Our Story

(If you only want the short story, you can read it here.)

We met at a wedding reception at Thanksgiving Point (picture above). The girl who introduced us is the same girl who had introduced the bride and groom at the wedding we were attending. She came up to me as soon as I walked into the reception and said, "There's a boy here I want you to meet. He's tall and conservative." Since I'm a fan of both of those things, I agreed to be set up. We sat next to each other all evening and he seemed very nice, so when he called a few days later and asked me out for the next weekend, I was happy to go.

He planned an awesome date. We went and had super yummy burgers and a shake, and then went to the corn maze at Thanksgiving Point.
Between the great company, the corn maze, the dumb chicken jokes, and the tricycle racing, it was my favorite first date ever, but despite that when he called two days later asking for a second date I had to turn him down because in the meantime I had decided to become exclusive with someone else. I told Matt that I'd call if it didn't work out with that guy.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, Matt had fallen in love with me on our first date and was determined to marry me. He spent the next two months in a discouraged funk, thinking of me and being sad he couldn't be winning me over. He figured for sure he would never hear from me again because my boyfriend "would be crazy to let her get away." As he tells the story, he realizes now that he "should have had more faith."

Obviously, things didn't work out with the other boy. So, after a few weeks of a dating vacation, I gave Matt a call. I didn't know it, but I called the day before his birthday. When he saw my name on his caller ID, he was so excited and said to himself, "Happy birthday to me!" Not knowing that he had been pining away for me the last eight weeks, I asked if he remembered me and he assured me that he did and that he was still interested.

I figured since I had called him, I should plan the date, which it turns out is a lot harder than it looks! But I did manage to get us tickets to a Monster Truck Rally because neither of us had ever been and we both like trying new things. And, come to find out, Monster Truck Rallies are pretty stinkin' cool.
After that, I noticed a pattern in Matt pretty quickly. We would go out on a Saturday night and he would call the next day to ask me out for the following Saturday. (It was smart of him to reserve me so far in advance because I was dating several different guys at the time.) Eventually Matt started to coming down from Salt Lake and taking me out to lunch once a week. Then he started incorporating mid-week dates. He always did a great job planning fun activities, and I enjoyed being with him, but I was definitely not ready to commit.

I had the idea in my head that I would probably become his girlfriend if he brought me flowers at work on Valentine's Day. I was pleased, but not really surprised when he showed up at my work on the day in question with flowers AND chocolates AND jewelry. This was particularly impressive since it was also my first day at an entirely new office. (Also, he had remembered my favorite flowers and my favorite flower shop.)
That evening he took me out to a nice dinner and to the ballet. He reserved me two weeks in advance, which is good because (I would like to mention for the record) I did have another offer.
It was pretty much the perfect Valentine's Day, but I still wasn't sure about being his girlfriend. One week later Matt told me for the first time that he loved me. My response was, "Alright. I'm gathering my courage. Gathering. Gathering. Okay...... I will be your girlfriend."

Even then, I wasn't really sure about him. But as I had been praying about him, the answer I clearly got was, "He might not be the right one for you, but he definitely deserves a chance." So, I decided to take a leap of faith. And, of course, I am now so so so so happy that I did. Matt is pretty much the still water that runs deep. You don't see everything about him all at once, but once you do get to know him, you see how incredible he is. I'll save more details on that for the "All About Matt" section of the blog.

The more I dated Matt, the more I couldn't imagine not being with him. It just took me a while to get used to being in a healthy relationship. I wasn't used to being in a relationship with NO trauma AND a steady, consistent, constant stream of love and affection. So, it only took a few months for him to completely win me over. (It turns out his grandparents had been praying for me. Apparently, I was pretty much a goner once that started.)

We are so happy we get to be married!! Yay!!

All About Matt

(If you want the incredibly shmoopy version, read this. The version below is more fact-based.)

Matt was born and raised in Sandy, Utah. As a perfect compliment to Holly's flighty, transitory nature, he has pretty much stayed near Sandy his whole life, but still maintains an adventurous spirit. He's been working at UPS for the past several years while he's been deciding what to do with his life and going to school. (P.S. His stability at UPS is good because Holly has never stayed at a job more than 18 months. Also because they have awesome insurance.) He is currently studying computer science (which works out well because Holly can't tell a joystick from a modem), and will be starting at the University of Utah in the fall.

He is the last of the five children born to Max and Patricia Harker, and the apple of his grandmother's eye. He is the proud uncle to 12 nieces and nephews. He served an honorable mission to Brazil, where in addition to saving souls, he spent his free time fixing large appliance and re-wiring his apartments. Always good with his hands (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), Matt enjoys helping Holly out with her 1901 fixer-upper house (she would be lost without him!).

He loves computers, amusement parks, finding good deals, and trying new things. He also enjoys yard work and fixing things.

The Proposal

On a Tuesday back in May, Matt asked me if I wanted to go on a surprise adventure the next Saturday. Since "surprise" and "adventure" are two of my favorite words, I heartily agreed. Of course, I was hoping that it would be the proposal, but I knew there was no way he would be able to get the ring that quickly, that I decided it was probably a trip to the amusement park Lagoon, since we'd been talking about that all week.

About an hour before he picked me up for the surprise adventure, he called sounding completely dejected. "You know that surprise I had scheduled for today?" he said. "It was depended on the weather and isn't going to work out, so let's go to the temple instead." It made perfect sense to me-- it was raining so Lagoon must have closed. And since we hadn't been to the temple in a few weeks, it seemed like a very nice idea.

