WinterRose
09-06-2011, 04:48 PM
So... I am now engaged to be married. And I'm damn pleased with how it came out.
I'd been planning... something. Not sure what. Something nicely appropriate and hopefully impressive. That was sure. I was going to propose to her at Frolicon down in Atlanta on Easter Weekend of 2011. After all, that's the con we met at. However, the cut in money we had due to being evacuated for a week due to killer tornadoes half destroying our neighborhood kinda put the kibosh on that.
Understand, we already declared that we wanted to get married. She's already designing wedding robes and planning a Gallifreyan Time Lord Wedding Ceremony at DragonCon 2012. We already had the ring too. Her mother had dug a few heirlooms out of the family vault and came up to Raleigh to let us pick one. We chose her great aunt's engagement ring from back in 1938 over lunch at Sweet Tomatoes.
So I went to plan B. Something at DragonCon. She goes every year. This year was her 12th as a matter of fact. It's a yearly tradition. So there was my next viable target. Something nicely geeky and time-travel themed I thought. But trying to corral the Brit Track folks... well, convention folks really was like herding cats. So it was time to get a bit creative with this.
At DragonCon, they have a TV channel of their own for the entire weekend. On it, they show music videos, fanfilms, disturbing sci-fi kid show parodies (ick), panels that were too crowded for you to get into. All that stuff. And in between them, they run [adult swim] styled bumpers where the trope is that they're answering questions from con-goers. Well, I figured what I'd do is make one of my own and see if I could get them to run that. Happily my sweetie had a friend who knew someone. However, DragonCon itself nixed the idea. Ah well, plan C.
I made the bumper anyway and took it with me. Having the video already made I figured was 75% of the battle. All I had to find was a sympathetic soul at a panel or show running the AV who'd be willing to run it.
Well, fast forward to Friday night at the convention. Me and Jenn are going to see the Buffy Horror Picture Show, and stay for Dr. Horrible after that. Essentially, they run 'Once More With Feeling' only they have a stage with a cast acting it out like with a Rocky Horror show. This is something you have to line up for in advance, and we got there pretty early. But we had an hour and a half to wait. No biggie. She brought her Kindle and her sketchbook. So she drew artist cards while I read to her from The Stand.
Then it occurs to me this is probably a pretty good potential. I excuse myself to get us some water and take care of 'biz' as it were. Then I find someone who can take me to the head of the Whedon Track. He does so and I tell him, "I've got a video on my USB key right here in WMV format. It's a DCTV bumper where I ask my sweetheart upstairs in the line to marry me. I have the ring in my pocket right now. Could you run it?"
"HELL YES." they say, after they have a look to make sure it's appropriate for the venue. And would I mind at all if they got us up on stage for it? They could run it during the intermission between the two shows. Oh hell yeah. This was shaping up great. I leave them a copy of the trailer they can run, and get myself back up to the Peachtree Ballroom line. Jenn suspects... nothing. Muhahahahaha!!
Eventually, we get in. Now the peachtree ballroom's a big one. 15000 sq feet with a capacity of 2000, which we fill up handily for the show. I surreptitiously recruit the person next to me to take my camera and get pics of us on stage when Jenn excuses herself a moment after we get our seats. She returns... the show proceeds... the intermission comes... they run a few real DCTV bumpers... and then they run mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foceLN_n6Mk&feature=youtu.be
Jenn suddenly realizes this isn't a trailer she's seen before. Then she realizes, "FUCK, THAT'S A PICTURE OF OUR RING! HE'S DOING IT NOW!" and starts yanking off her gloves so I can put a ring on her finger.
The trailer ends, and the crowd is going nuts. The Whedon Track Head pulls us up on stage where I go on one knee and pop the question. She's laughing an crying and saying an emphatic yes. Hug. Huge kiss. The crowd literally goes wild! We ask everyone if they're gonna come to the wedding next year at DragonCon 2012! Another emphatic yes from the crowd. And the moment is done. Mission accomplished.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/WinterRose/thursdaynightdc2011035_2.jpg?t=1315356285
Now a small afterward to this tale... On our way out, we got 3 different offers that night from people to officiate the ceremony next year. By the end of the weekend, we had 5. Among lots of congratulations from people who were all, "WAS THAT YOU? CONGRATULATIONS!" At a Fetlife.com panel later, some Frolicon people asked us, "Why aren't you having the wedding at Frolicon?" Jenn answered, "Because I can't bring my family to Frolicon!" Never-the-less... Since Jenn is staff there, now the Frolicon staff and her pals down there in Atlanta are planning a pre-emptive Frolicon handfasting for us. This thing is taking on a life of its own.
