An Opening Statement

As with anything that has a beginning, introductions are necessary.  Your author for the beginning of this journey (and the rest of it, hopefully) is me, 25-year-old groom-to-be Brian Parker.   I am a native of Lewiston, Maine and twice a graduate of the University of Maine located in Orono, Maine (Bachelor of Arts in English 2006, Master of Arts in English 2008).  I am currently living in the small coastal town of Blue Hill, Maine and beginning my fourth year as an instructor of college English and my second year at Husson University in Bangor, Maine.

Since I am a groom-to-be, there is also a bride-to-be and a particular story behind that.  Defying my expectations of the online dating world, I met Katelyn Cooper (the future Mrs. Parker) through the services of Match.com, which I joined in December 2008.  Ms. Cooper is also a Masters Degree holder, though her field is architecture and she works for a firm here in Blue Hill.  Our first date required us both to drive over half-an-hour on back roads in a snowstorm to make it to the "midpoint town" of Ellsworth (halfway between my residence at the time in Old Town and her place in Blue Hill) for a Sunday brunch together.  Neither of us knew what to expect upon departure that cold and snowy January day, and I'm sure neither of us would've predicted that I would propose to her with my grandmother's heirloom engagement ring after she got out of work on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009.  The proposal story will be visited upon in a future posting, though most people acquainted with us have already heard it.  We are tentatively planning to get married sometime in October of 2010, though there really aren't any details in place beyond that at this time.

Growing up, I never really had a particular vision of what my dream wedding would entail.  As children, boys aren't really encouraged to consider those sorts of things anyway; after all, we all know that it is the bride's special day and we just kind of stand up there with her and say "I do" before getting a ring, right?  Not as far as Katelyn and I are concerned.  And that's part of what this blog is being born out of; a desire for a wedding where both bride and groom have equal input and where the day is recognized as something equally important for both parties.  This may be a radical idea, for certain, but as long as us grooms-to-be have websites like The Plunge to counter traditional bride-focused sites like The Knot, there is hope for the future.

Whether or not Katelyn decides to blog on her own or simply interjects with the occasional posting on this blog, the hope is to offer The Groom's Take on what it means to plan a wedding today.

Welcome to The Groom's Take; I look forward to hearing feedback as this project continues along.