The Wedding That Was - Part II

The kids had already walked down the aisle before I'd been led into the hall.





I stood next to my dad and we waited for the coordinators to open the double doors. She told me to stand there for a moment before walking in. I could feel everyone turn and stand but I was looking straight ahead to Danny. His face was serious and even from across the room I could tell he was trying to hold it together.





As I approached him, I placed my hand on his arm and he just kept staring at me. I really couldn't get the smile off my face, I felt very serene and out-of-body, but surprisingly calm. I could see Danny's reflection in the mirror, as he looked up to the ceiling, trying not to cry.



When we turned to face each other and repeat vows, I could feel Danny's hands shaking and his voice quivered a bit. Hearing him and touching him just made me more calm and squeezed his hands a little tighter and just stared right into his eyes. And he stared right back intensely.



It all went so quickly. I tried to remember to pause and remember the details, like how sturdily straight Ian was standing next to Michael as he watched everything proceed, and how Danny choked up as he put the ring on my finger and how after we kissed as husband and wife, he wrapped me up in a tight embrace.



We swept down the aisle, all smiles and exited in back. Danny admitted how nervous he was, standing there before the ceremony and anticipating the event. He couldn't stop telling me how lovely I looked, couldn't stop holding me and I felt like I was walking on a cloud.



He has absolutely swept me off my feet!



Tomorrow, in the rainsoaked garden

The Wedding that was -Part I

Ahhhh...it was here this weekend and came and went so quickly. I had to stop myself many times during the day to remind myself to reflect, stop and breathe and take in the moment because I wanted to remember everything. During the reception, I kept thinking, "Oh, this is a great party" and then reminding myself, "Hey, this is OUR party!"



The day started off with me getting my hair done at 7am. Was a little concerned because the curls were quite curly but the hairdresser said not to fuss with them and that in three hours they would be tamed and could be brushed a little. She was right; by the time it was time to put on my dress, my hair looked perfectly wavy.

Went home, gave The Boy a bath, put on my make-up, he and I wrapped the bouquets with some white ribbon and waited for my parents to finish getting ready. We had put together the flower arrangements the day before in the milk glasses; lovely light green hydrangeas with white roses.



My dad and brother loaded up the cars with vases, votives, the wedding dress and favors and soon we were off to the venue. The sky was dark and gloomy and we had some sprinkles and mist. When we got there, the coordinator promised that they could wait until the last moment to set up the chairs and we could determine about 10 minutes beforehand where the ceremony would take place (either outside at the gazebo or inside the reception room).

I went with my mom and cousin (matron of honor) to the little dressing space they had set aside for me and they worked on getting me laced into my dress. Just as we were putting on the finishing touches, we received a call from the reception room. It was a friend, saying "We have to move it inside, it's raining again".



Oh well, really it was okay. I wasn't crushed because I always knew that this might be an option. The coordinator came over to get me and she draped her jacket over my hair and shoulders, held an umbrella over my head and with one person on each side holding up my dress, we made our way over to the room in the rain.

In another reception room, there was a group of ladies setting up for a baby shower. They graciously let me stand here so the coordinator could arrange getting the rest of the bridal party set up. There was a lounge inbetween our two reception rooms so she gathered up my fiance, matron of honor, best man, Ring "Bear" (The Boy) and Flower "Bear" (The Girl) and moved them into our reception room while I waited on the other side of the wall.



The coordinator came around the corner and waved me over. I walked through the lounge (where a group of men were watching football!) and stood behind the double doors next to my dad.

Tomorrow, the ceremony!

2 days - Wedding Countdown

Today all the lovely ladies at work threw me a wedding shower. Tostada lunch, Diet Dr Pepper and yummy marble cake! Mmmmm...


Me with the marble cake


Oh, breakroom lighting, you are quite unflattering!


Not sure what was so darned hilarious...Apparantly gift opening makes me appear to laugh hysterically (see this weekend's photos!)


