It’s official.
An Indy engagement announcement

Rhonda Lee Westfall and Wayne Evan Dedyne are pleased to announce their engagement.

There. It’s officially official.

While the question was asked, and answered, back on Nov. 19, Wayne and I have finally determined a wedding date – July 16 – and are prepared to make the engagement official with the publication of a photograph and obligatory "announcement."

Now, all the people who have been aware of the proposal and its acceptance can stop asking if we’ve set a date yet. Not that it’s not a normal question to ask. Generally speaking, when you offer congratulations to someone who is newly engaged the follow-up question is "When’s the big date?"

It was getting to be a little tiring to answer, "Oh, we haven’t quite decided yet; maybe in the summer or fall."

We weren’t being evasive; we just hadn’t gotten around to making that determination. Speed in decision-making is not an attribute for either of us. We’re both pretty slooooow, I guess.

Actually, a conversation with Theresa Silm several weeks ago is what really prompted serious discussion about deciding on a wedding date. Like other friends, Theresa and Charlie had offered their congratulations a few months ago when "word" got around about the accepted proposal. At that time, their question about a wedding date received the standard "we haven’t decided yet," reply.

Theresa said that when we finally did set a date, she had an idea for a unique wedding "ringbearer" – a pygmy goat that had recently joined the Silm household.

"We’ll just tie a ribbon and basket around his neck and he can carry the rings in that," Theresa said – undoubtedly, that ribbon would be Spartan green. That would work okay for Wayne; not the best way to start a marriage for me, however.

When I saw Theresa a couple weeks ago, she asked if we had set a date yet since the goat was eager to perform his duties. "That ribbon is getting awfully tight around his neck," she said.

Talk about pressure. We certainly didn’t want to be accused of cruelty to animals. Clearly, it was time to make a decision.

So, July 16 it is. Warm sunshine, blue skies and blue-green water, the presence of loving family members – that’s the hope and prayer for this special date in our lives.