My best friend and maid of honor, Lauren Mazur hosted a fabulous Engagement party for us on February 27. We had a wonderful time eating, drinking and visiting with all of our friends and immediate family. Lauren is quite the chef and party planner!
We are honored to have so much love and support in our lives. We have really enjoyed sharing all of our excitement with everyone. Lauren even made this slideshow for us. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWI2AzaT7Vo
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
How We Met!
We met in April of 2004 at Indiana University at a fraternity/sorority party during the week of Little 500. We had a lot of mutual friends, but we had never met. I took one look at Will and asked my girlfriends "who is that guy...?" Needless to say we met that evening and we started talking and hanging out through the end of the school year. I moved home after graduation for a few weeks and then I moved in with my friend and bridesmaid, Amie, before starting my job in Indy. We talked during this time and tried to meet up, but it never seemed to work out. We reconnected at Lake Wawasee for the July 4th weekend and then went on our first official date the following week. He took me to dinner at the RAM downtown, and then to The Eric Clapton concert at Conseco Fieldhouse. The rest is history and now we are going back to our Alma Mater to make it official! We can't wait to celebrate with all of our family and friends. It will be a wonderful reunion for all of the alumni!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Proposal
Shortly after my Memaw (Dad's mother) met Kristen, she pulled me aside at a family-get together at her house. I was totally caught off guard when she offered her mother's engagement ring to me. It was probably the most emotion I had ever seen her display. Needless to say, I was, and still am, very honored and moved that she wanted to pass such a treasured memento down to me. I told her that I wasn't quite ready to propose yet, but that I would let her know when I was.
That day came, and I embarked upon the journey of finding a setting that Kristen would like. This proved to be quite a journey. Kristen had showed me pictures of her friend's engagement rings, and expressed what she liked/disliked about them (I practically had to pry this information out of her), so I felt pretty confident that I knew what I was looking for. I went to a retail store and found a setting that fit my criteria, so I had the diamond set and I picked it up a few days later. I liked it, but I wasn't in love with it. I wanted it to be perfect, and I just didn't feel that it was. So, I took it back. A good friend of mine, Matt Gabet, was recently married, so I called him and asked for some advice. He referred me to the jeweler that did his wife's engagement ring and wedding band. I met with the jeweler and we started the design process. This mainly consisted of me emailing him a picture of a ring that I found on the internet, pointing out the characteristics that I liked, then emailing him a different ring with conflicting characteristics that I like. He was very patient with me. After a few weeks of this, we moved forward on a design.
I didn't expect the ring to be finished before Thanksgiving and Kristen was traveling to Wisconsin to spend the holiday with her extended family, so I was going to spend my time off from work crafting my proposal plan. Well, on the morning before Thanksgiving, I got a call at work from the designer. The ring was finished. I met him at a coffee shop that afternoon, and I finally had a setting that was perfect enough to go with my perfect diamond. I went back to work for a few hours, but I couldn't concentrate at all. My thoughts were consumed with the new possibilities that this situation presented. I could propose to her today! She would be able to surprise her whole family and show off her newfound jewelry! This is what girls dream of, right?! But wait...her brother and parents are going to be waiting for her at home. I wanted us to be alone. This won't work. I thought, Ok, I'll just plan this out while she's out of town.
I made the drive home from work with all these thoughts swirling around in my head. I gave myself a personal pep-talk. Don't act weird or she'll know something is up. When I pulled up to our house, her parent's car was not on the street or in the driveway. I thought, this is weird. I came inside and asked Kristen where Matt and her parents were. She said they went to the mall for a bit, and that they would be back in a little while. (Ok, Will. This is happening. It's go time buddy. Carpe Diem! Let's do this.) She asked me to unload some stuff from her car. I grabbed her stuff from her car and I grabbed the ring from my car. After I set down her stuff, I went into the bedroom, took out the jewelry box, and got down on my knee. "Kristen, can you come in here and look at this with me?", I asked. "One second", she said. She walked in, saw me on my knee with a jewelry box and deduced that I was proposing before I had the chance to say anything. Kristen covered her gaping mouth with both hands, and started saying, "Oh my God, Oh my God". Then, I asked her if she would be my wife, and she said, "Yes!". The rest is history. I am now a very lucky and extremely happy man. I can't wait to make it official on August 14th!
That day came, and I embarked upon the journey of finding a setting that Kristen would like. This proved to be quite a journey. Kristen had showed me pictures of her friend's engagement rings, and expressed what she liked/disliked about them (I practically had to pry this information out of her), so I felt pretty confident that I knew what I was looking for. I went to a retail store and found a setting that fit my criteria, so I had the diamond set and I picked it up a few days later. I liked it, but I wasn't in love with it. I wanted it to be perfect, and I just didn't feel that it was. So, I took it back. A good friend of mine, Matt Gabet, was recently married, so I called him and asked for some advice. He referred me to the jeweler that did his wife's engagement ring and wedding band. I met with the jeweler and we started the design process. This mainly consisted of me emailing him a picture of a ring that I found on the internet, pointing out the characteristics that I liked, then emailing him a different ring with conflicting characteristics that I like. He was very patient with me. After a few weeks of this, we moved forward on a design.