What will I make first in my cast iron skillet? Fried chicken? Corn bread?

Worked late and then met Mom at the bridal shop. Tried on the dress, then realized I have a fresh scratch right across my chest (where did I get that?!). While the tailor resteamed the dress and bagged it up we went next door to the men's dress-up shop. My guy has been thinking about wearing a bow tie so I picked out a silk black one and also a regular silk light blue and light gray tie in case he wants to try those out and see what he likes best.

Mom & I stopped for dinner then on to the craft store to get those green "frog" things to place inside the vases, then came back home. The flowers had arrived this afternoon and my dad had unboxed them and put everything in water. The hydrangeas are so pretty, a nice soft green. And there are Ecuadorian white roses, 50 long stems that are really tight buds now and should be slightly opened by the day of the wedding. We'll be putting all the arrangements together tomorrow night.

Things that WILL and WILL NOT happen in the next two days:

1. I will get over this cold. I've been sneezing and sniffling for 3 days. Starting to feel much better today, a lot less fuzzy-headed, despite the lack of sleep.

2. I will go to bed before midnight tonight. Was up till nearly 1am last night, working and then matching socks (my least favorite chore, why did I decide to that?!) and packing a bit.

3. I don't really want to eat any more junk food for the next two days. I am feeling so bloated and icky from getting home late, not grocery shopping and relying on fast food for lunch because I've been too busy to pack anything. However I'm not going to say I will NOT do this because it's now nearly 11pm and I don't have anything to pack for lunch tomorrow so a fast food lunch is quite likely.

4. I will not try to do everything myself and I will delegate. I really have a very hard time letting go! I had intended to do place settings and had to let this idea go. I was planning on setting up the reception tables myself but realize there is no way I can do that and still get ready so I'll have to delegate that job to my helpful cousins and sister-in-law. I know they'll do a beautiful job without me and I'll be less stressed.

I had also planned on creating music cds for the ceremony and reception but just didn't have time. So I asked my brother if he would do that for me and he said he would. And he does have strict orders that The Chicken Dance, Electric Slide or Macarana NOT be included in the playlist!

5. Lastly, IT WILL NOT RAIN. This has been the weirdest year "weather-wise". For the last two weeks the weather has been picture-perfect. So clear and bright and blue! But of course starting tomorrow, it's expected to bring in 3 storms with rain showers that will begin Friday and last through Saturday, right through the time we are planning our outdoor garden ceremony!


I was planning on getting married HERE, not in a reception room!

Truly though, what can I do? Nothing, except create a Plan B. I've contacted the venue and they have assured me that they do have a Plan B in place should it be raining during the ceremony. If it's raining and we can't do the ceremony outside, they will set up the chairs in an alternate reception room so that will be okay. It's not a garden, but it will be okay.

4 days - Wedding Countdown

Lovin' these favors!

Picked up a big bag of Sixlets at the candy store in the mall. They fit perfectly into the bottles. In fact a little too perfectly because they tend to jam up at the opening when the bottle is tipped to empty...oops!


Labels on and ready to fill

But the colors are so bright and fun, I couldn't resist. People will just have to work at it if they want their candy!


Big bag of Sixlets


One down...more to go!

Decided not to have assigned seating, otherwise each person's name would have been written on a card and slipped into the slot on the cork. Oh, well.


All done and ready to go on the tables!

Tomorrow evening I'll be arranging the music with my brother that will be played on the CD player during all parts of the ceremony & reception.

Still need to compete the ring bearer pillow for my son and also fix up his suit a bit. Just a tad bit long on the sleeves & pant legs. Oh, he is going to look SO cute!

Thursday we pick up the dress. My mom is coming this time so she can see me in it.

And Friday night we'll be fixing up these lovely milk glass vases with the hydrangea and roses that will be arriving on Thursday. They are already so pretty, I know that filled with the flowers, everything is going to look heavenly!


