The Bridal Party!! (Tara's side)

Here's a brief description of my half of the bridal party, so you can begin to picture them in beautiful bridesmaids dresses. Um.....just not in a creepy way, k?

MATRON-OF-HONOR

Melissa Miranda Sabbagh

I really hate using the word "matron", it sounds, well, motherly. I prefer the term "Maid-of-Honor", but alas, Melissa is married, and, a mother, so I guess "Matron" it is. Melissa has been my best friend since high school. We were brought together by a mutual friend, Donna, who was best friends with Melissa's sister, Erica. The four of us spent most of high school pretty much attached at the hips. I could fill this page with tons of inside jokes, but that seems unfair to anyone who isn't Mel. I'll just include one small one that a couple of people may get, "Is it wet or is it cold???" Now, back to things that interest the rest of you.....The picture on the left shows Melissa, her husband, Basel, and their two beautiful children, Eva Marie and Julian. Julian appears camera shy here, but he is a chunk of adorableness if I've ever seen one. Unfortunately, Melissa and I will not share my birthday together for at least 16 more years, as her amazing daughter was born on my birthday two years ago, but I could not have asked for a better present. :) One small random bit of info - Mel and I both met our husbands at Willowbrook Mall. Ah.....Willowbrook Mall - a place for lovers!

BRIDESMAIDS

Lea Hoffman

Lea and I also met at Willowbrook Mall (this will be a recurring theme.....). She worked for the WBM Hot Topic, whilst I worked at the Garden State Plaza location. We would see each other occasionally at Assistant Manager meetings, or if either one of us would go shopping at the other's store. Then in June of 2003 I was promoted and transferred to the Willowbrook location. Here is where our friendship blossomed. Lea became not just a co-worker, but a lifelong friend. Her compassion, honesty and sense of humor are things I envy (in the good way, not the crazy jealous way) :) Lea is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to competitive board and DVD games, just don't give her a taboo card that reads bonzai. Or was it Bosnia? :)


Elizabeth O'Donnell

Elizabeth, or Beth, as we call her, is the newest addition to my crew of friends, as well as family. She is my brother Sean's fiance (they got engaged on February 23rd). She makes Sean so happy, and that, in turn, makes me happy. I want only the best for my "little" brother, and he sure found it. Beth fit in with our family incredibly easily (which says a lot! ha! we're a wacky bunch...) and is bringing an amazing family along with her to join ours. Beth also took it upon herself to make a trip, all alone, using NJ Transit, to meet up with me and her fellow bridesmaids. THAT is a heroic effort, if I've ever seen one :) I can't wait to finally have a sister!!!!

Maraley Santos

Mara and I go waaaay back - almost 10 years, where we met while working at dELiA*s, at......wait for it..........the Willowbrook Mall! Mara was a fresh faced recent HS graduate, while I was an almost 22 year old, looking to do something else with my life besides make pizza (which is funny, since I've spent the past 2 years serving it...but that's besides the point......). We immediately hit it off and I haven't looked back since. Mara is my Puerto Rican Princess, plain and simple, and there's no one who can take her place. She sat next to me while I bawled my eyes out watching Brokeback Mountain, and suffered through an aching shin after being hit with a beer can at one of Chuck's band's shows. Mara is there for me whenever I need her, just don't challenge her to a Janis Joplin sing off at karaoke - she'll kick your butt and good!

Toni Ann Raissis Topps

The funny thing about Toni and I is that neither of us remembers how we became friends, it just sort of happened, but when I told both Chuck and my mom that I was asking Toni to be in the wedding party, they both said, "of course you are!!!" as if there was no other option! I think if I didn't ask her, they both would have done it for me! Toni and I spent many evenings with our friends B! and Erica (the same Erica who is Melissa's sister) in the parking lots of Dunkin' Donuts and Baja Fresh (which was a lot more fun and not nearly as trashy as it sounds. Seriously). She was known throughout Hot Topic as "Pregnant Toni", and can still be referred to as such, even though her son Alex (the adorable boy she is kissing in the picture) is over 3 years old now. :) Oh! and if Bon Jovi is in town, you will find Toni and I there (next date - May 29th).