When he showed up, I asked him what the surprise was going to be and he said he'd tell me at the temple. Obviously, this indicated to me that it was NOT a trip to Lagoon and must therefore be the proposal. It sort of worked out well because then I had the whole time at the temple to calm my nerves and become even more sure that marrying Matt was the right thing to do.

We had a lovely time at the temple and as we left, just like I figured he would, Matt said we should take a walk around the grounds. He found a private corner and said that he was sorry our adventure had been ruined and that we would do it another day, but he couldn't wait another moment. He then told me about the surprise he had planned: "I was going to pick you up, and we'd get on the highway and drive north. Then we'd go into Parley's Canyon to Park City and through Park City to Heber. At Heber we would drive to the airport and get on a plane. In the plane we would have flown to Thanksgiving Point where we met and circle around it a few times, then fly to Draper and see your house and then fly to the Draper Temple and circle around. While we were circling, I would have pulled this out of my pocked: "
It was his grandma's ring!! And the beautiful ruby ring I'd imagined, which he had managed to get super quickly, even though emerald cut rubies are pretty hard to find (he found this one online in Florida and had it sent lickidee-split.)

He got down on his knee and proceeded to give me a really beautiful speech (based on Proverbs 31:10-31, the reason I love rubies) about why he wanted to marry me. We both teared up a little and I said yes. Then we went right back into the temple and reserved a sealing room. When we came out we had our picture taken to memorialize the event.
Then we drove down to our favorite place Thanksgiving Point, and had dinner at the nice restaurant they have there. Everyone there was so excited that we'd just gotten engaged and it was a really delicious dinner full of lots of well-wishes. (I dreamed about those shrimp nachos for like a week afterwards. Yum!)
I just couldn't believe that Matt had CHARTERED A PLANE to propose to me! I should be used to it now because "storybook perfect" has sort of been the theme of my relationship with Matt.

P.S. Sometimes at school, I'm in charge of leading the students in art projects, and I usually give mine to Matt when I'm finished, and he puts them on his fridge. A few days before the scheduled proposal, I gave him this one:
Isn't that a funny coincidence?

All About Holly

Well, hello. Let me introduce myself.

My name is Holly Elizabeth Bluemlein, daughter of Ken and Charlotte Bluemlein. I was born and raised in a small town in southern Indiana called Vincennes ("Historical Showcase of the Midwest" Ask me about George Rogers Clark sometime). My dad taught at the local university and my mom took care of us six kids.

Since leaving Indiana after graduating from high school, I've had a pretty adventurous life. I went to BYU for four years where I studied Public Relations. Right before graduating, I decided to spend a summer working in Alaska and while I was there, I rather unexpectedly decided to serve a mission. I served in the Arizona Tucson mission, which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. I was luckily enough to work in all three states. When I returned home from my mission, I graduated super quick and then went to live in Michigan with my parents, who had moved there the year before. I worked for awhile and then went back to school and got a second bachelor's degree in psychology. When I was done with school, I fulfilled a life-long dream by moving to New York City. I ran the admissions office of a mental health clinic for a year and a half, then sold out and went to work on Wall Street. I loved my three years living there, but one day I just felt very strongly that my time in Manhattan was done and I needed to move on. I decided to move to Utah to be closer to my nieces and two of my sisters. I bought a house in Draper, Utah last year (very unexpected-- I've always like the idea of renting). Back in October I met Matt and my life hasn't been the same ever since.

I love adventures and trying new things. I enjoy traveling. I like to make food for the people I love. I loving going on walks and going to the beach. I love roller coasters and amusement parks. I like going to the theater and to museums. I love bright, happy colors. Watermelon is my favorite food. Matt makes me very happy, and I love making him happy.

Utah Celebration-- Info and RSVP

The Utah Celebration will be the day of the wedding (Friday June 24) from 6:30 to 9pm at the LDS meetinghouse at 1889 South 1700 East, Salt Lake City.
It's going to be a casual and fun BBQ celebration with hamburgers, mocktails, and even a fireplace with s'mores. Yum! There will be seating available inside or outside (if the weather cooperates). It should be a beautiful place!

We want this party to be fun! So, wear what you'd like, and come prepared to have a good time.

The basic schedule is as follows (subject to change at any time):

6:30 Dinner is served (well, it won't be "served" but it will be available)
7:00 The couple arrives; first dance
7:30 Toasts
8:00 Cake cutting
8:30 Bouquet and Garder toss
8:35 Dancing!
9:00 The happy couple leaves

Please RSVP by leaving a comment below. And remember to include your name and if you'll be bringing anyone! Thanks!

Michigan Celebration-- Info and RSVP

Our Michigan Celebration is being hosted by Holly's wonderful aunt Sue Deibel at her home 4185 Maplewoods West in Saginaw on Saturday, July 2 from 11:30 am until 2pm. It will be Open House style, so come and go as your schedule permits. We will be serving some yummy salads and desserts.

We hope you will be able to come!

If you'd like to RSVP, please leave a comment below.

Registry

Wow! We get a spouse AND maybe even some gifts?! This is awesome!

If you would like to get us something, we've decided to register for your convenience. We've picked things at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Target.

If gift cards are more your style, our very favorite stores are Home Depot, Ikea, and Wal-mart.

Thank you!