All the vases for the centerpieces

6 days - Wedding Countdown

HOLY GUACAMOLE!



I think I've finally somewhat recovered from my Bachelorette weekend!

My throat still has the ill-effects from shouting over the band's music but other than that, I think I've turned the corner and am now exiting "Hangover-Ville".

The weekend started innocently enough (picking up the wedding rings) and ended with me pressing the air out of a plastic inflatable man that was left in my backseat (thank goodness he wasn't anatomically correct!).


Saturday:
Drove up to the outlet and picked up the wedding rings.
Bought stockings at the Hanes outlet, the cool ones with cut-outs at the toe so you can wear them with open-toed shoes. Not that my wedding shoes are open-toed, but I figured at least then I'd get a second shot at wearing the stockings, so long as I don't snag them.
Drove a 1/2 hour back down the hill and dropped off the apartment applications for the credit check.
Went to the Home Depot and got paint chips to coordinate with the invite and then took them to the bakery so she can match the colors on the wedding cake.
Home to shower and change and then off to my wedding shower!




If you had x-ray vision you'd see a cupcake carrier inside, with a box of cake mix and frosting too!

My cousin (and Matron of Honor) and her sister-in-law (who will be in charge of photography at the wedding) hosted the party. There were some cute games, yummy cake and some wonderful gifts that I can't wait to put to good use in our new place!


Who knew mixing bowls could be soooo hilarious!

As you can see from the pictures, I was tickled by the great company and had a perfect time, thank you to everyone who was able to come! I deeply appreciated it.


And that a chip and dip set was soooo shocking!


And that bow makes me downright giddy!

That evening four of us (Four Blondes and a Brunette) headed up to the casino for a wild night of drinking and dancing. We'll to be honest I wasn't expecting SUCH a wild night. I thought we'd have a drink, dance a little and be home by 11pm.

HA!! Boy, did I underestimate my evening companions. They met me with the "Bachelorette Box" which included a sash for me and a maribou feather trimmed tiara with a veil in back and glittering phallic symbols on bobbling wires over my head. After a drink...and a shot...I completely forgot I was wearing it...woohoo!

Unfortunately me and apple martinis don't like each other and even though I really did only have one drink and one shot I was feeling the effects. I certainly don't have that same reaction to margaritas or even whiskey sours. In any case, we weren't driving any where that night and my future mother-in-law was happy to come and pick us up at 1am. With a side trip through Jack in the Box for tacos and fried mozzarella sticks (except for me, I wasn't in the mood for adding anything greasy to my nausous stomach), we were home by 2am. I did take out my contact lenses and put on sweatpants but went to sleep with a full face of make-up for the first time in my life.

Sunday:
And this is why they say NOT to have your Bachelorette party the night before the wedding. My throat is so raw and scratchy, I've been guzzling water all day to rehydrate and took a nap this afternoon, not usually my forte.

Neighbor Boy was amused by the stories of last night, delighted in looking through his sister's camera at the photos of me dancing in the fluffy tiara and posing with the inflatable man that my cousin brought in my car. It was all harmless fun, a little (okay, a LOT) more drunken than I've ever been in my life, but it was really the wild night that a Bachelorette party should be!

9 days - Wedding Countdown

Random thoughts over the last two days...

Went to the candy shop today to find something in a reasonably small size to fit into the favor bottles. But I got there 30 minutes before they opened for the day and since I was on lunch break from work, there was no waiting around. This will have to wait until Monday.

Neighbor Boy was talked out of suspenders and he went with his mom to buy a suit. It looks great, I can't WAIT to see him in it!

Got my hair cut and colored and highlit (highlighted?) tonight. I don't know how women do this every 6-8 weeks?! It took over 2.5 hours. Seriously, am I just ansty and don't know how to enjoy being pampered but that just seems like a big chunk of time. My hair does look great though. I love the highlights and the color is very natural. And she blew it out so it looks so very silky and soft!

