Believe it or not, blind dates really do work sometimes! A friend of mine was dating a friend of Jesse’s. She kept feeding little pieces of information to us about each other and one night asked if she could give him my phone number. I was a little nervous at first, but thought, “What have I got to lose? Best case scenario I could end up marrying him.” Well, that’s exactly what happened! Our first phone call lasted over an hour and then we agreed to meet for dinner. We met at Water Works in Winooski and then went for a walk around Fort Ethan Allen. Three days later he made me dinner and we each knew that we had found something special that we had been looking for.
Our relationship grew stronger and deeper with each passing day. By the fall we had started casually talking about getting married, so I knew that a proposal would be coming, but I was completely taken by surprise when it happened.
I come from a large family and each Thanksgiving we have a family gathering in my mother’s childhood home, now owned by my aunt and uncle. The thought had crossed my mind earlier in the morning that maybe Jesse would propose that day, but didn’t think he would want to do it in front of so many people. Boy was I wrong! Around 40 of us were standing in a circle while my uncle said a blessing. He was the only other person in on the proposal. When the blessing was finished, Jesse stepped into the middle of the circle and asked me to marry him. There were many gasps, tears, and hugs as I said yes.
...November 2004 - July 2005
Choosing the date was actually very easy. My grandparents 59th wedding anniversary was July 1, 2005, which also happened to be the July 4th weekend, when my family has a family reunion. We decided to combine the wedding and reunion for a long weekend event, while also honoring my grandparents. We later found out that the day we got engaged was Jesse’s grandparents anniversary.
We wanted to give our wedding as much of a personal touch as possible. Our family members are very talented in many different ways, so we enlisted their help. My mother took on the tremendous task of making all of the dresses. Jesse’s parents helped us to make our wedding invitations. Other family involvement included floral arrangements, videography, assembling our candy buffet favors, singing, ushers, readers, slide show, and program illustration. Our caterer is a cousin of my grandmother and our cake was made by the daughter of the woman that made my parents wedding cake.
There are so many to choose from! Marrying my best friend and soul mate definitely tops the list. My three flower girls were so adorable! They are each very special to me and they were just the right age to appreciate dressing fancy and being the center of attention for the day. At the reception I loved watching them admire their dresses as they spun to the music.
Jesse had the idea for me to collect my bouquet from special friends and family along the way to the altar. I started out with a few flowers and added more as my father escorted me around the church. It was very touching.
The song that a friend wrote and performed with his daughter brought tears to everyone’s eyes.
The beautiful sunset over Lake Champlain was one of the summer’s best. On the way to the reception it clouded over and started sprinkling. After my uncle gave the blessing before the meal, the sun appeared and everyone was able to appreciate the beauty of the lake and mountains with the sun setting over them.
Having our friends and family there to share in our day was very memorable. A special memory was being able to dance with my grandfather. Shortly after we got engaged, my grandfather was diagnosed with brain cancer. He was determined to make it to the wedding though. Even during his chemo, very serious illness, and the use of a wheelchair, he made a point to teach me how to waltz and told all of his visitors that he was going to dance with me at my wedding. My grandparents were very active dancers up until a few years ago. When the song “Can I Have This Dance for the Rest of My Life” was played; my grandfather, despite being tired and weak, asked my grandmother to dance. Our wedding gave them a chance to dance one last time together on their 59th wedding anniversary. It was a strong testament of love to watch them have their special moment together.
We had two months to adjust to married life before having to adjust to a deployment. Jesse works full-time for the Vermont National Guard and will return from Iraq hopefully by the end of the year. Despite our physical separation, we have grown closer and are able to appreciate our love for each other.
I started a scrapbook of all the planning we did along the way, contracts, and contact info to have everything in one place. I also added photos and email messages that friends and family sent us in response to our engagement and upcoming wedding. Of course I am still organizing the scrapbook now, but they are great memories to have of our engagement.
Be open to some changes. Everything went fairly smoothly for us until about two weeks before the wedding. Then many little challenges arrived. If you keep an open mind, expect that not everything will happen perfectly, and are aware of the real reason you are getting married, then the little details and challenges won’t seem so important.
Ceremony....................St. Ann’s Church, Milton
Ceremony Music..........Singers: sisters of the bride; Karen, Beth, &
Amanda Lavallee, friends of the bride; Will & Naomi Burhans
Piano: cousin of the bride, Adam Chevalier
Floral Design..............Aunt of the bride, Alana Lambert /Flowers: H & B Greenhouse,
Claussen’s Green-house, & Hannafords
Entertainment............Top Hat Entertainment
Reception Site ......... ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain (www.echovermont.org)
Catering:....................Rita Ferland
Cake:.........................Nancy Cadieux
Photography:..............The Portrait Gallery (www.portraitgallery-vt.com)
Bridal Party Dresses:... Rita Lavallee, mother of the bride
