Planning Your Derby Handbag

By Alissa Hicks 

If you haven't already planned out all of the details for your Derby outfit this year, here are a few tips to keep in mind when choosing and packing your clutch! 

He liked it, so he put a ring on it.

The ring that starts everything.

Tomorrow will mark one month since my boyfriend of three years, Patrick, drove me to a park on an unusually warm Sunday before Christmas, spread out a blanket, dropped to one knee, and pulled out a little black box. If he was nervous, he didn't show it; in fact, he'd been cracking goofy dad jokes all morning.

I wasn't nearly as smooth in my response - through some tears and shaking hands, I choked out a "Yes!" and collapsed into his arms.

It hasn't been an easy ride, folks. It hasn't been fairy tale-perfect, and the Lord knows we are far from your Disney prince and princess. But this is our story, and we're writing it a little sloppily, a little clumsily, but in our own hand and with an enthusiastic flourish after the exclamation point: "We're engaged!"

And so begins the wedding planning madness. I've seen nine friends get married since last May, but that still doesn't prepare me for the overwhelming amount of information and advice to consider when preparing to say "I do."