The Spark
On a crisp September night, my girlfriend Megan and I took a short post-dinner stroll through the picturesque town of Bar Harbor, Maine. We were making the most of the long Labor Day weekend, heading far away from our busy New York lives for a bit of R&R. After three days, though, I hadn't relaxed a bit. As we walked, my hands trembled. You see, one hand was holding hers, but the other grasped a small velvet-trimmed box in my pocket.
I'd planned our entire trip around the next half hour. We would walk along the shore, enjoying the cool bay breeze and the sound of waves crashing on the shore. Then, at an opportune moment, I would do what I'd wanted to do for a very long time: stop, drop to one knee, present Megan with the box in my pocket and pray that she'd say "yes."
However, the night had other plans. Along the way, we passed our inn and Megan suddenly remembered that our puppy, Moonwalk, needed to be taken outside. I tried to convince her that he could wait, but she wasn't having it. So we ran in to get him and then headed back on our way.
Moments later, we hit another obstacle. As we walked around the back of the hotel toward the coastline, we saw that another couple was celebrating their wedding on the inn's lawn, blocking our path to the shore. I suggested that we just walk on through, but Megan refused.
My mind started racing with ways to get her back on course: If I grabbed Moonwalk and made a run for it, would Megan follow? Could I just pick her up and carry her there? Should I claim it was my lifelong dream to crash a wedding while on vacation?
In the end, none of them seemed wise. And so, with a pug nipping at our heels, two newlyweds plus 100 of their closest friends partying it up nearby, and a cadre of tourists watching us from the poolside bar, I knelt to the ground and made my case.
Little did I know, that day would change my life in more ways than one. In addition to starting the next chapter of our love story, it also sent me marching into a new professional venture. After months of struggling to envision and plan the perfect wedding using just about every website and bridal guide available, I concluded that there simply had to be a better way.
In 2011, a small team and I began searching for that better way, and BridesView was born. Our mission is to keep wedding planning simple, social and fun. Since then, we've spoken to countless Brides, Brides-to-Be, and wedding industry professionals to understand how we can help. And you all have had MANY great ideas. We're now hard at work putting those ideas into action.
The first version of BridesView began rolling out to a small audience of testers in November 2011. We're updating the site daily based on your feedback, so please don't hesitate to share! We'd love to hear your thoughts.
