Personally, I never thought I would get married, let alone engaged. But one wintry eve, January 26th of 2006, my absolute best friend in the world asked me to marry her. What could I say? I want to spend the rest of eternity with her and when she shared the sentiment, I jumped. Almost literally.

So, we're engaged, yet have no idea what we're doing. We still have about a year left before the big day, but, seriously, I had no idea how much planning was involved! There's choosing the reception/ceremony sites (done!), gowns, food, cake, drinks, officiant, decor, favors, invites, you name it, we've stressed about it. One thing we do know? The colors. *lol* Black, white, and red...or blue. Okay, so the colors may still be up in the air, too.

Mel, or Duo as she prefers to be called, has been great through all of this. She adds her two cents when I ask, or when she really loves something. For example, probably the strangest aspect of the wedding itself, the rings: Duo basically chose them. I pointed them out, but she fell in love. Coffin gems. Whoulda thunk it?

I'm grateful for the family I have that are so understanding. Dad, who is helping not only to pay but to offer great advice; Tracy, my little sister, who is probably the most supportive and the greatest baker the world will ever see; Mom, for wanting to help and understanding that I don't necessarily need to be a stick to look good in a gown. My older sister, Diane, has been supportive, but she isn't too thrilled with the chosen theme: anime gothic. Well, video game/anime gothic. If I can, I will totally incorporate aspects from Animamundi. *cheesy grin*

--Aileen B., soon to be B.C.