So I crushed the proposal. Absolutely nailed it. Though, after announcing this to the whole world nobody seemed to notice the spark, that initial amazing spark that lit this 5 alarm proposal fire. Nope, I received the obligatory congratulations which was
immediately followed by, "when's the date?" The date? I thought incredulously!?! After hunting down/buying the perfect ring, designing a romantic proposal, and managing to get her to say "yes" I figured it would be all champaign and caviar dreams for a couple of months/years, you know, smooth sailing. But no, that insesent nursery rhythm began echoing in my mind, "first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage." The wedding date questions inundated us. Not that I am opposed to getting married, obviously, but this pace was unexpected. And.. nearly all of my remaining single undergraduate friends all got engaged within 2-3 weeks of my own proposal. But Emily, being of strong character, determined our date and set out looking for sweet locations. We both truly wanted an Alaskan wedding. What marvels, magic, and misadventures we planned to share with our guests in the last frontier. However, it turns out that my little town is just that, a little town that is too small to support the splendor that we imagined our wedding to be. So we decided that a Northwest wedding would be our spectacle, our ode to our upbringings, and a glimpse to our friends and family of the environment we envision living. We chose Kitsap Memorial State Park.
The park offers beautiful natural surroundings of 300 foot trees, sweeping views of Hood Canal, and a rustic CCC lodge from the early 1930's. But here is where the story really begins....
As with any wedding venue, we were not the only ones wanting a summer wedding at this site, but being on the other side of the country presented a slight problem for securing a date. Luckily we had Sam and Mary Jo Eck on the case. After exhaustive research they discovered that on the specific opening registration date we could call in our request but in-person requests were always honored first. The ranger cabin opened at 8am. So the Eck clan set out the day before and lo and behold there were already other power couples/parents milling around looking to obtain
their magical dates too. That evening a ranger came out and literally shoo'd everyone away from the ranger office stating that, "we can't allow non-campers to be hanging around this station waiting to get wedding dates." Begrudgingly, the Ecks, a mountain climbing couple, a world class running fiancee, a bridezilla, and several other competitors slinked cautiously away from the cabin and hovered at the minimum allowable distance waiting to pounce. At one point the bridezilla turned to Mary Jo and while glaring she stated, "I'm going to get first in line even if I have to throw some elbows". The day dragged on slowly, poor Mary Jo needed a recharge and sought refuge behind a dumpster for a quick power nap.
The ranger, sensing the tension in the air, casually inform the bloodthirsty participants that he would be clocking out at 10pm, at which time the attendants could form the, "official line". Just as the ranger made his way out of the office around 10pm, climbed into his white pickup truck and cast one last furtive glance at the conspicuous group of solicitors attempting to look as inconspicuous as possible, before starting his car and driving out of the park.
As soon as his taillights disappeared around the bend; It. Was. On. Full grown, educated, and normally pleasant adults devolved to a childlike state as the made an all-out dash for the ranger cabin. Mary Jo, bridezilla, the mountain climbing couple, and the world class runner were in the lead. Though the sprint lasted mere seconds across the small parking lot, time seemed to standstill. It was an all out war; tripping, tackling, biting, and various other means were utilized to gain ground towards the those few golden front-of-the-line positions. Bridezilla Nancy Kerrigan'd the world class runner early which slowed her down just enough for Mary Jo and the young 20-something-year-old to take the lead. Long legs churning furiously, Mary Jo was head-to-head with this double iron-man olympic athlete. But his many years of training and stretch-armstrong-like arms paid dividends in the final legs of the race as he threw himself in a kamikaze-like manner forwards snatching victory merely nanoseconds ahead of Mary Jo who arrived for the silver place. Nearly collapsing with exhaustion and with sweat pouring from her brow Mary Jo was met by Sam who sauntered up with his lawn chair, and plopped down next to her to further stake their claim.
Sam came well prepared, he wore layers and brought stacks of sophisticated literature to past the time. I believe it was the coldest night, for that specific date, in recorded history. Mary Jo found shelter in her Prius while Sam endured the elements all night.
The following morning Sam still sitting vigilantly, shook off the frosted morning dew and stood to greet the refreshed looking ranger as he walked towards the motley crew shaking his head in knowing exasperation. Needless to say, we got our wedding date set.
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