"today is not the best day of your life"

i have been a fan of wedding blogs for quite a few years, however i am not quite sure why. i've always seen myself more as a carolyn bessette-kennedy and less of a kate middleton when it comes to my own wedding. give me candlelight, my groom, and our parents and brothers and i will be one happy bride. but now, i am checking these blogs with a heightened sense of attention; it's my turn to make those itty bitty decisions, to try and have a conversation with my fiance as to the pros and cons of different signature cocktails, to text my girlfriends pictures of a dress that i have yet to try on but know that it is "the one," and all the while to be true to my vision of utter and complete cohesiveness 

and so that's why, one of these many blogs i follow gave me a brief reprieve from this self imposed stress that i am beginning to feel as my "to do list" continues to grow, and grow, and grow. this particular post highlighted a best man's speech, that opened up with the line: "this is not the best day of your life." and you know what, he's totally and completely right. this is just where our story is going to re-begin, we will no longer be a couple, or together, or dating; we will be married. and that's all october 12, 2013 will be, an opportunity to celebrate this fact with all of our closest and dearest family members and friends. the best day of our life, will more than likely be in 20 or 25 years, when our first child leaves our nest and enters the world; and he/she is a thoughtful, kind, and giving person who does what he/she can, to make this world a better place. and we will silently look at each other and say "good job, love. we did a good job. this is the best day."


i can't wait.

neighbors

leaving chicago was heartbreaking for me. as silly (and carrie bradshaw like) as it may sound, i consider chicago to be one of the loves of my life. and while there are a million and one reasons why i deep down adore that city, at the top of that list are the dearest friends we have, john and becky.

a little over five years ago, john interviewed me for city year. as he sat in chicago,  i sat on my patio in harrisonburg, va and marissa prepped 1 rolling rock and 1 bluemoon to "cheers" and drown our shared sorrow that we were one step closer to graduating. a few weeks later, i would get an email from one, patrick heckel, with a list of neighborhoods to start apartment hunting. we all worked together for a year, the three of us barely spoke, and i moved on to a new job. and then almost three years years after that, we would all find ourselves at a christmas party, on an incredibly snowy and cold december night, a girl i had never met would walk right up to me and say/slur, "HI! you're pat's girlfriend!" and i would give her a quick up and down and say "yes, i'm anna. and who are you?"

love rifle paper co.

...that lady was becky. she worked for city year, she adored my other half, and she was dating john. it didn't take long for us to become joined at the hip, shopping on our lunch break, meeting up at trader joe's, and hosting "dinner parties" twice a week, for just the four of us. the bond between us would only get stronger as the distance between our two apartments shrank. it's kind of hard to not fall in love with people who make you dinner on a weekly basis, who celebrate your accomplishments, who refuse to judge you when you fail, who take care of your dog when you have to go out of town last minute, who remain silent as your hands are covering your face and you ask the dreaded question that only you can answer, "what am i doing with my life?" friends who remind you by their very steadfastness, "that truth, beauty, and goodness exist in the world. and that no matter what, there are and always will be, people loving people through thick and thin." these two have seen us at our absolute worst, at our lowest low, both as individuals and as a couple. i cannot, and will not, imagine our life without them.

first time seeing, "mr. and mrs. patrick heckel"

so yes, we're excited too. that someday, two of our best friends will promise to be best friends to each other for the rest of their lives. and to celebrate, with you both, all there is to come, and support each other through our struggles.

john and b, we love you so much. 

& so does polly.

10.12.13

October 12, 2013

church? check
venue? stevenson ridge, in my beautiful fredericksburg, virginia
and the above photos are courtesy of another thing on our list....
photographer? check

my nestmate

this is the story of how one midwestern pea, met a pea from virginia, and didn't talk to her for the entire year they worked together. and then 18 months after they first met, they were both crossing at state and lake, at 5pm on a very cold february evening, and they agreed to meet up and get a drink. a few days, turned into a few weeks, until finally dinner was had at duck walk. delicious thai food was eaten, a bottle of white wine was drank, and promises of a second date were made (even though he made far too many references to wedding crashers, in my most humble opinion)

a few days, turned into a few weeks, and date number 2 finally happened. same place. same two orders. same bottle of wine, but this time with a few 312s.

a few months later came the first big fight. nobody remembers what this first fight was about, but they will never forget the words that were spoken: "by the way, i f------ HATE thai food."

8 months after that, belongings were combined, and they settled into their very first apartment on ashland and berteau, a stone's throw away from their favorite bar in the entire city, the long room.

4 apartments and 30 months later, they are now living 1200 miles from where their story began, with an underlying promise that they will love, and cherish, and honor and respect each other, all the days of their lives. however the topic of thai food is still an extremely sensitive matter.

happy two and a half years of living together my sweet pea. building (all of ) our little nests together has been one of the greatest joys of my life. 

we made a list. we checked it twice.

ok, we probably checked it three or four times. and while i am still not fully committed to our list (spoiler alert: commitment issues don't go away just because you have a ring on your finger) here it is:

the lewis heckel nuptials will absolutely, positively, have the following: 

so now we just need a date.

suggestions?