The proposal:
"We both really enjoy Italian food, and we both love Olive Garden. It was December 10, 2009 (my 20
th birthday). We had a huge snow storm the day before. In fact, all schools across Wisconsin (college, private, and public schools) had been shut down.
Jace suggested we still take the hour and a half trip to Olive Garden, and that we
still dress nicely. I didn't let the huge snow storm from the day before stop me either. I stuck it out and wore a dress...and froze! We got there safely, and the hostess took us to a tiny corner in Olive Garden. It was such a perfect setup as well. It was decorated as if it was a gazebo, the lights were dimmed, and it felt so peaceful. People were sporadically around us, but to me, it felt as if
Jace and I were alone.
We ate our meal, and when we were done eating, the waitress asked if we wanted any dessert. He told me whatever I wanted to get was fine, it was my birthday. Of course I picked the chocolate cheesecake that just looked so delicious! The waitress left, and Jace excused himself to the bathroom. To me, this was normal. I figured he really did have to go to the bathroom. He came back and shortly after, our waitress had come back with the cheesecake and set it in front of me. She paused there, and I just stared at the beautiful cheesecake. I was so in awe of the drizzled chocolate that was zig zagged between the cheesecake and the plate that I hadn't even noticed the ring in the upper part by the crust. When I finally saw it, is when my memory went blur. I remember seeing Jace get up from his spot, and pull the ring out of the cake. Seeing him in his suit and tie, get down on one knee. I remember hearing a little bit of a shake to his voice, and when he asked me to marry him, I said yes! He put it on my finger, and in the background I hear a bunch of women go "awww..." I didn't even notice that the wall behind us, that had a cut out window in it, were a bunch of women who followed out waitress out to watch the proposal.
I was still in so much shock of what just happened, that I actually kept asking Jace, "Is this for real?! You serious?!" As I stared at my new gorgeous ring on my finger, I embraced him and started crying. All I could think about and say was "I'm engaged!" I called my parents to tell them the news, and my mom's response to me was "Congrats hunny, but we've known about this for awhile now. He asked your dad over Thanksgiving if he could marry you."
As deployment grew closer, and we now were a newly engaged couple, we began realizing more and more fears we had. But I felt I needed to tell him, and just as I told him before he left for basic training over 4 years ago, I needed to reassure him again. "I will wait for you, and I will be faithful to you, I love you."
Brad Paisley sings the words so perfectly, and although it's a song singing from the man to his woman, I feel like it takes the words right out my mouth. It reminds me of how much love I have had for Jace. When Jace left for basic training how I thought I loved him then, when he came back how much more I had loved him, on our 2 year anniversary...to even now our 4 year anniversary as we are apart."
'Now you're my whole life, now you're my whole world.
I just can't believe the way I feel about you,
We'll look back someday, at this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then.'
"Ashley is wonderful and working with her was a great decision in planning our wedding. She is attentive to detail, personable, and professional. From the first time we met with her, she was able to understand our dreams for our big day. Ashley was always mindful of our budget, timeline and what fit perfectly for the two of us. As the wedding day grew nearer, it would have been easy to get stressed and overwhelmed...but not with Ashley helping out! She answered crisis phone calls, coordinated with all the vendors with last minute details, and helped assure Matt and I that our day would go as planned. She was always full of ideas and responsive to every little detail that came up. The day of the wedding was so relaxing and fun, I didn't have to worry about anything, because I knew whatever came up...Ashley would handle it! Matt and I are truly grateful for her help. Our wedding day could not have been more perfect!" ~ Matt & Anna 
My first phone conversation with Kristen was simply amazing. The conversation was easy, the laughs were plenty, and I immediately knew we had a great bride-coordinator connection. She was looking for full coordination as she was living in Nebraska, but her family was from Salem so she wanted the wedding close to home. I enjoyed working so closely with Kristen the whole time. It was more like hanging out with a close friend than it was "working."
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I don't even know where to begin with Jenn and Steven and their wedding...It's couples like them that truly make me love what I do! Let's start off with a little bit of the couple's history. They knew each other back in high school, went their separate ways for numerous years (+/-20 years actually), and then found each other and fell in love instantly! I'm amazed at their story and how true love knows no amount of time and confirms my belief in everyone finding their soul mate! Jenn was such a pleasure to work with through every step of the way, and being apart of her joy and excitement during the planning process was an honor! She was very organized and chose AMAZING vendors, none of which I had had the pleasure of working with before their wedding!
