Engagement Freebies!

So one of the things that I, Danielle, have been surprised and thrilled to discover is the number of things people want to give you for free when you get engaged. Free cake, free compliments, free magazines, free dress-trying-on, and most surprisingly, free dinners! Of course, all these people want to sell you a version of whatever they're offering for free, but nonetheless, I get a spark of joy whenever I get a little perk of free-ness!

My favorite thus far has been an evening outing that the girls took when we were location shopping. Even though the Waterview was booked up for the fall, they encouraged us to come to their expo night, when they had free dinner, free drinks, lighting, and music so prospective brides and grooms could swoon over the venue. My mom and I decided to make a girls night out of it, and we went with Attendant Dawn as well as Jen and her daughter, Emma, who live across the street. We went in two cars, since Emma is still in a car seat and we couldn't all fit in one vehicle. So our adventure began in two vehicles, and immediately baby Emma was suspicious:

Emma: Mommy, where's daddy?

Jen: Daddy's at home.

Emma: Where's Tre-or [her way of saying Trevor, her bro's name]?

J: Trevor's at home with daddy.

E: Where's Greg?

J: Greg is at Danielle and Peggy's house.

[Pause]

E: I want to go home.

J: We can't go home. This is a girl's night out! We're going out with the girls!

E: Oh.

But if baby Emma was concerned about going out at night without her dad and bro, her worries immediately melted when we arrived at the Waterview and she saw unlimited numbers of her favorite food: cupcakes. In addition to being a joy all night, as we sampled sweet and sour chicken and martinis with Skittles in them, Emma enjoyed taking turns sitting on all our laps, eating whichever cupcake was currently in front of her. And so baby Emma discovered what it took me 29 years to learn: being engaged is the sweetest thing ever!

Baby Emma and her cupcake!