I didn't expect the ring to be finished before Thanksgiving and Kristen was traveling to Wisconsin to spend the holiday with her extended family, so I was going to spend my time off from work crafting my proposal plan. Well, on the morning before Thanksgiving, I got a call at work from the designer. The ring was finished. I met him at a coffee shop that afternoon, and I finally had a setting that was perfect enough to go with my perfect diamond. I went back to work for a few hours, but I couldn't concentrate at all. My thoughts were consumed with the new possibilities that this situation presented. I could propose to her today! She would be able to surprise her whole family and show off her newfound jewelry! This is what girls dream of, right?! But wait...her brother and parents are going to be waiting for her at home. I wanted us to be alone. This won't work. I thought, Ok, I'll just plan this out while she's out of town.
I made the drive home from work with all these thoughts swirling around in my head. I gave myself a personal pep-talk. Don't act weird or she'll know something is up. When I pulled up to our house, her parent's car was not on the street or in the driveway. I thought, this is weird. I came inside and asked Kristen where Matt and her parents were. She said they went to the mall for a bit, and that they would be back in a little while. (Ok, Will. This is happening. It's go time buddy. Carpe Diem! Let's do this.) She asked me to unload some stuff from her car. I grabbed her stuff from her car and I grabbed the ring from my car. After I set down her stuff, I went into the bedroom, took out the jewelry box, and got down on my knee. "Kristen, can you come in here and look at this with me?", I asked. "One second", she said. She walked in, saw me on my knee with a jewelry box and deduced that I was proposing before I had the chance to say anything. Kristen covered her gaping mouth with both hands, and started saying, "Oh my God, Oh my God". Then, I asked her if she would be my wife, and she said, "Yes!". The rest is history. I am now a very lucky and extremely happy man. I can't wait to make it official on August 14th!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Save The Date!
A big thanks to Kristyn Davidson @ Oliver's Twist for designing our Save the Date...We love it!
Hotel Info
Indiana Memorial Union (IMU)
900 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-3201
(812) 855-1808
http://www.imu.indiana.edu
Group Code: ODW-10
Rates will range from $119-$159 plus tax per room per night for standard rooms.
Suite rates will range from $199-$209 plus tax per room per night.
The IMU is within walking distance (approximately 5 minutes) of The IU Auditorium where the ceremony and reception will take place.
Hilton Garden Inn
245 North College AvenueBloomington, IN 47404
(812) 961-3913
(877) STAYHGI
http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=BMGINGI
Group Code: Oium/Dyar Wedding
$119.95 plus tax per room per night for standard rooms.
The Hilton Garden Inn is located off campus in downtown Bloomington.
Other Hotel Options
http://www.visitbloomington.com/hotels-motels/
Favorite Bloomington Restaurants
There are a ton of great restaurants and bars within walking distance of the IMU and the Hilton Garden Inn. Some of our favorites are below...
For a complete list of Restaurants go to: http://tinyurl.com/yjangm3
For a complete list of Restaurants go to: http://tinyurl.com/yjangm3
Breakfast
Bloomington Bagel Company
113 N. Dunn Street
http://www.bbcbagel.com
The Runcible Spoon
412 East 6th Street
http://www.runciblespoonrestaurant.com
Scholar's Inn Bakehouse
125 North College Avenue
http://www.scholarsinn.com/BtownBakehouse/index.html
Village Deli
409 East Kirkwood
http://www.villagedeli.biz
Lunch/Dinner
Cafe Pizzaria
405 E Kirkwood Avenue
Janko's Little Zagreb
223 W 6th Street
http://www.littlezagreb.com
Kilroy's on Kirkwood
Corner of Kirkwood Avenue & Dunn
http://www.kilroys-bloomington.com
Lennie's Restaurant & Brewpub
1795 E 10th Street
http://www.lennies.bloomington.com
Malibu Grill
106 N Walnut Street
http://www.malibugrill.net
Nick's English Hut
423 E Kirkwood Avenue
http://www.nicksenglishhut.com
Scholar's Inn Cafe & Wine Bar
717 N College Avenue
http://www.scholarsinn.com/BtownWineBar/index.html
Scotty's Brewhouse
302 N Walnut Street
http://www.scottysbrewhouse.com
Upland Brewpub
350 W 11th Street
http://www.uplandbeer.com/brewery.php
Uptown Cafe
102 East Kirkwood Avenue
http://www.the-uptown.com
Yogi's Grill & Bar
519 E 10th Street
http://www.yogis.com
Engagement Photos
We got our engagement pictures taken on Saturday, January 23 in downtown Indianapolis. Our photographer, Jamie Sangar, did a great job! It was a little windy, but the temperature wasn't bad for an afternoon in January. We brought Norah along for the pictures, of course! Lainey was a great help with Norah at the shoot...thanks!
Enjoy our pictures on Jamie's blog at
http://jamiesangarblog.com/index.cfm?postID=477
Enjoy our pictures on Jamie's blog at
http://jamiesangarblog.com/index.cfm?postID=477
Honeymoon!
We finalized our honeymoon plans! We are going to Costa Rica for 7 nights and we are so excited! Please find a link to the resort we are staying at below.
http://www.paradisus-playa-conchal.com/
We can't wait to lay poolside, drink cocktails and enjoy married bliss:) We are also looking forward to the beautiful scenery and going on exciting excursions in the rainforest!
http://www.paradisus-playa-conchal.com/
We can't wait to lay poolside, drink cocktails and enjoy married bliss:) We are also looking forward to the beautiful scenery and going on exciting excursions in the rainforest!
We are Registered!
We are registered at the following stores.
Crate and Barrel
www.crateandbarrel.com
Macy's
www.macys.com
Pottery Barn
www.potterybarn.com
Crate and Barrel
www.crateandbarrel.com
Macy's
www.macys.com
Pottery Barn
www.potterybarn.com
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