Introduction and a Little Story

Today is a momentous day - not only is it exactly one year until the day we get married, I’m also celebrating that by posting my first blog entry! On this blog, I’ll talk about everything wedding planning – from honoring tradition in a Jewish ceremony to putting together the perfect and uniquely “us” reception to navigating the world of wedding planning from behind my desk at TheKnot.com.

Yes that’s right; I work at TheKnot.com on our public relations team. It’s truly a dream job and I love every second of it. But how will it affect my planning? Will my insider information be a lifesaver or a burden? I’m guessing it’ll be a little of both, but only time will tell and you’re coming with me on the journey!

So to begin, I’ll start at the beginning. If you’re a friend, bear with me, you may have already heard this story, but it’s one worth repeating (I think, at least). This is the story of the night we got engaged…

I’ll start by telling you that my fiancé Oren is just perfect. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a man and so so so much more. I know every girl in love and about to get married probably says stuff like this and its cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less true. What makes Oren so perfect in this instance is just how much he considered what would make me happy when he proposed (other than that he was proposing, of course).

The date: September 24, 2011. The place: Oren’s house.

My parents and sister were in town visiting and we were going to Oren’s house so our families could meet each other for the first time. Serious business. After arriving and getting settled, Oren was helping his mom bring the food to the table. As we all sat, she realized she forgot something and asked Oren to go grab it. He handed me a serving spoon, put on oven mitts and brought a casserole dish to the trivet next to me on the table.

After that, he just kind of looked at me and I thought that he couldn’t grip the knob with the oven mitts. After quickly touching the top, I realized the pot wasn’t even hot. At this point, Oren just decided to lift the lid himself (I found out later, I was supposed to have lifted it).

Inside was a ring box! It took me quite a while to process exactly what was going on. But my mom says once I realized I turned bright red like a tomato (I do that often), and all I could say was “Seriously?” until finally Oren’s mom said “Yes, seriously!”

Back to my original thought about how perfect Oren is. He really considered that I would want to celebrate with my parents and sister immediately too, so he chose a night that would be special for both of our families. To top it off, the casserole dish has a special meaning too – it belonged to his grandmother. Aww! So yea, he’s a keeper.

Now that you know how it all started, I can’t wait to have you join me as we go through the planning process.

Until next time (when I explain the meaning behind Love & Latkes)!

Here’s to love...and latkes,
Steph