I found myself in Staples today shopping for labels to stick on our SAVE THE DATE card envelopes. There's a whole wall of different labels to choose from, but quickly I narrowed it down and discovered there were really only two choices to make: what color and what size. Seems simple enough right? I mean, it's just a label. Does anyone actually pay attention to it at all? Plus, it's not the actual wedding invitation, it's just the SAVE THE DATE card. Not that it isn't important, but let's not get too crazy about the labels.

Naturally, I called Dana from the packing/mailing aisle of Staples to make sure I...

The main ingredient of a good wedding, or any party for that matter, is GOOD MUSIC. It can make or break the party. Sure, all weddings are going to have healthy portions of food and booze, but any good wedding's status, in my humble experience, is decided by the music. Whether it's a band or a DJ, a wedding NEEDS quality tunes. So for Dana and I, finding the right musical entertainment for our reception was one of our top priorities.

Almost immediately we ruled out the idea of having a live band at our wedding, mostly because of the cost, but also because we both agreed that hearing our favorite records AS IS was something we both wanted. Also, we're not having the hugest party, there are going to be fewer than 200 people there, so we felt a DJ would be our best option...

So Dana finally found her wedding gown. Finally. What a process!!! So many styles, so many stores. At least there was only one color to choose from. Yup, that big stack of wedding magazines certainly came in handy for the dress hunt.

Dana started looking for her gown simply by going through her endless collection of bridal magazines, ripping out pictures of ones she liked. Along with that, she was glued to the laptop every night flipping through websites, writing down style numbers, comparing prices, and searching for designers she heard about from friends and family.

Then the actual shopping began. She went everywhere. Eastchester. Mamaroneck. Dobbs Ferry. Manhattan. Long Island. Connecticut. If there was a store someone told her about that sold wedding...

Ok, this gift registry thing is definitely one part of the planning process that I don't need to be involved in. I can see how some grooms to be may be into what types of plates and glasses and linens they have in the crib, but I'm not one of them. For one, I'm color blind, and more importantly, I'm not very particular when it comes to stuff like that. I did give it the old college try though--once.

Dana and I went to Fortunoff's in White Plains last Sunday to continue our gift registry. She had already been there with her mother, so they already had our account set up, whatever that means.

Basically here's what you do. The store gives you a little scanner, and you scan in all the essential household goods you can think of that you would like people to...

Anyone who knows me will tell you I love magazines. I’ve always collected them, and they are mostly hip-hop music related, with sprinkles of indie rock, soul, and pop culture.

Along with being the groom to be comes many weird little errands that I am asked to run. I do these out of love and my essential need to KEEP DANA'S STRESS LEVEL LOW. The fewer things for her to worry about doing the better. One of my first errands was mailing out the Bridal Party cookie requests. Is that what they’re called? I think so. Basically, they are custom made cookies that Dana ordered online for each member of her bridal party, including the maid of honor, asking in a very sweet (literally) way, "Will you be my bridesmaid?" They’re actually very cute and personal. Not that I’ll be sending my groomsmen cupcakes with they’re initials inscripted...

Choosing the site for the wedding ceremony and reception was our next step. It's important to lock that in first; places book up quickly.

Here's what we knew to start out. First of all, in terms of location, my parents live in White Plains, and most of our friends are scattered throughout Westchester. However, her parents and most of her extended family live in the Danbury, Connecticut, area. And of course, there are also some out-of-towners that we would invite, but basically there are two home fronts, Westchester and Connecticut.

We started our search the first weekend after our engagement in Connecticut. First, Dana and I went to check out a church her Mom had recommended that would perform an inter-faith ceremony. Dana's Catholic and I'm Jewish, and long before our...

So here's the play by play of my proposal.

Wednesday 1/23/08 Noon

I paid for the ring. Done deal. The jeweler told me it would be ready Friday morning, so I started to put my plan together. First things first, I had to have a sit down with Dana's Dad. So I called him up from work that afternoon and left a message saying I wanted to come see him at his office in White Plains. From there, I continued to formulate my plan.

I decided that I was going to pop the question that Friday night. Yeah, Valentine's Day was two weeks away, but I couldn't wait that long. I know myself. Once I had the ring I wouldn't be able to hold it. I mean, just a month before I got drunk and gave Dana half her Christmas presents on December 23rd.

So the plan was this:

1. Get a...

The first step in the whole process of getting hitched is going shopping for the engagement ring. Dana and I knew when we moved in together that we wanted to get married, and she was very excited about looking for an engagement ring. I didn't mind because I truly knew nothing about diamonds or engagement rings before, so we started shopping, TOGETHER.

Something to know about my fiancé: SHE IS A MAJOR SHOPPER. I've been the guy twiddling with his cell phone in the corner of J. Crew for an hour (while she peruses every garment on every rack in the store and then tries on two dozen of her favorites in the dressing room) enough times with her to know that this wasn't going to be a quick and breezy experience. Still I was enthusiastic...

My name is Daniel Isenberg, and I am a 29-year-old White Plains High School/ University of Maryland graduate. This is my engagement blog, chronicling the next year or so of my Westchester wedding preparations. It’s going to be an adventurous ride, hopefully with not too many bumps, so stay tuned for updates, I’ve only been engaged a little over a month and already, and A LOT HAS BEEN HAPPENING.

My fiancé’s name is Dana. We met through mutual friends in White Plains back in 2006. We both grew up there, but she went to private school and is two years younger than me. Still, turns out we know a lot of the same people. We moved in together in September of last year, and now, as of January 25th, 2008, we are engaged.

Dana is simply wonderful....