be asking questions of the sort unless they know the answer) but more so nervous for what asking her meant. I spent the next few minutes attempting to sound as normal as possible. We loaded the dog into the back of my car and over to dog beach. Fortunately, I found the energy to remain calm and normal. When we got down to the beach there were lots of people enjoying their Christmas on the beach with their families and pets so I sort of herded the dog and Alyssa north up the beach away from the crowds.
The tides have been ridiculously low due to winter and the full moon so the reefs were easy to walk out onto. After awhile of throwing the ball for my dog and pretending to be normal I took the ring from my pocket and walked over to some rocks pretending to pick one up. I asked her to come over and check out this cool looking rock. She anxiously walked over hoping to see a cool rock. Instead I opened my hand to reveal the ring.
The first few seconds Alyssa just stood in shock. I believe she was half expecting to see a sweet looking rock. After the moments of silence she gave a slight nod of her head at which time I got on my knee and said, "Alyssa Marie, will you marry me?" She barely had the energy in her but she squeaked a, "yes, of course." At which time we embraced the first of many long embraces. And then we looked into each others eyes and she said,"Really? Really? Really?"
After many embraces, kisses and smiles Alyssa began to connect the dots in her mind and said, "Wait, does my family know? Wait, who knows about this?" For which of course i replied, "Yep, they are probably at my parents house now awaiting our arrival."
We got back to my parents house and were greeting by many open arms. An embrace of family welcoming both of us into each others respective sides.
Not attempting to sound smug or anything but I did in fact surprise the unsurprisable.
According to Alyssa:
I must begin by defending myself. I admit that I am often, well, running rather late. However, Christmas is a time to spend with family with little to no agenda. So, while Paul was waiting for me to be on time, I was checking out my Christmas presents and taking my sweet time without a clue that I was supposed to be anywhere "on time."
So I get there, oblivious to anything, spend time with Paul and his family, still oblivious. We go to the beach and I'm just thinking how nice it is to be out on Christmas as I never really get out and do anything. Generally I'm lucky if I make it out of my pajamas before dinner. Now, clever Paul tricks me by making me think he's found a cool rock. This may sound odd to some, but I myself am probably the odd one in that I like to look for rocks. I'm not sure what makes a rock particularly interesting, but he had my attention. So he tells me he has found a cool rock and I come bouncing over to check it out. The only thing is that I was completely thrown off when his hand uncurled to hold something entirely different than what I was expecting.
I'm not quite sure what happened after that. I'm pretty positive that I went numb and didn't say anything, and then made some sort of utterance or gesture to let him know I understood and that the answer was, of course, yes. After that, he'd have to tell you. My body and brain went numb. Wait, that is a lie. I do remember saying "Really?" over and over. I don't even remember driving back to his family's house. I just remember walking back in and seeing my family and his family and everyone saying, "Congratulations!"
Before I continue, I'd like to remind you that at this point I am still numb, rather shaky, in shock, and unprepared for any further excitement. After many hugs and such, someone was bold enough to throw out the question, "So, any idea on when?" to which Paul replied, "Well, we're driving through Vegas tomorrow." Now, I've never passed out before, but that might have been my chance. Regardless, it was perfect and I didn't have a clue. Well done Paul. You surprised me.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
really...really...really..............
So, I asked...and...she said "YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Followed by a, "really...wait...really..." Followed by lots and lots and lots of "I love yous" I, Paul Edward Quinlivan and Alyssa Marie Richter are engaged to be married.
Thanks for being a part of our lives now and in the future. More posts to come but for now we wished to share this joyous news with all of you.
Thanks for being a part of our lives now and in the future. More posts to come but for now we wished to share this joyous news with all of you.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The Ring
A long, long time ago my Grandma was married to my father's father. A short time after my father was born Grandma and Grandpa had a falling out of sorts and were divorced. My Grandmother took the ring and had it shaped and contorted into its present condition. She wore this altered piece of gold and stone for many, many years...
Before she passed into the next life she instilled the ownership of the ring upon my Mother and my mother recently instilled it upon me. After many years of use by my Grandmother and the time spent in a safe the ring had become dirty and unclean. About a week ago I took the ring in to get cleaned. I kindly handed the ring to the nice lady behind the counter and she started to look at the diamond through her "diamond looking glass thingy." She then passed the ring to the jeweler who proceeded to clean the ring.
After about five minutes time she handed the freshly polished symbol back to me. I was in awe. Until, that moment the plans of the engagement had been just a dream. At that moment i saw my dreams becoming a reality and the excitment became overwhelming. It was one of those freeze frame moments in my life when all time seemed to stand still. It is a beautiful thing for a beautiful girl.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engagement_ring#History
Before she passed into the next life she instilled the ownership of the ring upon my Mother and my mother recently instilled it upon me. After many years of use by my Grandmother and the time spent in a safe the ring had become dirty and unclean. About a week ago I took the ring in to get cleaned. I kindly handed the ring to the nice lady behind the counter and she started to look at the diamond through her "diamond looking glass thingy." She then passed the ring to the jeweler who proceeded to clean the ring.
After about five minutes time she handed the freshly polished symbol back to me. I was in awe. Until, that moment the plans of the engagement had been just a dream. At that moment i saw my dreams becoming a reality and the excitment became overwhelming. It was one of those freeze frame moments in my life when all time seemed to stand still. It is a beautiful thing for a beautiful girl.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engagement_ring#History
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