Southern Weddings

Once upon a time a Southern Weddings editor spent hours reading every entry for a giveaway. She was completely amazed that strangers would open their hearts and tell such touching stories of love. The SW editor sat back after reading all of the comments and took a moment to reflect over the immense power of giving. Each and every entry told a story about how a gift had impacted someone’s life in a very personal way.

The Southern Weddings editor was so glad that she had been given the gift of a great job where she had the opportunity to give to others. She was also glad that the gift she was able to give away this week was just plain awesome (and stylish). She loved Davie and Chiyo clutches with their big satin bows and felt that they would make perfect gifts for Southern Weddings readers.

Congratulations to Wendy and Tara, who will each win a Davie and Chiyo clutch!

Once upon a time a lady not so young, but young at heart received the gift of friendship, love and caring. The odd thing is that the gentleman and I knew of each other in high school although we had different friends. After approximately 10 years had passed and we were both in other relationships he saw me walking down a busy city street looking for a job. The funny thing is that he was on a bus passing by, got off at the next stop and ran back to say hello, calling me by name. I felt bad that I didn’t remember his name. I remembered that he had been an athlete in school (I was a cheerleader and big nerd). We chatted, I told him I was married and had a daughter. Years later told me that his heart sank as he had hoped I was available. He also told me that he had told his high school friends that he was going to date me some day. Needless to say more time passed. Now we are about 20 years out from high school, I am divorced and the mother of two daughters. I ran into a friend from high school and we had lunch. After getting caught up we decided wee would meet again soon. In the meantime, my friend told “him” that she had seen me, that I was divorced and doing well. He asked lots of questions including a request for my telephone number. Some time later I received a call from “him”. From that day forward, we spent hours talking on the telephone. During one of these telephone calls he invited me to drop by his office for lunch if I was ever in the area. That day came and I dropped in. While waiting for him to come out, I wondered what he looked like because I could not remember. When I saw him, recognition hit me square in the face. We began to spend time together as friends because we were both in relationships and both had daughters. Long story short, we have remained friends to this very day. We spent many more hours on the telephone and on outings with and without our children. (He was the first man I spent time with that was allowed to be around my daughters) The girls really liked him and said I should “date” him. He took the time to find places I had not visited, restaurants I had not dined in and activities that I had not done. This was no little feat as I had always traveled, eaten out frequently, was always busy doing something. I loved this about him. This “friendship” continued for a little more than two years as our dating relationships fell by the wayside. It wasn’t until then that we kissed. Wow, what had I been waiting for??? Our friendship grew into love. And 26 years after our first encounter, he proposed and we were married. Keep believing in happy endings.

November 2, 2010 | Wendy

Once Upon a Time… my boyfriend of 6 1/2 years swore to me he had the best Christmas present ever for me… I knew it wasn’t a ring, since I was sure he wasn’t ready to propose, but he talked it up like it was going to be the GREATEST thing EVER. Well, on Christmas morning, I opened a small box that had a European Travel Guide book in it with a note and a debit card that said ‘I can’t wait for you to plan the best trip of our lives, I know how you wanted to go to Europe with me and I know how much you like to plan stuff. I love you’. After 9 months of planning and waiting to finally get to ‘use’ my Christmas present, we arrived in Switzerland, where my boyfriend insisted we go first on our trip, and the next morning we took a hike and he propsed to me on top of a mountain in Switzerland, in the same city his grandfather proposed to his grandmother in 65 years ago. That was his plan all along. And they lived happily ever after!

November 2, 2010 | Tara

Also, remember our other giveaway going on for an IceMilk Apron! They are offering a 25% off TODAY ONLY on the IceMilk Aprons website by entering the CODE: SWMAG!