Julie and Matt
Here's Matt's entry:
So here is our fairy tale, as unusual as it may be! Keep in mind this is coming from the male point of view so I can hopefully surprise my bride to be. Do to this fact I'm sure that I am wrong at some point in this essay. Boy meets Girl in college. Boy and Girl really hit it off and date for about a year. Girl then graduates and moves far far away so we agree to go our separate ways.
Typically that would be the end of the story, but not for us.
You see there were several factors at play. First of all, we both felt completely comfortable with one another and that feeling never went away. We could always be ourselves and didn't take anything too serious. Secondly, even though we drifted apart for several years,she and my mother always stayed in contact. This is because, like most fairy tales there is always a sad part. Julie's mother and father both passed away while Julie was in college, so my mother happily took over the mother roll for her. It was this action that kept Julie connected to my life in some way.
As the years went by I became a police officer and she moved back to Virginia. It had be years since we talked directly but one day she heard of a fellow officer being killed and reached out to make sure I was okay. This brief conversation opened the proverbial flood gates and more and more phone conversations took place. We finally decided to meet up, and within the first five minutes of seeing her again, I knew I would marry her.
Soon after that meeting I began to plan my proposal. Come to find out it took a year to get it just right. You see, she had joined me in my love of being out on the water, so I felt there was no better spot than out on a boat on the Fourth of July under the fireworks. My proposal went perfectly to plan except for the part where she was so caught off guard her first words to me were, "What are you doing!?!?" When she finally was quiet long enough for me to ask her to marry me, she said nothing. This silence lasted what felt like hours until she realized she hadn't given an answer. After this long pause she exclaimed, "Of course!"
So now I get to, why we need this dream wedding. As a police officer I am not a man of wealth nor is she in her career. We are planning a humble ceremony for we can not afford anything extravagant. With her parents gone, my bride does not get to have her father giver her away or her mother make her wedding dress. I want her to have the wedding she deserves and this contest is the only way I can make that happen. It doesn't take away from the fact that she cant share her special day with her parents but I want them to look down and see how happy she is on our special day.
As you see there were some ups and downs just like any relationship but in the end Julie is the perfect end to my fairy tale. Please help me surprise my bride with the wedding of a lifetime!
CBS 6 and the Richmond Wedding Experienceare giving Julie and Matt a "Wedding in a Week" with the help of our team of wedding professionals. From the dress to the reception and everything in between. The wedding is valued at more than $20,000! Plus, the wedding will be broadcast LIVE on "Virginia This Morning" Friday, Jan. 22.
And don't miss the Richmond Wedding Experience Sunday, Feb. 14 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
