We’re planning to keep our wedding party small and family-oriented, but no bridal party is complete without my friend Angel, who will be the maid of honor. (In the photo above, she’s second from left with the gray scarf.) We’ve been friends since middle school, and if Matt and I actually manage to follow any sort of color scheme at all, we’ll have her to thank.

During the game, we took the plunge in terms of telling our friends and acquaintances on Facebook. We got in touch with most family members on Proposal Day itself, but we waited a bit before telling the world so that we could figure out some cutesy way of doing it. So, we posted this picture with the caption, “The house divided is officially united.”

And this is the last time that we will ever speak of the LSU/Wisconsin game …

The day after Matt proposed, we flew to Houston for a weekend trip to watch the first-ever football game between LSU and Wisconsin at NRG Stadium. Shortly after we arrived, we headed over to Matt’s brother and sister-in-law’s house. Katy laid out a cheese spread with cute names, like “Marry Me Manchengo” and “Barnidge Brie,” along with a Wisconsin cheddar and a couple of other cheeses named in honor of the LSU Tigers and Katy’s A&M Aggies. It was adorable, and I regret being too shy to take pictures.

Chris and Katy also popped open a bottle of champagne and gave us a toast before we all went out for a seafood dinner with Matt’s dad, John; Katy’s parents; and Matt’s cousins, Brooke and Beau. We couldn’t have asked for a better engagement kickoff, and we’re also excited that Chris and Katy both agreed to be in our wedding party!

So, we’re engaged! On my birthday, August 28, Matt proposed. (You can see how he did it under the Our Story tab.) Then we went out to dinner at Graze, the downtown restaurant where we had our first “real” date in January 2012. We each got a gin-based cocktail called “Almost Married,” and though neither of us liked it very much (sparkling grapefruit??), we had fun anyway.