This weekend Kristina and I traveled with her folks down to south-western Virginia for her cousins wedding. We left early Friday morning and it took about 6 hours to get there from the DC area. Our drive was complete just before the snow started falling as we pulled up to our hotel in Pounding Mill, Virginia. What made this trip out of the ordinary is the fact that the largest winter storm of the decade was making its way towards us.
The wedding was supposed to start at 6 but the snow had been coming down all afternoon making for some slick conditions. The snow might have changed some plans, but it didn’t stop everyone for having a good time. Lindsay and her now-husband Luke went ahead with the ceremony. The ceremony was beautiful and the couple even managed to get some pictures together outside in the snow. Of course this was the end of the night and the snow was a good 6 inches deep.
The next morning we took in the view from the hotel room and started our voyage back home.
We didn’t get too far as the roads were still rough as the storm progressed northward to Maryland. Interstate 81 was backed up for miles and we passed dozens of abandoned cars; some of which were in the middle of the road. After being on the road from 9:30am to shortly before 5pm, we had gone a whopping 121 miles. We pulled off in Salem, Virginia, at a hotel for the night where I’m writing this thanks to the free wifi. Its back on the road tomorrow to complete the rest of our journey. I hear there is 21 inches of snow waiting at home in Glenmont!
Last Saturday I picked out and purchased my wedding dress at Brides Against Breast Cancer. Brides Against Breast Cancer is a non-profit organization that sells discounted wedding dresses to benefit the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation. I was able to not only find my wedding dress there, but I found a veil and tiara to match. I found out about the event in an article in The Washington Times which went on to explain “Brides Against Breast Cancer gowns typically sell for $400 to $800, a fraction of the retail price. Some gowns are worth as much as $8,000 … Many brides are looking for a deal, as well as a way to help someone. “ Finding my wedding dress is truly the icing on my wedding cake. Oh yeah cake … I still have a lot more planning to do!
This is just half of the dresses they brought to the event at The Westin Hotel in Arlington, VA.
This is my Mom getting my dress, veil and tiara! The man in the back is putting my dress in the protective cover! NO peeking!
I got my wedding dress and we helped Brides Against Breast Cancer! ( From Left to Right: Me, my Mom and Dad)
So after 7 years of being together, I finally popped the question to my girlfriend Kristina. I got a call from the jewelers this morning that the ring was ready. I left work early to trek from Georgetown, D.C., to Columbia, Maryland. On the way I got in touch with Kristina’s roommate to coordinate the video/photo taking so we would have this moment recorded.
After I picked up the ring I stopped by her parents house to get their approval. They were shocked but happy for our forthcoming engagement. I also swung by my parents house to give them a preview. Finally I made it down to Kristina’s apartment in College Park where apparently she was asleep. I snuck into Kristina’s roommates room while we coordinated our plan. Then Kristina called me on my cell phone! I rushed to her roommates bathroom and pretended that I was home at my apartment. She totally took the bait.
While she was on her computer checking e-mail, the time was right to strike. I knocked on her door and then got down on one knee. See for yourself:
As you can see she had no idea what was coming and she said YES! We’ll be starting our own blog at RussellAndKristina.com or KristinaAndRussell.com. I own both of them but we still need to formulate our design. We spent the rest of the night calling friends and family and sharing our joyous news.
