Miss Cleveland Park

Hello Ladies! I am so excited to be a new contributor on DC NearlyWeds! I would love to share a little about myself, and Mr. Cleveland Park. I am a DC native, grew up in MD and am now living in Cleveland Park. I work in Human Resources and I am 28. Mr. Cleveland Park is from all over, CA, MI, FL and VA, to name a few places and is in Government contracting. We have been dating for a little over 2 years and have been engaged for about 7 months. Our wedding is May 24, 2009 (6 months from today!) and yes, it is during Memorial Day weekend...I am that bride. (reasons to come at a later post)

Here is our story:

How we met: How we met...We met each other on jdate.com. Yes, Internet dating is still somewhat Taboo, but when you are searching for someone with the same values and background as you, Adams Morgan may not be the best place. In fact, neither of us were paying members, but I paid just so I could talk to him. I had seen his profile and had a hunch he was a good catch, and when I say he was "online" I went for it! He says my first IM to him was, "What does a girl gotta do to get some attention around here?" After we had a few emails and phone calls, we planned a date. Mr. CP showed up on the first date with a container of speciality olives from The Italian Store in Arlington, which I had mentioned were my favorite. (They really do have the best olives) We went to a local bar, Aroma in Cleveland Park, and ordered Martinis (With extra olives!). I, who never get nervous, could not catch my breath all night. I truly think it was "Love at First Sight."

This is us. Aren't we cute?

I have to admit, I am a very decisive person, as is Mr. CP. We both knew right away this was right. We moved in together after 9 months and he proposed at a year and a half.

The proposal was like this. Mr. CP planned a big "date night," after months of my pleading for him to plan one. He took me to the Palm for dinner. Now, this is funny because as we walk to our weekly bar trivia, we pass the Palm, and I always joke with him that he should be taking me there. After a delicious steak dinner, we went to the Zoo. where I always say is where we first fell in love. (After a few weeks of dating, we both called in sick to our jobs and enjoyed an unseasonably warm day in December at the National Zoo. We basically had the Zoo to ourselves, and really enjoyed it. The zookeepers gave us special treatment and we just had an amazing day. We go to the Zoo a lot now, so it was a perfect place to get engaged) After realizing none of the animals were out, Mr. CP proposed by the Lion's Den. I looked behind me to find him down on one knee with a ring. According to him, I started yelling at him, but that's debatable :)

Here is our reenactment. He proposes to me daily, since then. (Not so much! ha!)

I can't wait to share all the fun and craziness I have dealt with, while planning a chic DC wedding.