remember when...

brady and i met at the same friend's birthday party.

that is where we officially spoke to one another!

february 13, 2011

we even got a picture of our first night

then...

 i flew off to get jackson and got a picture of it on valentines day

we all went to disneyland, you and justin made this for me at the lego store

suspenders, glasses and candy later...

we went on our first date under the stars

and it was romantic and fun.

we were just beginning to date and went to san diego via train from LA, saw a Padres game, got matching shirts, walked around Seaport Village

you tried Romanos for the first time!

i made us a picnic as we watched the la jolla fliers

you tried Yard House for the first time and you loved it!

one weekend, jackson and i were flying out together and you picked us up for the airport. you had made me and jackson our own dinners, brought us our favorite drinks and you

even made me brownie edges and then, right there, i knew i loved you.

jack would draw pictures and you were already in them.

one night we went to disneyland again, and took jack this time.

you also ran into yogurtland and spent $9 on both of our yogurts.

you got exactly what i wanted.

we went camping at trails 6 with the family!
we went surfing, got donuts.

we went whale watching...
and then walked around newport, played games,  you and jack had the biggest snow cone
and then went to that newport wedding reception and played in the photobooth.

that was just the beginning. 2011

so engaged

planning a wedding is a lot of fun but also a lot of work.

how exciting it is to be planning a life with someone you will be with forever...

it's really an indescribable feeling.  we have learned even more about each other in this process of planning a wedding.

for example:

we registered at a few places...

one being target. he is very, very practical. 

i on the other hand have a non-practical side...

he wanted to get the bare minimum and the least expensive.

he would spend 25 minutes on the plate isle reading about each set, quality, look...

while he was there, i took the gun to get an E.P.T. test, a few camping necessities and probably 15 other things in that same amount of time.  he then ended up reviewing it, realizing he had some work editing it when we got home :)

balance in a relationship is good.

we are always so good with reaching a compromise where we are both happy with how we are.

{the diet coke cases have now been removed}

during our four-hour trip to target, i was trying to break in new shoes for the wedding rehearsal dinner we got the week previous.  my feet started to hurt during the first 5 minutes of walking around that he sweetly switched my shoes with his so he could help me break them in.  

he was so cute. i almost lost it by laughing at his danty feet and my water ski flip flops but then would look over at him not caring what people thought and kept thinking, how i have lucked out.

he is my lobster (friends reference)

we have so much more to do everyday to prepare for the wedding.

i want this celebration to be everything brady has dreamt of within our small budget. 

i think it will be.  we have so many great, wonderful and lovely friends who are overflowing with talent, so it will be incredible.

we feel blessed.

right before my sister elise did our engagement pictures, 

brady gave me this ring! 

we custom designed it together and it came out perfectly.  

it's rose gold with diamonds on the sides and a halo around the center.  

it's as small as the band could get.

i cannot stop staring at it.

it is so fun to wear it. i catch myself just looking at it or being surprised when i see it on the left side.  

sweet finn baby came to the shoot. 

illume gowns!

the talented sarah sanburg has an amazing wedding dress company called

ILLUME GOWNS. 

i had a list of everything i could dream of for a wedding dress and she made it happen. 

it is so difficult to find a tasteful, conservative wedding dress so going to her was completely stress-free.

she talked to me about what i was looking for, paid much attention to my wants, my needs, my taste and helped me pick out the best dress. i could not have imagined a more perfect wedding dress.

i love the names she picked out for her collection.

each dress is layered many times, modest, fabric from all over the world, 

each carefully crafted to suit any girls' style and desire.  

since i am getting married soon, i chose one from her collection instead of creating a custom dress and she posted it on her instagram.  

i feel so honored that i get to wear one of her dresses!

which one do you think i will choose?

ENGAGED!!

this is a weekend i will never ever forget.

brady took me to newport beach to take a walk on the beach. we saw this house above, he had me take pictures of it and said it was a good idea of what kind of house we may want to live in someday.

we walked down the boardwalk and he had a few people take pictures of us on the pier.

a couple different people took our picture.

brady bought a new outfit for our date.

we had a romantic dinner on the roof of rubys.

i had a feeling he was up to somethin'

we walked to the arcade, played our favorite game, skee ball, walked around the harbor...

the next day we watched general conference, worked out, watched another session, he went to priesthood, we went to dinner, rented a movie...

the next morning he woke me up at 5am and told me to keep my eyes closed for the entire drive.

he had me follow a trail of votive candles all the way to the beach where we had our first date.

he had breakfast that was all themed from spain. he went to spain for a month and loved their breakfast there. he gave me a photobook of our past two years... it was so romantic... a poem he wrote and tons of memories in a beautiful hardcover book. 

i asked him why he made me it, he said, "i just love you so much and thought it would be nice to have a book of all of our memories together. we have been together over two years now and i wanted to do something fun for you."

i was amazed.

not expecting anything, but he has me open another small box. 

it was this ring!!!

he proposed!  

i was shocked! 

he had made this ring out of the gold he has at his dental school, made the mold himself of my finger and then gave this to me as my wedding band. he told him he had my wedding ring still in the process of getting made but this ring would be on my left hand until then!

i couldn't think of a more romantic and perfect way he did it.

i cried. i cried because i have never though i could ever be so happy. pure happiness.

every part of my body was smiling. 

i love him so much and am excited to be sealed to him forever.

excited to take on his last name and be his wife. 

we work so well together... never have we argued, had a disagreement, we are best friends, we both don't like confrontation, we come from similar family backgrounds, we love each other so so much and understand each other.  it has been nothing but a dream that i never thought would become a reality. i couldn't be more excited to get ready to share everything with this wonderful man. 

 i feel truly blessed and fortunate.

i may have starred at my hand the whole drive home.  

the drive back we were glowing.