Finishing up painting the table number blocks tonight. I bought a cork board to use for the seating chart and the venue will have an easel set up for that.

I have gathered all the vases and cake stands that we'll need for the centerpieces. Each one is just a little bit different so they'll give just the right vintage elegance that I want. We'll be filling them with green hydrangeas and white roses. I actually bought them in silk so we could pose them in the vases and see how it will look and they are already so pretty I know they'll be stunning with the real thing! Thinking I may also collect up all the clear votive holders I have too and put in the light blue and lime green votive candles that I already own. Those would be so pretty on the tables. And they are Partylite, so they smell nice too!

Coming up for the weekend:
Picking up the rings
My wedding shower, hurray, that is going to be so much fun!
Possibly going out dancing?
Getting a hair cut for The Boy, he's way overdue.
Following up on the RSVPs, since I have to give a full headcount on Monday. Not that we didn't give everyone A TON of time or anything *wink!*

11 days - Wedding Countdown

Teeny tiny bottles, with openings just this much too narrow for an M&M...darn it! So, I have another idea that I'll need to go with instead. Going to visit the bulk bins at the candy shoppe!



After a few test trials, I got some of the labels to print nicely. See that? With the words inside the sticker? Those were GOOD!



See this one, with the writing outside the sticker? NOT GOOD...naughty printer!



And this one, with the entire sheet of stickers that got eaten up and stuck inside so that I have to take the printer apart? Naughty, NAUGHTY printer!!



So when life hands you lemons and your printer doesn't want to cooperate anymore, you compromise...



...and pull out the Sharpie and finish the labels by handwriting them instead!

And here is a quick pic of my nails. My wonderful aunt did this gel French manicure for me to give my nails a chance to grow for the next week. I'll have the manicure done again next week just before the wedding, along with my toes.

12 days - Wedding Countdown

Missed a few days of blogging, catching up on little details. And work, of course. And caring for a 6-year old. And attempting to clean, clear and begin packing up my bedroom to be moved into the new place.

That last thing is HARD. I've lived at my parents' house this time since I was 6 months pregnant (and my son will be 7 next month). Before that, I lived in random apartments but always stored quite a bit of stuff at my folk's house. Of course all my fabric bins will have to stay in the garage and seasonal stuff, too. I spent a few hours last week just taking clothes out of the closet and weeding through what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to give away. Then I found a box of mementos and old diaries and chucked a bunch of stuff. Bet the trash man is sitting at the dump right now reading my innermost thoughts from when I was 13, sigh!

This week I need to clear off and move the dresser and end tables out of my room and convince Neighbor Boy that he would like to prime and paint them this weekend while I'm at our wedding shower. Hopefully he'll welcome a painting project, he likes to stay busy.

Yesterday, I met with our officiant for the ceremony. He and his wife were our Pre-Marriage Counselors through the church. When we found out the pastor would be out of the country during our wedding date, this man was our quick runner-up! I'd received the documents in the mail from the county so I was able to deliver them to him yesterday for signing. He is going to rework the script in the ceremony because some of it was pretty dorky. Like have you ever heard anyone say, "Place the ring on her finger... Now, hold it there." That just sounds silly! There were some other equally awkward phrases in the script, so I gave the officiant free-reign to change it up as he saw fit and add some Biblical verses in as well. I just know it will be lovely, he has a great speaking voice and will make this very special for us and all our guests.

Spent yesterday evening painting little wooden blocks to use as our table numbers. I have a plan for the blocks using the kids so I'll show that to you all when I'm done.

Sent back the contracts and finalized a few other details with the venue coordinator. White linens with dove gray cloth napkins, placement of the cake table and music arrangements and equipment details (which is going to prove to be a bit of a pain!).

Wedding favors (those cute little bottles that hold candy and double as a place card) should be arriving today. Then I can see how large of an opening there is and hopefully it's wide enough to fit candies. Then I can decide what type of candy we want to include and buy them.

