She Said Yes

Courtney and me at my reception

Last week, the first of my close college friends got engaged! In fact, she is the first one of my close friends in general to get married and I'm thrilled and so happy for her.

Courtney was one of the very first friends I made at Notre Dame. We happened to be in three classes together freshman year, and after recognizing each other over and over that first week we began to meet regularly for coffee. Over peppermint mochas and pumpkin spice lattes (our college town's perpetual cold and snowy weather begs for these cozy drinks) we got to know each other really well, and helped each other through so many new emotions and new experiences. Those deep talks morphed into one of the best friendships I've ever had.

Courtney's engagement is especially exciting for me because she and I have been gabbing about getting married since we were 18. So many of those long talks in the Starbucks on campus revolved around the men in our lives, dresses and engagement rings, future husbands, homes, and love. On a few occasions, we huddled together around one of our laptops and gazed at diamond rings online, and probably scared a few of the college boys around us. As a wedding gift, Courtney gave us a set of mugs and attached the sweetest note. She said she realized that my husband and I have the chance to have our own coffee dates, just like the ones she and I used to have all the time, each and every morning for the rest of our lives. It was such a beautiful way for her to tell me how much our talks meant to her and to encourage my husband and me to carry on the tradition.  

Courtney was one of my bridesmaids and the night before my wedding, she stayed in the guest room in my parents' house. When we got back from the rehearsal dinner and I said goodnight to my parents and brothers, Courtney and I sat on the bed together and became teary-eyed as we talked and laughed and reminisced, remembering all the hopes and dreams we had shared so openly with each other through the years, and in awe that one of us was on the brink of that long-awaited and much talked-over day. Now, it's Courtney's turn, and I pray that her wedding day and her marriage are as happy and perfect as she has always dreamed they would be. 

Congratulations, Courtney!

Here she is right before the wedding, listening carefully to something I'm saying and looking like a very dutiful (not to mention beautiful) bridesmaid.