Jeff's Story
I caught Melissa's eye from across a crowded lecture hall and it was love at first sight. There was lots of smiling and flirting from a distance, but it took almost three years before I worked up the courage to introduce myself.
Our first date was at my apartment. I made a fancy steak dinner with a wine pairing, only to find out Melissa was a vegetarian who didn't drink. It was a disaster. Regardless, we had a great time and have barely spent a day away from each other since then.
Melissa's Story
One day I was walking across campus when Jeff asked me out. I had never met him before, but apparently, he recognized me from a class we took together. I thought he was good enough, so I dated him.
Our (Real) Story
We met online in the fall of 2006 through a dating website for UC Santa Cruz students, aptly named CruzDate. After chatting online (and a bit of Facebook snooping on Melissa's part to make sure Jeff wasn't a murderer), Jeff invited Melissa over to his apartment to go swimming and hang out in the hot tub. When he met her near her building to pick her up, Melissa promptly introduced herself and shook Jeff's hand. We engaged in awkward small talk all the way to Jeff's apartment complex. Once we arrived there, however, the pool area was closed, so we went to the recreation room so we could play a game of pool. As it turned out, that was closed too. (Jeff had never tried to use them in the evening before.)
When we got back to Jeff's apartment, Jeff sat on the couch awkwardly while his roommate, Ross, talked to Melissa. After a little while, Jeff decided to go make milkshakes, leaving Melissa in what had to be the weirdest first date situation of her life. Fortunately, Ross was very friendly and kept the whole situation from being too weird. After a couple minutes, Jeff came back with delicious milkshakes and the new-found confidence having made such yummy beverages brings. Milkshakes in hand, we all decided to watch Boston Legal--Melissa had never seen it--and Jeff, who had grown more comfortable with a familiar show on as background noise, started talking to Melissa. Somehow, we didn't stop talking. We stayed up almost all night talking and getting to know each other. Jeff asked Melissa to be his girlfriend eleven days later, and we've spent hardly any time apart since.
The Proposal
For some couples, a proposal comes as a complete surprise to the individual being asked. That was not the case with us. In early March 2013, after getting back from what Melissa had hoped would be an "engagement vacation" to Mexico, Melissa and Jeff started talking about marriage. Jeff, who had for a long time been reluctant to seriously discuss the subject, was surprisingly willing to discuss it that night, which made Melissa quite excited. Part of the way through the conversation, Melissa told Jeff that he didn't have to propose with a ring, in case he wanted to be spontaneous, but that she'd want to go get a cheap drugstore one to commemorate the occasion afterward. At this point Jeff got really quiet, and got a suspicious look on his face. Naturally, this prompted Melissa to obnoxiously pester him until he told her what the secret he was obviously hiding was. After quite some time, Jeff gave in and told Melissa that if he bought her a drugstore ring, then he would have bought two rings.
Melissa did not think of herself as someone who was easily rendered speechless, but Jeff's revelation did that do her. It only lasted a few moments until she buried her face in her pillow and squealed (she didn't think of herself as someone who did that either, but apparently she was wrong).
"But wait!" you might be saying now. "That was in March! Didn't you get engaged at the end of June?" Yes. Yes we did. What followed next was the longest three months of Melissa's life, also known as: The time when Jeff made a game out of hiding the ring in the house and not allowing Melissa to find it, all the while showing pictures of it to friends and family. Melissa did find the ring once, but she returned it to Jeff without opening the red box that contained it, in a show of immense self restraint.
By the beginning of May, Melissa had started to wonder if Jeff was, in fact, going to ask her, or if he was just going to continue to torment forever. It was then that Jeff told Melissa he wasn't going to ask until we had a whole weekend free, something that was easier said than done, due to terminally ill family members in both Jeff and Melissa's families. At this point, the thoughts of an engagement were pushed aside by the much more somber realities of life, and we instead focused our time around spending time with those who were dear to us while we were able to.
By the end of June, Melissa had accepted that any proposal would not come before mid July, (based on Jeff's "only on an empty weekend rule") so she decided that she would make her own "proposal plan" for when Jeff did ask her. On June 28th, she ordered him a ring, with the intention of proposing back to Jeff after he asked her. She never got the chance to do so.