Today, picking up paint chips to match our invites. I don't think I'll have time today to take them to the bakery today though, that will have to be tomorrow. Then I have an appointment to meet my aunt, the manicurist, at her salon and have gel put on my nails. Next week I'll need to have some tips put on a few of the ones that have recently broken down low (darn you, dry weather that gives me brittle nails and rough skin!). I'm hoping that a hairstylist there will be available for a cut and color too so I can take care of that while I'm in the salon and not have to book another appointment.

Fingers crossed for the same result tomorrow as well when I take The Boy into the dentist. He has an abcess that will require the removal of his two upper front teeth. I pray that they will take care of that all tomorrow (since I have to take time off work and also take him out of school early) and pull the teeth when we go in and not have us book another appointment for the procedure.

Things are still coming together! Pictures of the table numbers and favors soon!

15 days - Wedding Countdown

Ugh, suit shopping.

That's about all I have to say about that...

Since we didn't have time to get the suit shopping done yesterday we decided to do a little look-see at the Kohl's on our way home tonight. Let's just say that taking two restless 6-year olds into a crowded store before they've had their dinner probably wasn't the wisest idea.

Add to that my fiance, who likes to take his time over decisions, the racks full of pants that were either too small or too big, ties that weren't the right color, and him deciding that he didn't think he wanted to wear a jacket and I was about near tears.

The dress shoes fit. I can repeat that like a mantra...at least the dress shoes were right!!

So after 90 minutes of wrangling kids, pulling clothes into the dressing room and comparing the weave on various dress shirts we walked out empty handed. I think I'll chat with his mom and sister and see about going to an actual suit shop instead of someplace that sells mix and match separate dress clothes tossed in with the casual wear. I think that if he's put into the hands of a serious suit shop, perhaps he'll be less overwhelmed with the choices.

And I think they might be able to talk him into wearing a jacket.

I hope.

So, for tomorrow...

1. Work.

2. Getting the last of the invites in the mail. There were a few missing addresses but I have them nearly all squared away now.

3. Finalizing some more details with the venue and making the deposit payment.

4. Meeting with the commissioner who will be performing the ceremony. I have the certificate to give him and the sample ceremony words but we are going to figure out more of the details.

16 days - Wedding Countdown

This was me last night.


Stack of addressed invitations, ready to be mailed



A few hours of addressing envelopes with breaks in between to rest my tired hand. I just have to smile when I see the invitation, with the happy vines and sophisticated floral design. From the design to the colors to the little bird on the branch at the bottom, it really is me.



Today was a whirlwind from start to finish and when I think of all the things that still need to be done from now through the next two weeks...my head is a wild mix of emotions and to-do lists.

We started off the morning with soccer. Sigh...It was a relaxing start to the day (cheering, yelling and chatting with other moms). Stopped off at the post office to buy stamps. Sweet little linked wedding ring stamps, perfect for wedding invites. I stuck them on the invitations (thank goodness for peel and stick!) and The Boy slid them into the slot one by one.

Rushed back to the house to change The Boy out of his uniform & scooped up The Girl and my fiance (Neighbor Boy). My cousin lives just up the street and she'd volunteered to help us out today so we could get some things done without the kids. She took them out to play carnival games, eat lunch, play at the park and eat ice creams...hurray! With the kids taken care of, we had a chance to get a few wedding things taken care of.

Our cake tasting appointment was scheduled for 1pm. The bakery is a small little place tucked into an aging shopping center. The kind of area you would never expect a lovely little bakery to be since it shares the block with a discount store, a liquor shop, a karate studio and a Mexican restaurant. The shop owner was wonderful, very detailed and artistic. She looked at our invitation and I told her that I would like the colors and flowers incorporated into the design. She sketched an image that will eventually be our cake, it was so exciting to see my vision come alive. It will be so incredible to see it on our wedding date, live and in color, with the reception room spotlights shining on it!


