We graduated!
Chris and I successfully completed our Engaged Encounter requirement... Yay! We even got out early because of the snow... Yay!
Engaged Encounter was definitely intense with all the thinking, writing, and talking. By Saturday afternoon break, I was wiped out and took a power nap. Format is couple/priest present on a topic, you write for 20 min on said topic w/ questions to reflect on, then you talk for 20 min with your fiancée on what you/he wrote. Session on Friday was 8:00 - 11:00 pm, Saturday 8:00 am-3:15 pm/4:30 - 10:00 pm, and Sunday was 8:00 am - 12:30 pm with a 9:00 am mass. Some of the talks or questions were a bit redundant after having to write/talk about it for the umpteenth time.
We hit the bar both Friday and Saturday nights and there were other couples drinking too. I was bored to tears when we sat at the bar between these two "I'm rich, bitch" couples talking about their wedding plans. Here's a sample of the dialogue:
NY Italian: We booked the Willard first and of course St. Matthews didn't have any dates after we put our deposit down. I've been registered parishioner for 5 years.
Michigan Boy: Nice... Willard. Ya, we got the last June date at St. Matthews. So, where are you getting married?
NY Italian's fiancée: We're having our wedding at St. Aloysius, which is associated with Gonzaga.
Michigan Boy: I've heard that's a pretty church too. St. Matthews is too big for our wedding. It can hold a thousand people, but the church is just so pretty.
NY Italian: Where are you having your reception?
Michigan's fiancée: We're having it at the Hay-Adams.
NY Italian: That's such a classic DC institution. Do you have to provide names and social security numbers for your guests?
Michigan Boy: We're not using the rooftop, but you can see the snipers on top of the White House
I was rolling my eyes at Chris the whole time. I joked that we should say our reception was at the Mandarin Oriental, but I bit my tongue since we did tell some other couples that we were getting married in Williamsburg. Most of the couples seemed like normal 20-30 somethings with the exception of this older couple who were probably in their late 40s-early 50s and there were two standout couples, Trouble and Nerd.
Trouble: Girl was loud, wants to be center of attention, has background in acting. Her fiancée or possibly husband b/c he had a wedding band on his left ring finger. Both arrived late to sessions in the morning with Starbucks in their hands. There wasn't a Starbucks in the hotel, which means they left the hotel (against the rules). They also took a picture with the priest when he was giving out certificates.
Nerd: Both looked like your typical stereotype of a scifi/fantasy fan. Girl was 24 and looked like she was stuck in 1994. Both were at the conservative spectrum of Catholicism. They were also the only couple not to stand when asked, "I believe sex is an important part of marriage." So, pretty likely they were both still virgins and likely to use NFP. She had picked up a pamphlet.
So, those were the highlights. All in all it was a great weekend.. better than I thought it would be. There were no surprises with what Chris and I discussed. I think it just validated that we are on the same page and we are ready for marriage :)
Engaged Encounter was definitely intense with all the thinking, writing, and talking. By Saturday afternoon break, I was wiped out and took a power nap. Format is couple/priest present on a topic, you write for 20 min on said topic w/ questions to reflect on, then you talk for 20 min with your fiancée on what you/he wrote. Session on Friday was 8:00 - 11:00 pm, Saturday 8:00 am-3:15 pm/4:30 - 10:00 pm, and Sunday was 8:00 am - 12:30 pm with a 9:00 am mass. Some of the talks or questions were a bit redundant after having to write/talk about it for the umpteenth time.
We hit the bar both Friday and Saturday nights and there were other couples drinking too. I was bored to tears when we sat at the bar between these two "I'm rich, bitch" couples talking about their wedding plans. Here's a sample of the dialogue:
NY Italian: We booked the Willard first and of course St. Matthews didn't have any dates after we put our deposit down. I've been registered parishioner for 5 years.
Michigan Boy: Nice... Willard. Ya, we got the last June date at St. Matthews. So, where are you getting married?
NY Italian's fiancée: We're having our wedding at St. Aloysius, which is associated with Gonzaga.
Michigan Boy: I've heard that's a pretty church too. St. Matthews is too big for our wedding. It can hold a thousand people, but the church is just so pretty.
NY Italian: Where are you having your reception?
Michigan's fiancée: We're having it at the Hay-Adams.
NY Italian: That's such a classic DC institution. Do you have to provide names and social security numbers for your guests?
Michigan Boy: We're not using the rooftop, but you can see the snipers on top of the White House
I was rolling my eyes at Chris the whole time. I joked that we should say our reception was at the Mandarin Oriental, but I bit my tongue since we did tell some other couples that we were getting married in Williamsburg. Most of the couples seemed like normal 20-30 somethings with the exception of this older couple who were probably in their late 40s-early 50s and there were two standout couples, Trouble and Nerd.
Trouble: Girl was loud, wants to be center of attention, has background in acting. Her fiancée or possibly husband b/c he had a wedding band on his left ring finger. Both arrived late to sessions in the morning with Starbucks in their hands. There wasn't a Starbucks in the hotel, which means they left the hotel (against the rules). They also took a picture with the priest when he was giving out certificates.
Nerd: Both looked like your typical stereotype of a scifi/fantasy fan. Girl was 24 and looked like she was stuck in 1994. Both were at the conservative spectrum of Catholicism. They were also the only couple not to stand when asked, "I believe sex is an important part of marriage." So, pretty likely they were both still virgins and likely to use NFP. She had picked up a pamphlet.
So, those were the highlights. All in all it was a great weekend.. better than I thought it would be. There were no surprises with what Chris and I discussed. I think it just validated that we are on the same page and we are ready for marriage :)
posted by Gina at 2:12 PM
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