Weddingbee Blog

Mr. Lab and I met at our workplace (where we both drive 40 ft. buses!). I knew he drove a motorcycle, so every time I saw him, I’d bug him about giving me a ride on it one day. I soon developed a crush, but because I was tired of always being the one to ask a guy out, I decided to enlist his roommate’s girlfriend (a fellow co-worker & one of my now bridesmaids, Brooke) to help me get his attention.

The plan was for Brooke to casually start mentioning me in conversation to find out if he had any interest in me. Instead, she just put a Post-It note on his computer that said, “LeiLani likes you. Here’s her AIM screen name.” I guess she didn’t pick up on the subtlety I was going for!

That night, I got an IM from Chris. We messaged back and forth for hours, finding out things we had in common like how we both had golden Labradors and both lost our fathers while in high school. I told him about recent events in my life (which included currently using crutches after getting hurt in flag football, accidentally driving my Jeep into a ditch, and hitting a BMW with my bus at work). He flirtatiously picked on me about all these things but did say he would finally get around to giving me a motorcycle ride to make me feel better.

The next day we both had really early reports to work. When I got on my bus, there was a note from Mr. Lab. He had gotten to work early and found out what bus I would be driving so he could sneak in and leave the note. On the front it said, “You’ve had a hard time lately…” and he had drawn pictures of my recent unfortunate events I told him about the night before. On the back it said, “… so I think you need a hug!” As I started to drive off the yard, he stopped me so I could redeem my hug!

That night we had our first date. He picked me up at my apartment and I finally got my motorcycle ride! We drove to a nearby store and bought ice cream and rented a movie to watch. When it was time for him to leave, we stayed another hour outside by his bike kissing (on the first date! Ooooo!) and trying to stall his departure. We’ve been inseparable ever since!

Mr. Lab popping the question on New Year’s Eve 2008

So now we’re planning a budget fall wedding for 75 guests in the absolutely gorgeous city of Savannah. We’ve come up with the theme of “Romantic Southern Charm” because it embodies what Savannah means to us. I plan to DIY a few projects, bargain shop, reuse some items from my MOH’s & FSIL’s weddings, and learn from the hive in order to stay within our budget.

I look forward to sharing our planning process and getting feedback from all you wonderful ladies! Oh, and although I’m a journalism major, I tend to write online with tons of passive voice, run-on sentences, and an overkill of parentheses. I apologize ahead of time.

Much love!

-Miss Labrador Retriever aka LeiLani