Now we just have to plan and execute the gallifreyan wedding. ^_^!!!
I'd been planning... something. Not sure what. Something nicely appropriate and hopefully impressive. That was sure. I was going to propose to her at Frolicon down in Atlanta on Easter Weekend of 2011. After all, that's the con we met at. However, the cut in money we had due to being evacuated for a week due to killer tornadoes half destroying our neighborhood kinda put the kibosh on that.
Understand, we already declared that we wanted to get married. She's already designing wedding robes and planning a Gallifreyan Time Lord Wedding Ceremony at DragonCon 2012. We already had the ring too. Her mother had dug a few heirlooms out of the family vault and came up to Raleigh to let us pick one. We chose her great aunt's engagement ring from back in 1938 over lunch at Sweet Tomatoes.
So I went to plan B. Something at DragonCon. She goes every year. This year was her 12th as a matter of fact. It's a yearly tradition. So there was my next viable target. Something nicely geeky and time-travel themed I thought. But trying to corral the Brit Track folks... well, convention folks really was like herding cats. So it was time to get a bit creative with this.
At DragonCon, they have a TV channel of their own for the entire weekend. On it, they show music videos, fanfilms, disturbing sci-fi kid show parodies (ick), panels that were too crowded for you to get into. All that stuff. And in between them, they run [adult swim] styled bumpers where the trope is that they're answering questions from con-goers. Well, I figured what I'd do is make one of my own and see if I could get them to run that. Happily my sweetie had a friend who knew someone. However, DragonCon itself nixed the idea. Ah well, plan C.
I made the bumper anyway and took it with me. Having the video already made I figured was 75% of the battle. All I had to find was a sympathetic soul at a panel or show running the AV who'd be willing to run it.
Well, fast forward to Friday night at the convention. Me and Jenn are going to see the Buffy Horror Picture Show, and stay for Dr. Horrible after that. Essentially, they run 'Once More With Feeling' only they have a stage with a cast acting it out like with a Rocky Horror show. This is something you have to line up for in advance, and we got there pretty early. But we had an hour and a half to wait. No biggie. She brought her Kindle and her sketchbook. So she drew artist cards while I read to her from The Stand.
Then it occurs to me this is probably a pretty good potential. I excuse myself to get us some water and take care of 'biz' as it were. Then I find someone who can take me to the head of the Whedon Track. He does so and I tell him, "I've got a video on my USB key right here in WMV format. It's a DCTV bumper where I ask my sweetheart upstairs in the line to marry me. I have the ring in my pocket right now. Could you run it?"
"HELL YES." they say, after they have a look to make sure it's appropriate for the venue. And would I mind at all if they got us up on stage for it? They could run it during the intermission between the two shows. Oh hell yeah. This was shaping up great. I leave them a copy of the trailer they can run, and get myself back up to the Peachtree Ballroom line. Jenn suspects... nothing. Muhahahahaha!!
Eventually, we get in. Now the peachtree ballroom's a big one. 15000 sq feet with a capacity of 2000, which we fill up handily for the show. I surreptitiously recruit the person next to me to take my camera and get pics of us on stage when Jenn excuses herself a moment after we get our seats. She returns... the show proceeds... the intermission comes... they run a few real DCTV bumpers... and then they run mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foceLN_n6Mk&feature=youtu.be
Jenn suddenly realizes this isn't a trailer she's seen before. Then she realizes, "FUCK, THAT'S A PICTURE OF OUR RING! HE'S DOING IT NOW!" and starts yanking off her gloves so I can put a ring on her finger.
The trailer ends, and the crowd is going nuts. The Whedon Track Head pulls us up on stage where I go on one knee and pop the question. She's laughing an crying and saying an emphatic yes. Hug. Huge kiss. The crowd literally goes wild! We ask everyone if they're gonna come to the wedding next year at DragonCon 2012! Another emphatic yes from the crowd. And the moment is done. Mission accomplished.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/WinterRose/thursdaynightdc2011035_2.jpg?t=1315356285
Now a small afterward to this tale... On our way out, we got 3 different offers that night from people to officiate the ceremony next year. By the end of the weekend, we had 5. Among lots of congratulations from people who were all, "WAS THAT YOU? CONGRATULATIONS!" At a Fetlife.com panel later, some Frolicon people asked us, "Why aren't you having the wedding at Frolicon?" Jenn answered, "Because I can't bring my family to Frolicon!" Never-the-less... Since Jenn is staff there, now the Frolicon staff and her pals down there in Atlanta are planning a pre-emptive Frolicon handfasting for us. This thing is taking on a life of its own.
Now we just have to plan and execute the gallifreyan wedding. ^_^!!!