The Boy

Thanks for getting this shot, Lauren!

I have entertained the idea of marrying Chris since I was a teenager, but only within the last three years has it begun to look like anything more than a fantasy. We grew up going to the same church, but we didn’t know each other very well until we went on a two week mission trip to Russia. Most of the kids my age were going on a similar trip to Mexico at the same time, but, wanting to be a little bit different, I decided on whim to go to Russia instead. I'm not totally sure why I thought that spending a chunk of my summer in the Urals with a bunch of grownups instead of in the Mexican sun with friends my own age was a better idea, but I'm happy with the result.

I had a terrible (okay, not life-threatening, but ugly and swollen) reaction to the mosquitoes in Russia and only remember much of the trip through a Benedril haze. Chris was the closest person to my age, and he ended up keeping me company when I was worn out from double doses (language barrier!) of antihistamines. We spent a good deal of the trip hanging out and discovered that we had a lot in common, like the same favorite band and very similar brands of snarky humor, among other things. I was smitten.

Back in the US, Chris and I went back to our respective high schools and didn't see each other much until fate (or was it in-state tuition?) stepped in, and we both started at University of Oregon at the same time. Throughout college we developed a friendship that occasionally threatened to cross the line from platonic to romantic, but always ended up back at platonic. We both dated other people, but that never quite took. I don’t know how many times my friends told me to let it go. I tried to move on, but like I said, it didn’t take. I knew we were right together, and I just had to wait for him to figure it out.

Finally, in our last year of school, we got together for real. We spent most of our senior year as a couple, and we've been living together for the last two years. On October 6th, after lovely evening walk with our puppy, Omar, Chris asked me to marry him. I was so excited that it took me a minute to remember to say "yes."

Which brings us back to THE Dress.