A week of nearly wedded bliss

One week ago today, my life changed forever, and so did Georges', because he asked me to marry him. Which is a very pleasant surprise -- feeling like something has changed in this way -- considering we pretty much knew we were heading in this direction after the first week of our relationship, and started actually discussing it out loud after the first month. Some people think six months is "too soon" to be planning a wedding, but when you're "of a certain age" I think you should be given some credit for knowing yourselves and what's right for you. And we've known this was a done deal for a very long time.

So it's really funny how this little ritual of asking and affirming has taken our relationship to an even deeper level. There are things we are still learning about each other after "only" six months, of course. For instance, he didn't know that in my family, I'm called "Lee" instead of "Lisa", and he discovered this after listening to me call my sister to tell her the news, and saying "Hi, it's Lee". I don't even think much about it, but there are only three people on earth that call me this: my mother, my sister, and now my brother-in-law who seems to have picked up the family habit after being around us for over 20 years.

Yet every day this past week, we keep having these frequent moments of stopping whatever we happen to be doing, and just looking into each other's eyes, and then saying something like, "My bride" or "Mon mari" as we try our new titles on for size. Friday night we attended a friend's wedding and I got to introduce Georges as my fiancé for the first time, and don't think THAT wasn't a real trip!

To fill in some of the blanks for those of you who have asked or wondered:

• Yes, I answered his question in both French and English. Since he asked me in both languages I thought it was only fair, although I think the most French I could manage in that moment, through my happy tears, was "Oui, mon coeur".
• We will be married on Saturday, July 12th, at my sister's home in New Jersey. Very small, intimate gathering of about 20-30 family and close friends with a relaxed party afterward.
• A very good friend of mine is going to officiate. This makes it extra special as neither Georges nor I are religious, so we don't want to have it at an actual church... but my friend is an ordained interfaith minister and will custom-design the ceremony with us.
• Since we are doing the official bit in New Jersey and none of our French/Parisian family and friends can be there, we are planning to do a party of some kind in September after summer holidays are over. I'm hoping to video the ceremony so we can show it at this party.
• We will do the vows in both English and French, though. My friend has a very good French accent so she'll have no problem helping us pull this off.
• I do not plan to wear white, or even off-white. And no big formal poofy merengue-type thing, either... it's just not me and at 47 there is no reason to act the princess. If I can find the right dress, I'm thinking of wearing red, and something low-cut. a dress I can wear out to another occasion some time. I already bought the shoes though (photos to follow)!

There are many more details to work on so I"ll share as we go along. In the meantime, I'm going back into our little bubble for a while, where life feels wonderful, and love just grows and grows.

Comments

[Katia]

Oh, I hope there will be a fantabulous party in Paris ;)
Doing it in French and English is a good idea - we did a little bit of that for ours :)
And I didn't wear anything white or meringuey either. I just couldn't imagine it! I think that it's fine for those people who feel that it's important, but it's also a little restricting. Red is a great idea :)

[Stacy]

Yes, a bold color for a bold soul... also the color of the rose that symbolizes romantic love... the color of passion... definitely a thumbs-up on red. Have fun making plans!

[Leah]

Can't remember if I've commented before(so many blogs, so little time!) But I've been reading for a bit now and following your love story with Georges and I just wanted to say congratulations and best of luck with your upcoming wedding!

[Patricia]

Somehow the fact that you have a date and firm plans has impressed me even more than the news of the engagement - let's face it, that wasn't totally unexpected, was it? ;0)
I wish you smooth sailing for all the long-distance planning and look forward to hearing more details when you are ready.

[La Rêveuse]

Yay!

And I can't wait to see the shoes...

[Mary]

Joy! I, too, became a bride at a 'certain age,' and, NO, 6 months is NOT too soon. The older you get, the more you know exactly what you want and will make you happy.

The moment I laid eyes on my husband, I told a fried, "That is the man I am going to marry!" She almost fell on the ground with laughter and replied, "You don't even know his name." But I soon knew every inch of him...and 27 years later, bliss still!

Enjoy each and every moment. -m

[Doris]

Yes, and boldly Lisa! Make those plans that please you both and will make you even more happy if that is possible. Keep us posted because we're with you every step and picture.

[Nancy]

What a wonderful love story:) I do enjoy reading your blog and wish you all the happiness:)

It's been nine years since I got married and I didn't wear white. I was 23 and wore a summer dress that I still wear out on occasion to this day.

[Alain Q.]

Do you also plan to have your marriage registered with the French authorities ?
This could prove to be useful later on...

[The Bold Soul]

Alain Q: Yes, we do. In fact, it's a must for some of the other paperwork we need to do, so we will go to the French Consulate in New York (the nearest one to my New Jersey home) with our American wedding license and they will register it, translate it into the Acte de Mariage and also provide us with the Livret de Famille. So, we will be all "correct" and properly married/registered on both sides of the pond!

[Linda]

What fun you will have planning your wedding. A red dress-like the poppies-sounds really great. I have a friend who married her Frenchman after 3 months and they are still going strong after 17 years. Maurice and I dated for two years with a year off in between. I can't even remember how long we were engaged-I'm not much of a romantic, obviously.