It was early June. I proposed under the dogwood trees in full bloom.

Whiter than paper, whiter than snow, whiter than the moon in its fullness, whiter than the clouds passing over -- I close my eyes and I can still see the dogwood trees.

Whiter than a blank page in a book, whiter than possibilty, whiter than hope, whiter than silence in winter -- The branches were heavy with ten thousand blurred white petals.

Whiter than a hospital room's emptiness, whiter than life, whiter than death, whiter than our first or last breath -- If I could count them all, all the petals, I would know what God knows. I would know why love dies.

Whiter than the snow on a mountain peak, whiter than winter breath, whiter than high winds in a white sky, whiter than foam on a breaking wave -- For hours we stood there, holding hands, in silent ceremony, praising creation, loving all the white things of the world, watching them before they blew away.

John Sakowicz

My name is kyle Pritchard. My fiance Crystal and I have been dating for 3 years now. We are both from a small town called Okanogan in Washington state. Upon completing highschool I went to community college to get certified as an auto mechanic. After one semester I decided I wasnt getting my moneys worth in training. I dropped the program and moved in with my brother in Ellensberge washington.
Keep in mind Crystal and I have not met at this point. At this time Crystal is fresh out of college working at Okanogan county behavioral health.
Now comes the part of the story where we meet. It was christmas eve 2004.
I was over at my mom and step dads house when my step brother told me his cousin was bringing a friend over. My first question was obviously "is she hot?" My brother and step brother assured me she was a goodlooking asian girl. Enough said for me.
When she walked through the door I saw a girl that had everything I look for in a girl. I wouldnt say that we hit it off that night. We both made complete fools of ourselves butIi guess thats what we were looking for.
From that point on it was alot of me showing up at her work bringing flowers and just stoping by to hug her. It eventually turned into a longterm relationship. However I still didnt have a plan or a good paying job like she did, so I made the biggest decision of my life and that was to join the navy one year into our relationship.Obviously not what your girlfriend wants to hear. Not knowing if we were going to make it through this or not I went to boot camp.
After boot camp we remained together and I got stationed in Washington DC at the Ceremonial Guard. After one year of being in Washington DC and Crystal coming to visit me every 3 months. I made a new biggest decision of my life. I was going to ask Crystal to marry me.
I baught the ring and went home on leave for the new years. Since we werent together for christmas we decided to have stockings for eachother when I got home. At the very bottom of her stocking I put a small box with the ring. Before she opend it i was already on my knee in front of her. She imediatley started crying and I Popped the question. But I didnt get an answer because she was crying. Thats when I got scared thinking it was going to be a no. but she said yes.
All of this happend with her dad in the room who is a world war II vet. A man who was on Iwo Jima and a man who I prayed would want me to take care of his daughter forever. Nervouse doesnt describe what I was feeling. It turns out her father missed the whole thing because he was watching the history channel.
Its now Feb. 7 2007 and our wedding is scheduled for Feb. 24th of this month. It will be back home in a northern cascade mountain resort. Its going to be beautiful. We are here to tell you that the stories of long distance relationships being very hard are the truth. But we also know that it is possible if you love eachother.

