Fancy Dinner Dates

Ryan and I are not fancy kind of people. {Do I really need to explain this to you? Probably not.} Our eating out experience is more on the Subway/Wendy's level, with occasional splurges at Red Robin and Applebee's. We're not well-versed in multiple forks and courses. And we're okay with that!

But sometimes it's fun to get all dressed up and do the fancy dinner date thing. Just for something new and different, right?

Over the past couple of months, I've done some freelance writing work for a non-profit company based out of Huntington {about an hour from us}. They just finished celebrating their 50th year, and they wanted to compile a book of stories featuring people whose lives had been impacted by their services. They presented the book at their annual dinner and invited Ryan and me to be part of the evening so we could see a bit more what they're about and to celebrate the release of the book!

Ryan rearranged his schedule to get out of work a little early, and we made a date night out of the adventure!

It was a full suit-and-tie adventure! {Does this mean it was even fancier than our wedding? He didn't wear a suit to our wedding.}

I had to borrow a dress, and my friend Kari came to the rescue with a handful of lovely options. I picked this one:

We meant to get a full length picture while we were actually AT the dinner, but it was too busy to do that, so this was the best we got with full length. {Thank you, selfie stick.}

Isn't he so handsome????

The dinner took place at a location that often hosts weddings, so we got to enjoy this lovely piece! {And it reminded me of Cassie's wedding and the chandelier she had hanging in the reception hall!}

 {Sorry about the guy's head in the corner. He jumped right in there at the last minute!}

Found our table and even though we didn't know anyone else sitting there for most of the evening, we enjoyed hearing their stories. {It is so helpful that Ryan is GREAT at making small talk with complete strangers!}

Dinner was HUGE! No, I did not eat all of it.

And the cake. Can we talk about the cake!?!?! I mean look at this thing!

It was so delicious, but Ryan said he'd never seen me find a cake that bested me. It was true. I couldn't finish it. I hate even admitting that in print.

After dinner, we listened to their program, which honored many people who are part of their family, both from employee and client sides. It was really touching to hear all the stories! {Got a little teary eyed a few times!}

And best of all, I got to see my friend Sheryl, who did a great job making the evening all that it was, and I got to see one of the ladies from the last retreat I did! She and her family were there, and it was good to hear how she was doing!

As we left, we got a copy of the book, and this was fun to see!

It was really late by the time we got home, but it was a fun and memorable evening, and we were grateful to be included as part of it!