I’ve always wanted to write one of these love stories. We’re just a few days from our wedding and I am so overjoyed to marry Seth. Here’s part four of our story, I hope you enjoy it.
{Photo by Britt of Render Photography}
Halloween had always been a big deal to Seth, and I was loving party planning with him. We hosted several of our friends at his condo and the night before prepared by carving jack-o-lanterns together. His was a classic scary face and I did constellations. The morning of our party Simon and his girlfriend arrived. I had a shoot but came right back to bake us a Halloween treat of brownies with scary eyes a la Martha Stewart. I was realizing how much Seth cared about the details and little things like I did. He took great pride in throwing a fun party for his guests and making sure everything was set up nicely. We were getting along well, and he had been so helpful to me for shoots and doula birth hours, even being sure to lend me his car if I needed it. I told a college friend at our Halloween party after a few too many cocktails that I was going to marry him while we stood in Seth’s walk-in closet. I’d already been spending almost every single day with him; we were truly inseparable. In a blink, time seemed to be flying by, before we knew it the temps had dropped more, and November had arrived.
We’d eaten Thanksgiving dinner at my mom and Stepdad’s house. While the Christmas season might have officially begun, we were spending our Black Friday in the big easy. I have to say, even now, I highly recommend travel as an alternative to shopping after Thanksgiving. It’s truly a good weekend to getaway. After a decadent meal in which dad berated me for not making enough cornbread dressing {the southern version of stuffing, but better}, we’d retired to the living room to attempt a very complex New Yorker puzzle. I felt unusually exhausted and took a two-hour nap on the couch, waking groggy and feeling… a little odd. The busyness of preparing a trip distracted me and before I knew it, we were in Louisiana! Our first flight together, I was so happy.
One of my favorite Seth moments happened while on this particular trip. We woke up Saturday morning ready to explore the city. Upon leaving our boutique hotel we stumbled upon a handmade candy shop. Perfect I said, we can pick up souvenirs for our parents! They had the classic New Orleans pralines and a beautiful candy counter with clear glass showing us the confectionary process. Up front by the register where you walked in was a small glass sample bowl with a spoon inside. We each politely took one sample, delicious! After purchasing a few pralines, we got ready to leave. As I walked out the door with Seth, he reached over and grabbed an entire handful of praline pieces out of the sample bowl without using the spoon. Shameful, and also so memorable.
It was an incredibly fun trip: we walked around, listened to live music, ate such decadent food, and slept in. On our third day I was unusually tired again, I told Seth I needed to take a nap and he read a book down in the quaint, French quarter courtyard of our hotel. The last morning, before our life changing brunch at Brennan’s, I woke from the most vivid, incredible dream. I don’t recall the details now, but it was so life like and it had Allison Olfelt in it. I quickly texted her, then thought to myself… I wonder if I am pregnant. I wasn’t late, or expecting to be, but the strangeness of the dream left me feeling just, odd. It was a strange, but fleeting thought as we got on with the adventure of our final morning in NOLA.
Seth stood outside of our hotel ready for brunch in all black, a beautiful tie on and laced up leather shoes. Seth DeGroot I thought to myself. I even love his name. This fancy man with his fancy name were continuing to steal my heart.
On a snowy December afternoon I had a somewhat scary doctor’s appointment. Seth told me he’d take me, forgoing the office to take a work call while I was inside the clinic. He waited in the lobby. Like I had hundreds of times before, I took a urine pregnancy test and waited and waited while the doctor finished up with other patients (or so I thought). She came in beaming, a smile across her face, “congratulations.” I think I said “for what?” Turns out, Priscilla Anne was on her way.
A while later they brought Seth back to talk to me. I have been speechless only a few times in my life, and this was one of those moments. When I finally got the news out a gigantic smile spread across Seth’s face. There was that same look that had made me fall in love. “That’s the best news” he exclaimed and hugged me close. Our story and path had just taken a dramatic turn and I was reeling from the news. In true Seth fashion, he was calm and collected, excitedly telling my dad when he came over for dinner a few days later. I went out and purchased Christmas cards addressed to grandparents for all of our parents, excited and nervous to share our news.
2018 was shaping up to be a gigantic year. I’d find myself a mother and fiancé before it ended, but not after quite a bit of struggle and hardship, both physically and emotionally.
