It's Official...

We have always joked that we have been dating for so long-ish. In other words, there was a definite gray area as to when we started dating. Things were casual, they almost ended, then things got back on track. There was a drunken ultimatum of sorts, a nervous dinner at Codo, and then we were just Tiff and Ian. We were together. Well, isn't it fitting, after 2.5-ish years, we were officially engaged on December 23rd... -ish! It was late at night on the 23rd, but could have been past midnight, making it the 24th. I am going to stick with the 23rd, the day I returned from Europe.

Codo has since turned into 'our place', and Ian proposed over Codo take-out, after my flight home from a 2 month work trip was delayed by 12 hours, ruining his planned proposal AT Codo. But, when it was all said and done, it was perfect! It was so... us! Casual, fun, unexpected, romantic, even a bit silly. Bottom line, it was official! We have been planning the wedding, unconventionally and nontraditionally, for more than a couple of months, so the proposal itself wasn't a surprise. This is probably something Ian would wish to change, but for me, somewhat of an anti-surprise-est, it was perfect. We made a conscious, thought-out decision, as adults, to spend the rest of our lives together. This process of making smart, educated decisions, after evaluating options and weighing the pros/cons, is one I am a firm believer in. So it is no surprise to most people in our lives, that I have become a bride, and Ian has become a groom, on purpose. And one thing that's really great about this decision being formalized by an engagement ring, is that we can continue with our wedding planning, out of the closet!! It has been a secret mission for the most part, and now we can have fun with the details, get help from our friends and families, and enjoy the whole process with our wedding vip's (read: me and my girls have that many more reasons to drink champagne while scouring for the perfect pair of heels!!)

Oh ya, and one more really fun perk... looking at my gorgeous engagement ring... image courtesy of www.shopsimong.com