Dana Vorbach

Dana is, by far, my oldest friend. We have been friends since 4th grade (9 years old). Even though she has spent most of the past 10 years living in Florida (and now Denver), she is still one of the most important people in my life. It's really hard to come by friends at such a young age that stick with you throughout life. In fact, she is really the only one I have. Sure, I keep in touch with others (thanks, Facebook!) but Dana is the only one that I continually speak to and see. Let's see - Dana and I have traveled to Aruba and Florida together, and she has made trips out to Vegas and San Francisco to see me, as well as surprise other friends (Mel O. and Scott - that's for you). I bet if I were to call Dana up right now and said, "Detroit. 2 weeks. I'll see you there", she'd sure as hell be at the airport to meet me. Any time, any place, Dana will be there, and when she shows up, you're guaranteed a good time. It means the world to me that she said yes when I asked her to be in my wedding party, and I can't wait to see her again!

Cat Wdowiak

Last, but not least is Cat. Oh Cat......the little sister I never had. Cat and I met at Garden State Plaza (not quite Willowbrook, but a celebrated NJ mall none the less). Cat used to work next to Hot Topic at dELiA*s (a mere coincidence, even though I used to work at the Willowbrook location, I had left the company before Cat worked there). She would come into HT to shop and I always said to myself, "why is that adorable girl with the glitter eye shadow working for dELiA*s and NOT HT???) As luck would have it, Cat quit dELiA*s and I immediately went into stalker mode (I'm quite good at that...) and spoke to one of the managers there to get Cat's info. I called Cat at home and said, "Hi Cathy! (this was before I learned she preferred to be called "Cat") This is Tara. I'm an Assistant Manager at HT at GSP - do you want a job?" and the rest is history. Cat and I have a lot in common - she's a vegan, I'm a vegetarian; we both love a LOT of the same music, as varied as it is (LL Cool J, Ben Jelen, Dashboard Confessional, Jay Z, etc.....); Veggie Heaven; Starbucks; the list goes on and on. What I love most about Cat is her constant optimism and her incredible outlook on life. Cat can show up in the same room as you, flash that amazing smile, and no matter how badly your day has been going, you immediately know that it has gotten better, thanks to her. You'll see it at the wedding. Her smile will light up the entire room.

And there you have it! Those are my girls!
Now......maybe Chuck will do one for the gents...

The Proposal

For those who have been asking, here's how it all went down.....
Chuck and I were heading over to our friend Stu's for NYE. We were hanging out, eating, drinking, having a good time amongst friends. Stu and company have this great NYE tradition to celebrate "out with the old, in with the new" after the ball drops, where the oldest person at the party leaves the house first, followed by everyone else there, and the last person out of the house is the youngest. So there we are, all running around the outside of Stu's house (Chuck, for the record was the first one out, which also made him the last one in, as the youngest person becomes the first one in - get it???). We get back inside, music is playing (courtesy of Stu's iPod and playlist), drinking has commenced, and I am having an incredibly random conversation with our friend Dave Trainer about my inability to snap well. All of a sudden, Mr. Brightside by The Killers comes on. Little known fact - this song is unofficially "our song". This is a song that came out when we first started hanging out, and seemed to always be on one of our radios while we were talking to each other, and just reminds us of each other. So, when the song came on, I turned to Chuck and said, "Awwww.....Mr. Brightside!!" and then he says, "Yeah...Mr. Brightside....." Next thing I know, he's taking off his glasses, his hat, and is getting down on on knee. He is holding out the most beautiful engagement ring I had ever seen (ok, I may be biased.....) and says, "I love you SO much. Will you marry me?" Of course, I said yes. :) It was absolutely perfect. I couldn't have asked for it to happen any other way. Oh! And just in case you didn't realize it, Stu was in on the whole plan (hence Mr. Brightside was playing). AND Stu is also going to be the officiant at our wedding.
This is Chuck and Stu, chit chatting away, before the deal went down. If you look closely, you can see the ring in Chuck's pocket.......unbeknownst to me, he had it in his pocket all night.

This is Chuck and I after :) No pic of the ring yet, as my digital camera is the suck and isn't made to take pictures of jewelry. I'll have to wait for our photographer, George to take some for me.