An Eight-Legged Hello!

AAAIIEEEEEEEE!!!! Hive, I cannot tell you how freaking giddy I am to be here! I have been an avid Weddingbee reader for a looooong time, and I am so excited to now have the chance to share my wedding with all of you! First things first, I guess I better introduce Mr. Octopus and myself.

Barely a month into my freshman year of college, my best friend dragged me to a grimy frat party because there was a guy there that she was absolutely sure I would like. She had met him in the university marching band (he was a tenor saxophonist, incidentally) and had been telling me about him for weeks, swearing up and down that he was just my type. I really didn't want to go to the party because it would mean changing out of the ginormous pair of sweatpants I was wearing, but she was persuasive. I gave in, put some real pants on, and went. Unbeknownst to us, it was a toga party, and I showed up in a pink polo shirt. I felt pretty awkward, but my best friend was insistent, and she made the introduction between us.

Well, seven years later, I'm marrying the toga-clad wonder I met that night (and the friend who introduced us is a bridesmaid!). Although neither of us are from southwestern Pennsylvania, we met at our beloved alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, dated there for four years, and hope to live there permanently in the not-very-distant future, so getting married there was a natural choice. We're having a wedding that I hope will be fun, whimsical, joyful, and beautiful!

We have had an adventurous life together so far--after college in Pittsburgh, we moved to Las Vegas for three years, then moved back to the East Coast. We are now currently living in fabulous Boston, MA!

I love random facts, so here are a few pieces of trivia to help you get to know my groom and me: He loves The Simpsons, the Steelers, video games, microbrewed beer, hot dogs, and any kind of pirate mythology. His two greatest fears are Bigfoot and natural disasters. As for me, I have a crippling sweet tooth and take a lot of guilty pleasure in celebrity gossip magazines. My all-time favorite television show is My So-Called Life and autumn is my favorite season (hello, September wedding!). I am so compulsively organized that I can't eat M&Ms until I put them in rainbow order and I'm a sucker for top 40 pop music. Current fave? Taylor Swift.

Finally, a few pictures:




These were taken in the midst of the second cross-country move we've undertaken together, when we stopped for a few days in Chicago! (source: me.)

Oh, and why Miss Octopus? Two reasons: 1.) LOOK HOW ADORABLE!!! and 2.) Mr. Octopus is a huuuuuge comic book nerd. Ten points to anyone who makes the connection!