The Anniversary is Closer...Part 2 of however long it takes me

If you haven't read the first part then you can find it here to catch up.

So, where were we...oh yes! Branden graduated at the beginning of May 2008 and moved back home for the summer. He was all set to attend Regent College in Vancouver, BC (a 5 hour drive and ferry ride away) in September so we were well aware that our time together was limited. I don't know if I'd say we were a 'love at first sight' couple but it wasn't long into dating that we knew that this was it...and by 'not long', I mean about a few weeks. Even at Branden's graduation, all of his family that were there (and I had only met that day) were making references to us getting married. His great aunt even said to me after just meeting her,"At Branden's next graduation, you will be married and pregnant!" Some women would run away screaming at this type of pressure but my heart kind of already knew. Thank goodness though that at his last graduation I was NOT pregnant but just happily married!

We made the most of our summer together and since I had a great paying job and Branden made pretty dang good money tutoring, we had a blast visiting wineries, eating in fabulous little restaurants, lounging in parks, getting Chinese take-out for picnics at the beach, and visiting fun towns in his dad's Porsche. Branden taught me to swing dance and would bring me fresh bouquets from his mom's garden. When June came upon us, we were openly talking about marriage and had even looked at wedding rings. I came up with our wedding date as we were driving in his car for a dinner. While trying to figure out the best date, I pulled out my cell phone calendar and looked at a June 27th, 2009. It was during summer break from school and after my dad's and his brother's birthdays so we decided that would be our date. We didn't tell anyone except my best friend Chrissy and since we set the date before June 27 that year, we decided to have a -1 year anniversary. Chrissy suggested wedding ring shopping which was fun but made us realized that my ring wasn't going to be something we'd find in a store and neither was Branden's.

By the time we told all the family that 'we knew', we came across little surprise because everyone else seemed to 'know' too. Our summer swept on and we enjoyed taking lots of photos of our outings with a trip to Victoria, BC (the capital) and a hike to some natural hot springs with some good friends included in our growing photo album. I also got to go to some of his concerts which were fun. One evening, we had been swing dancing in his parent's basement which is a large hardwood floored mini theater, Branden got his guitar and told me that he had written me a song. He sang me a wonderful love song that apparently he had written after 2 weeks of our re-finding of each other, and I of course I cried! I couldn't believe that this man could exist! He was musical, very intelligent, extremely romantic, could dress himself very well, took care of himself and groomed himself well (and he wasn't gay!!). It was incredible!

I informed him that I needed a minimum of 8 months to plan a wedding but I was so antsy to get engaged that I prodded him and teased him about proposing quite a bit. Finally in August (I know, it was only 4 months) Branden's band had a music festival coming up that they were playing at. I was allowed to go and Branden told me that he would be playing my song halfway through the set and then I would be allowed to be introduced on stage after it...wheels in my head started spinning.

Hmmmm,

1. He's singing and playing my song on stage at a music festival

2. He's introducing me after the song

Girl Conclusion: I'M GETTING ENGAGED!!!

I was so excited but didn't let on to him that I knew. Chrissy got to hear my thoughts though and the day I was leaving for the festival she told me to try and not be disappointed if it didn't happen. But I was so sure it all added up and it was just the way I would have wanted it to happen so I totally had my hopes up! It was a nice hot day when we arrived at the festival and I could tell Branden was acting a little off...so I got more excited! I was trying to make him comfortable and at ease so I snuggled up to him to try and calm him (and to see if I could feel a ring box anywhere) but he still was a bit nervous...and I couldn't find a ring box. We were in the backstage area in an air conditioned tent for a bit but just before the show, I noticed my mom showed up...more excitement!!! We were about 3 hours away from home so it's not like my mom was just 'in the area'. The band started their set and I waited anxiously on the side of the stage watching the set list as it neared my song. Finally the time had come and my song was up! This is what happened...

Luckily there was also a professional photographer from the festival that took a ton of photos of it all!

The ring was tied to a red ribbon and inside a calla lily in the bouquet and it was perfect!

I wanted something that looked antique with filigree and only round diamonds since they sparkle the most. I love my ring and still stare at it, admiring how unique and detailed it is.

We could not have been more excited! Oh, except that I had to sleep in a tent in a corn field which Branden didn't put the rain fly on since he figured it was nice and wouldn't rain...At 6am I woke to the sound of drops on my tent which also woke Branden who was sleeping in the back of a suburban with the lead singer. I jumped out of bed and had to cover my tent as Branden laid in a dry vehicle thinking that he probably wouldn't hear the end of this one (the fact that I'm blogging about this shows that he was right). I can't really complain though because I got the proposal that I wanted and the man that I only dreamed existed!

Sorry this was a bit lengthy but stay tuned for our engagement spent mostly apart and the wedding you couldn't possibly make up!

Click to read Part 3 and Part 4