On the morning of Saturday, June 29th, Melissa was in bed, trying to sleep in, when Jeff rolled over and started talking to her. It was 8 am, so Melissa was groggy and didn't catch all of what he was saying, but what she did catch was really sweet. After telling her that she made him feel like he had a family of his own, he asked her for the bottle of water she kept on her nightstand. Without looking at the nightstand, Melissa grabbed the bottle and handed it to Jeff. He took a sip, and then put the bottle on his nightstand. This might not sound odd at all, but for someone who often acts like he is magnetically repulsed by water and never wants it on his nightstand, him putting it there was weird. Melissa asked him why he didn't give it back, to which Jeff replied, "There's a lot of stuff on your nightstand." Melissa's nightstand was actually rather clean that day, as she had recently cleared it off, so she thought it was odd that Jeff would pick now, of all times, to criticize it. It was about then that the sweet things he had said earlier registered with the comment he had just made. Practically blind (she didn't have her glasses on yet), Melissa looked at her nightstand and noticed the red box she'd found once sitting open there on a pile of wedding magazines. Half asleep, and half in a daze she handed the box to Jeff, who asked her to marry him.
After accepting, Melissa told Jeff about how he had foiled her plan to reverse propose, which he thought was funny. His ring showed up a week later, and he really liked it.
Guests of Honor
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Bjorn and Ashwin - Guest of Honor
Bjorn and Ashwin, brooding outcast flouncy nobleman and vengeful zealot printing magnate (respectively).
Bridesmaids
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Sandra DeMate - Matron of Honor
Melissa met Sandra through work in 2012. Although it was a while before they got to know each other, as soon as they did they realized how much they had in common and quickly became friends. Sandra and Melissa enjoy catching up over lunch at Las Margaritas, embarking on white water rafting trips, and going ice skating together. Sandra is also fantastic at decorating for Halloween, and she always helps Melissa and Jeff get their house ready for their annual party.
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Megan Quinlan - Maid of Honor
Megan is Melissa's youngest sister, and her being maid of honor is Melissa's way of making up for all the times when they were younger that she and Jenny forced Megan to be the villain in their made-up games (kidding...sort of). Megan and Melissa share a mutual love of all things Seattle, and they always have good adventures when Megan comes up to visit, including a time when Megan narrowly evaded being kidnapped by the leader of an enemy vessel while white water rafting.
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Jenny Quinlan
Jenny is the middle of the three Quinlan sisters, and she has always been a creative, hardworking, and independent person. Melissa and Jenny are both fans of the Harry Potter series, and they went to more than one midnight book release together. Jenny is also the person Melissa gets her adventurous side from, though Jenny's thrill-seeking capabilities far exceed Melissa's (you won't see Melissa jumping out of a plane any time soon).
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Grace Borum
Melissa met Grace through Darren in 2012, and they quickly became friends. In early 2013, Grace and Darren went with Melissa and Jeff to Mexico, where they all relished the warm and sunny break from Seattle's winter gloom. Melissa and Grace enjoy watching movies, playing board games, hanging out with Grace's awesome cats, and sipping girly drinks by the pool while "Sexy Pepe" (self-titled) tries in vain to get everyone to jump in.
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Hannah - Junior Bridesmaid
Hannah is Jeff's cousin, and she is one of the most creative and outgoing people Melissa and Jeff know. Hannah has written, directed, and performed in original plays, (Jeff and Melissa may have been actors in one of them as well) and she has created numerous games for the family to play together at Thanksgiving. She is also a master cup-stacker, having once beaten Jeff at the very game he taught her (Hannah's victory dance is the best).
Groomsmen
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Ben Schwartz - Best Man
Ben started at CreateSpace in 2008, one week after Jeff. Ben and Jeff were often confused for each other, and occasionally still are, even after having known these people for years. In 2011, Ben and his then-girlfriend went to Hawaii with Jeff and Melissa. Ben had quite the adventure: he was attacked by a small fish, befriended a sea turtle, and ended the trip as a wanted man. Ben and Jeff enjoy playing video games together, trolling people, and having the occasional weekend adventure involving white water rafting and camping.