I knew when I was 11 years old that he would one day be my husband.
Patience, life experience, and time where all that stood between us.
Distant friends throughout Jr. High, High School, and College, we always dated someone else, and were involved in different "clicks" of friends...but when we were together, nothing else in the room existed. Our humor, our intellect, even our looks were a perfect match. I married another and had two little girls. He came to my house and held my first when she was but a few days old. That he would be her father was a laughable fantasy at the time that I still can't believe has come true. He moved out of state after college and I became a miserable house-wife destined for divorce. For years the song "Fire and Rain" brought tears to my eyes out of fear of never seeing him again and having the opportunity to finally confess my love to him. Fate intervened when I was 26 and we were thrown together once again.
He was living just a few hours from me and drove to see me the first chance he could. I finally told him that night of my feelings and was overjoyed to hear him say that he felt the same. Within 3 months we were living together and he was suddenly (and happily I should add) the father of a 3 and 4 year old. For his birthday I invited all of his friends and family from our hometown to a surprise party for him (he was working and depressed that he wouldn't be seeing his family). Before he left for work that morning, as he was showering, I knelt beside the tub and placed my hand behind the curtain...in it I held an intricately woven silver ring I had been saving for. "Be my husband," I asked as he opened the curtain, his eyes brimming with tears. "Can I wear it now or do I have to wait?" he asked and we both laughed. "I think we've waited long enough," I said as I hugged him. When he came home that night he was shocked and happy to find all of his friends and family there, but the ring that he wore was all he spoke of. That was in November of 2001. We were married December 11, 2001...just a month later. It's five years later and we bond more each day. Life apart is unthinkable for either of us or our two little girls, now 9 and 10. While other people may have storybook engagement stories involving elaborate proposals, I would choose no other way. You see, boarding the roller coaster is the easiest part of the ride, and in many ways the most terrifying, but it's the ups and downs you go through together that make it all worth it in the long run.

My husband and I have been married for almost fourteen years. We've been through it all-the heartbreak and the heartfelt. Our engagement story is one that truly showed the love and dedication my future husband would have for me in the later years.

It all began when my then, boyfriend or "little friend" as my mother referred to him were down in Houston, Texas where I was teaching in the Public School System. We had been dating since the winter of 1990, the second semester of my senior year at college where we met. When he graduated from undergrad (1991), he wanted to take some time off before entering into medical school so he came down to Texas as well. That was the first sign that he was the one for me. We, there, continued our dating episode for another year before deciding to "pop the question."

My father had been ill with skin cancer for 13 years and despite the emotional rollercoaster my family as well as myself were on my "boyfriend" still continued to devote himself to our relationship. Then in 1992, the same year my dad began to really worsen healthwise, Chad (my future husband) prepared a beautiful and delicious candlelit dinner for the two of us, called my parents during the dinner to ask their permission and then bent down on one knee and asked me to marry him. My father's voice I could hear in the background telling my mother he wouldn't have it any other way but seeing us married.

My dream did come true of having a wonderfully caring husband and a beautiful 14 month old son but unfortunately, my father was unable to make it that long. I will always remember the day before our wedding my father saying not to cancel anything and reminding me that he "wouldn't have it any other way." He did pass away the night before our wedding which was very bittersweet but the years to come with my fabulous husband and 14 month old have been spectacular!

Thank you for your invitation! I would love to share my engagement story.

My dear husband and I met my seniour year in college. Our engagement night was unforgettable, he drove me up to the tallest mountain peak where we had a wonderful dinner and danced to a candle light and music. We were the happiest people at that moment in time, even though both of us were so poor and didn't know how we would be able to afford the wedding. My engagement ring was a CZ ring but it was very special because it came with a lot of love and effort.

Next day I was waiting in my student apartment for my husband to come so we can go out to lunch to celebrate our engagement, when all of a sudden one of his friends barged into my apartment and said something bad has happened and I needed to come. We arrived at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center to find my fiancee in the emergency room covered in blood and doctors hovering over him. He got hit by a car while on his motorcycle and was thrown 25 feet in the air and landed on his head. We spent 1 week at the hospital where he underwent a very dangerous surgery operating on his brain. The doctors expected a memory loss and loss of certain motor functions but to our blessings, he came out fine from the surgery, remembering even minor details from the classes he took 2 semesters ago!

Following the accident we had to prepare for the wedding for which we had to pay 100% ourselves, plus we had the burden of medical bills from the accident. I remember our first Christmas, we couldn't afford a Chrismas tree so somebody left it on our doorstep. This time, although very hard, had made us grow closer together and rely on each other in times of trouble.

For our 5 year anniversary my husband told me to pack lightly because we were going somewhere warm. I didn't know where till the gentleman at the airline counter handed me the boarding pass and said 'Enjoy your stay in Cancun!". We had an unforgettable time together and to top if all off my husband surprised me with a real diamond ring while on vacation.

Thanks-

Carine