It Starts with a Ring....

Our journey to the alter officially began on August 21, 2008. That is the day that Mr. Pudding proposed. Of course, we had been chatting about getting married for a while, but we both wanted to have that perfect moment to remember. Our "perfect moment" turned out to be quite spontaneous, but it was nevertheless perfect.

I had been sending Mr. P pictures of the types of ring I would like, but we both wanted him to have the final say. I had some grand visions for the type of ring I wanted....turns out, I have expensive tastes! I really loved the bezel setting, and had spent too much time checking out the engagement ring advertisements in Martha Stewart. This is what I wanted:

(source)

Beautiful, right? I didn't really care about the shape of the diamond, but I knew that I wanted the center stone to be surrounded by smaller diamonds. While Matthew was shopping around, I was doing research of my own. I spent hours searching for beautiful rings online, only to find that all of the rings that I loved came with a very expensive price tags! The ring above came from costco.com, and actually costs $26,999 (isn't costco supposed to be a wholesale discount store?)! Once I came to the realization that my dream ring probably wasn't in the cards due to our "just graduated" budget, I began to have nightmares about rings. I pictured Matthew proposing with a simple band solitaire, or a yellow gold ring, or many other rings that may be beautiful on some, but just don't suit me! I tried to imagine myself faking excitement.....I even practiced in the mirror. I was sure that my dream ring was not in the cards.

In the end, I shouldn't have worried. My prince charming came through! He searched and searched until he found a ring that I would love, and we could also afford! This just goes to show that a man who loves you will move mountains to make you happy, and Mr. P did not fail! Here are some shots of my sparkler:

(all shots by me using - what else - Anne Ruthmann's tutorial)

And here it is on my finger. This picture was taken on a fishing expedition with Mr. P and Tata Pudding. I found a snake and decided to pick it up. The boys were grossed out, but I had made a friend!

(photo by Tata Pudding)

A Beginning....

When Mr. Pudding and I first began to think about marriage, we had some issues that most couples do not experience. You see, we had the misfortune of being in a long distance relationship.

We met at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Mr. P's family, although based in Vermont, has a history of attending university in Canada. Both of his parents graduated from a Canadian school, so Queen's was a natural choice for him.

When we first met, I though that the fact that he was from Vermont was the coolest thing ever....I had images of snowy mountains, hot chocolate, and beautiful scenery. I loved going to visit him. Vermont truly is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been.

It didn't take long for me to change my tune about Vermont, however. After graduating from Queen's in 2007, Mr. P went home to Vermont, and I went home to the Greater Toronto Area. We lived apart for almost two years, traveling back and forth to see each other. We tried to visit every other weekend, but the drive was not very glamorous (almost 8 hours, more than half of it spent on the 401).

So, our journey begins with immigration. We had to make a decision about where we wanted to live. Initially, we decided that Canada was the better option. We figured that being near a city like Toronto would provide a good backdrop for a young, professional couple like us. We changed our minds at the last minute, and I have been happily reunited with Mr. Pudding for two months now. I am also rekindling my romance with Vermont.