On Nov 9, 2009, Melissa Ringeisen <meljetta1@hotmail.com> wrote:
Entry for the 2010 wedding giveaway
Bride: Melissa Ringeisen
Groom: Eric Pierce
Wedding date: Desired 5/29/10
Gresham, Oregon
Entry for the 2010 wedding giveaway
Bride: Melissa Ringeisen
Groom: Eric Pierce
Wedding date: Desired 5/29/10
Gresham, Oregon
Our Story: I was mending a broken heart and a friend forced me to go out and 'be a human' one night, after weeks in hibernation. I was sitting at the corner booth of a small bar in town, facing the door when he walked in. Though he entered with a group of people, I noticed only him, and he seemed to notice me. Our eyes met immediately and neither of us looked away. It felt like I knew that he would matter in some way. Eventually he made his way into the bar and I went on sulking with my friend, forgetting all about the handsome stranger. It didn't take long until my girlfriend reported a guy over at the bar was watching me. He watched as potential suitors came over and offered us drinks, asked us to dance, etc. He watched as we disappeared and returned from the ladies room. He watched (said my friend) when I went to get my coat and she said he looked worried, as if I'd leave and he wouldn't have his chance to say hello. Last call came and went and as we prepared to leave one of his friends dragged him over. His name was Eric, he wasn't from here, and he was very shy. I introduced myself and as we engaged in small talk I'd already convinced myself that he was just like every other guy and if given the chance, would eventually break my heart. But my friend gave him my phone number anyway. We parted ways and my girlfriend drove me home. 5 minutes into the car ride my phone rang. It was Eric. He said that meeting me was the highlight of his night, and he couldn't wait until tomorrow to ask me out on a date. I accepted.
The next day we had our first date- dinner at a restaurant near my house. 10 minutes into dinner and he was already asking me out on a second date, which I gladly accepted. A few weeks later we'd met each other's friends, families, and spent every weekend together. We talked for hours every night, text each other cute messages about how much we missed each other all day long from our jobs, and when he asked me to be his girlfriend a month or so later I was over the moon for him. He was someone that made me laugh, and I was the girl that he could finally open up to. It seemed like we were too good to be true.
Turns out, it was. Last September, after living together for almost 2 years, disaster struck. One Tuesday as I was stuck in traffic on my way home from work I got a call from one of Eric's good friends. When I answered I had no idea that my life was about to be turned upside down. His friend told me with a shaky voice that Eric hadn't made it in to work that day, he'd been in a car accident and was currently being rushed to the hospital, and he wasn't breathing. I lost all control. Everything went blurry and became silent, then screamingly loud with chaos and confusion. An ambulance tore by me. My heart sunk. Eric was in there, I felt it. And there was nothing I could do.
I made it to the hospital and was told that Eric was already in surgery, he had suffered a great deal of trauma to the head, and his brain was bleeding. His chances of survival were grim, and I was faced with the very real possibility of having to say goodbye to the love of my life, when our life together had barely even started. Surrounded by his family and friends I waited, cried, paced, and cried some more. The surgery was successful, he was alive but he was in a coma. I sat in the ICU with him, holding his ice cold hands, talking to him, praying for one more day with my Eric. After a few weeks my prayer was answered, and he opened his eyes. When he was strong enough to speak, he said this, "You are the reason that I am still here."
From his hospital bed Eric proposed, I accepted, and now here we are planning a late spring wedding in 2010. We have waited so long, gone through so much together, and now we have our wedding day to look forward to. Except that after all of the time we both missed from work, medical expenses incurred though weeks in the ICU, multiple brain surgeries and extensive rehabilitation, we don't have a budget for the wedding of our dreams. We don't really have the budget for anything except for maybe the dress and a cake. We have the dream of sharing a wedding we'll never forget, but no way to make it into a reality. I know that I don't deserve any more miracles, Eric is my miracle, but if there was any way for us to start our new beginning with a dream wedding, it would mean the world to us. And if any couple would be eternally grateful, it would be us!
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The next day we had our first date- dinner at a restaurant near my house. 10 minutes into dinner and he was already asking me out on a second date, which I gladly accepted. A few weeks later we'd met each other's friends, families, and spent every weekend together. We talked for hours every night, text each other cute messages about how much we missed each other all day long from our jobs, and when he asked me to be his girlfriend a month or so later I was over the moon for him. He was someone that made me laugh, and I was the girl that he could finally open up to. It seemed like we were too good to be true.
Turns out, it was. Last September, after living together for almost 2 years, disaster struck. One Tuesday as I was stuck in traffic on my way home from work I got a call from one of Eric's good friends. When I answered I had no idea that my life was about to be turned upside down. His friend told me with a shaky voice that Eric hadn't made it in to work that day, he'd been in a car accident and was currently being rushed to the hospital, and he wasn't breathing. I lost all control. Everything went blurry and became silent, then screamingly loud with chaos and confusion. An ambulance tore by me. My heart sunk. Eric was in there, I felt it. And there was nothing I could do.
I made it to the hospital and was told that Eric was already in surgery, he had suffered a great deal of trauma to the head, and his brain was bleeding. His chances of survival were grim, and I was faced with the very real possibility of having to say goodbye to the love of my life, when our life together had barely even started. Surrounded by his family and friends I waited, cried, paced, and cried some more. The surgery was successful, he was alive but he was in a coma. I sat in the ICU with him, holding his ice cold hands, talking to him, praying for one more day with my Eric. After a few weeks my prayer was answered, and he opened his eyes. When he was strong enough to speak, he said this, "You are the reason that I am still here."
From his hospital bed Eric proposed, I accepted, and now here we are planning a late spring wedding in 2010. We have waited so long, gone through so much together, and now we have our wedding day to look forward to. Except that after all of the time we both missed from work, medical expenses incurred though weeks in the ICU, multiple brain surgeries and extensive rehabilitation, we don't have a budget for the wedding of our dreams. We don't really have the budget for anything except for maybe the dress and a cake. We have the dream of sharing a wedding we'll never forget, but no way to make it into a reality. I know that I don't deserve any more miracles, Eric is my miracle, but if there was any way for us to start our new beginning with a dream wedding, it would mean the world to us. And if any couple would be eternally grateful, it would be us!
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