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Sean Fahey
Jeff met Sean through work in 2008. Jeff and Sean play in two D&D groups together. Bailey and Rusty adore Sean, and Sean is often kind enough to let them vacation at his house when Jeff and Melissa go out of town. Sean enjoys sushi, as well as video games, rafting, and camping along with Jeff and Ben.
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Brent Hill
Jeff met Brent through work in, wait for it, 2008. Though they shared an office, neither of them talked for weeks. Once Ben and Sean joined, we finally started socializing and quickly became friends. Brent also enjoys video games, rafting, and camping along with Jeff, Ben, and Sean.
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Amber Moore
Jeff met Amber in high school. While they didn't have many classes together, they did ditch school to go surfing and have other misadventures, such as going hiking in the middle of the night. Amber has spent the last few years working in Japan, but is finally back in the US and looking forward to visiting Seattle.
Everyone Else
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Darren Giles - Officiant
Melissa and Jeff met Darren in Santa Cruz, thanks to Jeff's internship at CreateSpace. Darren moved to Seattle a few months before Jeff and Melissa, and, after visiting him a few times, they decided to buy a house nearby. Jeff and Melissa enjoy going to Darren's house for board games, dinner, amazing apple cider, and spectacular fireworks.
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Sarah Silverman Jorgensen - Reader
Sarah is Jeff's cousin. When Jeff was little, he declared (in an essay!) that Sarah was his favorite cousin. Because of her, Jeff asked his mom for a big sister, but she declined. Sarah was so excited about Jeff and Melissa's engagement, they decided to give her a job during the ceremony.
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Cody - Ring Bearer
Cody is Jeff's cousin. Cody is always very excited when Jeff and Melissa come to visit, and always has new things to show them. He is an expert on obscure animals, especially sea creatures, and enjoys sharing his knowledge with others.
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Will - Ring Bearer
Will is Jeff's cousin, and he takes his responsibility as ring bearer very seriously. Before accepting the position, he made sure he knew what was required of him, even though he was being bribed with a large bag of candy.
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Maggie - Flower Girl
Maggie is Jeff's cousin and she's really, really cute. Some of her favorite things include her dog Potter, swimming, chasing Will around to get him to play with her, and trying to turn "one more minute" into "five more minutes."
Lodging
There is no shortage of hotels in the Seattle/Bellevue area, but only a few in Issaquah. We've set up a block of rooms at the Issaquah Hilton Garden Inn. Those of you who would like to arrive before Friday or stay after Sunday will need to call the hotel (see the number on the reservation page) to use the group code beyond the reserved dates. There is also a Holiday Inn, but they did not provide a group discount, so we did not reserve a block there.
Issaquah is relatively spread out, so we recommend renting a car. The hotel is about 30 minutes from the venue.
Venue Where is it?
The ceremony and reception will take place at Lake Wilderness Lodge, in Maple Valley, Washington.
Google has you covered with directions.
Lake Wilderness Lodge is located at 22500 SE 248th Street, Maple Valley, WA 98038.
Time When is it?
The ceremony is scheduled to start at 3:30 in the afternoon. After what Jeff hopes to be a short ceremony, Melissa and Jeff will have their pictures taken many times with every configuration of family the photographers can come up with. Meanwhile, you will enjoy an open bar. Once the photographers run out of SD card space, Melissa and Jeff will rejoin the festivities with a dance or two, followed by dinner. We expect the buffet dinner to start around 5:30.
Oh, and it's on October 18th of 2014.
Attire What do I wear?
The semiofficial term is semiformal. Since this can have many meanings, here's a rough guideline:
- Him:
- We think a suit and tie looks best, but a dress shirt and slacks are acceptable. Don't feel restricted to a white shirt, but also don't wear your Hawaiian shirt.
- Her:
- A nice dress or a dressy top with slacks or a skirt. No wedding dresses! (Melissa is wearing one and you wouldn't want to show up in the same outfit, would you?)
- Everyone:
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No jeans. They're tacky, and while we won't mock you to your face, you'll stand out as the one person who didn't wear something nicer.
Registry
For those of you who are interested, we have two registries set up. The first is a traditional registry of wedding gifts with a few quirky things thrown in for good measure. The second is our Honeyfund, which will help us have an awesome time in New Zealand later this year.
All of the photos were taken by Josh & Ali Daniels, the super awesome husband-and-wife duo behind JayLee Photography.