Dearest Travis,

You remember my sister’s proposal I expect. Loud and distracting? Her wedding will be much the same I think. I have been enlisted to help with the planning since I am her maid of honor of course. Mother thinks it should be a simple wedding and I very much think Darren agrees with her. I think he simply wants to be married to my sister and couldn’t care less about the wedding itself. However I know he will agree with whatever makes her happy which is apparently much less simple than Mother would like. They have taken to arguing.

My Dear Erin,

I read the part of your letter about your sister’s wedding to my mother and it made her laugh. She says most young men are like your sister’s fiance when they get married. They put the wedding planning in the hands of their wives-to-be so that they might be happy. She said I would understand when I get engaged. I think I already do.

Dearest Travis,

I can’t say I understand why men wilt under the women they are to marry when it comes to the wedding. Is not the wedding not just about the bride, but also about the bridegroom? Shouldn’t he also have the wedding he wants? In anycase Mother has asked me to take look at the seating arrangements tomorrow while she takes Samantha into town to talk to the seamstress about her wedding dress. I don’t know why she wants me to stay at home when she knows that I want to come along and help with the dress.

My Dear Erin,

You are such a considerate person. You will make an amazing bride one day. I think most men have very few opinions on their weddings outside of that it happen which is why they often leave the planning to their brides who usually have far more opinions. Did your mother ever change her mind? I feel as though you would be a valuable asset in choosing a dress.

Dearest Travis,

As of now I have been left out of every meeting with the seamstress. Samantha tells me the dress coming along well, but I have yet to see it. I can only hope that Mother hasn’t made a mistake in not letting me help. At the very least I’ve gotten a lot done in other areas of the wedding planning. Mother did put me in charge of choosing dress designs for the bridesmaids and they should be arriving soon. I’ve also got to pick Father’s suit up from the tailor’s today and make sure everything’s been done correctly. Gifts have already started to pile up from friends and relatives who won’t be able to attend the wedding and I’ve been put in charge of organizing that as well. Planning a wedding is certainly busy affair.

My Dear Erin,

Since sharing the stories in your letters with my mother she has been regaling me with tales of her wedding to my father. It seems your sister’s wedding isn’t even half as stressful as hers was the way she tells it. Apparently during her wedding planning she handwrote and personalized every invitation herself. Her maid of honor who was supposed to make sure they were sent out lost them and she had to write them all over again. And of course that wasn’t the end of her bad luck.

Dearest Travis,

I am tired of all the wedding talk. Absolutely everything right now revolves around it even though it is all still several months away. Please tell me a story from your life, I would greatly appreciate the distraction. I wish I had a story to tell you of something else that is going on in my life, but not much else is happening. Only my weekly reprieve to the marketplace with Helen has kept me sane. I’ve been going with her since I was ten and even continued after Samantha decided she was too old and that a lady of our station shouldn’t bother with something as menial as weekly marketplace visits. It’s something familiar in my chaotic life and I appreciate it.

My Dear Erin,

I wish I could sweep you off your feet and take you somewhere you can relax My house is certainly calm right now. Father is still away on negotiations and Mother and I have little to do to amuse ourselves. I have started designing again and to get back into the swing of things I am designing my mother a dress. She says I don’t have to and I know, but I have nothing better to do and she is a willing participant. Perhaps I’ll include a sketch of my design in the next letter so you can tell me what you think if you would like.

Dearest Travis,

I would love to see your sketches. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of your sketches or your designs. We haven’t talked about either nearly enough. I wish I had formal training sewing and design. My sewing is good, but my attempts at making something completely new are not as such.

My Dear Erin,

I have included a sketch of the dress I’m making for my mother as well as a few other designs I’ve done. All copies of course. The lilac dress is the one I’m making for my mother and the grey suit is one I tried to convince my father to let me make for him. The green dress is one of my older designs, but I think it would suit you. Perhaps next time we meet you would permit me to take some measurements?

Dearest Travis,

I would be honored.