Quick sketch of the cake design

And the cake itself...OH MY GOODNESS, it was so delicious! She brought out four slices and NB and I polished them all off. We decided on a top layer of chocolate with a chocolate cream and ganache layer inside and a bottom layer of white cake with lemon curd and fresh pureed raspberry sauce. The entire cake will be covered with a light whipped cream. Wow, the cake is so heavenly, creamy and moist. I know that our guests will enjoy the choices (boy, we sure did!).

After the cake tasting, we drove out to our local outlet center to have lunch and look for a suit for NB. Unfortunately the only shop that had suits wasn't there anymore but there was a jewelry store *bling!*

The jeweler was so knowledgable, very low key and no-pressure. We were able to purchase both of our wedding bands there and even though it's an outlet, they still have everything certified and guaranteed for replacement if the diamonds are lost. My ring is still there as it needed to be sent out for resizing so there is just another thing to add to the to-do list next week...pick up rings.

But that was two more things off the list. On to suit shopping tomorrow!

17 days - Wedding Countdown

One BIG thing knocked off the list!!

Last night, my Aunt, my future Mother-in-Law and future Sister-in-Law trooped to the local bridal shop for a wedding dress extravaganza!

I had a list of dresses I liked from their website and she was able to pull most of them in my size. I saved my favorite for last. The first two dresses were strapless, not really my style but they actually looked pretty nice. The second two were definitely not for me, they were drapy charmeuse and didn't accentuate my waist enough (and accentuated parts of my body that I prefer to remain unaccentuated, if you know what I mean!)

The last dress was IT.

Cue the music, put on the spotlight, the whole kit and kaboodle, just as I knew it would be because I know my body and I know what is flattering on me...

...it was IT!

Obviously, I'm not going to show you a picture. Sorry, I can't risk my Neighbor Boy seeing it even though he's NEVER online, I just don't want to ruin it in any way, just in case.

It still at the shop getting altered in the straps, adding bra cups, and adding a bustle so I can pull it up at the reception but the length is perfect!

We also found a flower girl dress for The Girl that is so perfect for our garden wedding. It's white (even though I would have preferred not to have white) but it has sweet little cap sleeves, a sash and a sheer floral embroidered overlay and it's something she'll be able to wear at Christmas and Easter too (probably for the next two years!).

Today my invitations will be coming in the mail and the box from FedEx should be greeting me when I get home from work. I'll be addressing them like a wild woman tonight. Prayers that my hand doesn't cramp and that my script is straight and legible.

So onto this weekend...

Soccer (not wedding related, of course)
Cake tasting
A suit for NB
Wedding bands

And next week...

Hair color and deciding on a style so that I can buy the appropriate hair decor
Meeting with the officiant to work out the details of the ceremony
Noting the RSVPs so I can get the seating arrangement completed

18 days - Wedding Countdown

LOTS done yesterday and so much fun to be had today, I'm so excited!!

1. The Cake.



One of their previous designs

I found a bakery and booked a tasting for Saturday. The woman working there is also the owner with her husband and she was so accomodating and friendly. She said that a two-tier will be plenty for our wedding but I might supplement anyway with some cupcakes or a sheet cake just in case everyone goes cake-crazy.

More of their designs, though I'll be going for something more on the simple side.




2. The Invitations.

I'd noted yesterday that I wasn't expecting to get the invites in the mail until the 8th, but that my mom had told me to put RSVP by Nov 11th on them! Oops...
I received a FedEx confirmation from the company and they will be arriving this Friday the 5th instead! Hurray!! This will give me Friday night and Saturday morning to totally address them all and mail them out and hopefully everyone will have their invite received by the 10th at the latest. Most of the guests are local, so they'll probably actually have them by that Monday...fingers crossed!

Check out Minted to see where I purchased the invitations. After I signed up for their email newsletter they sent me a code for $20 off my first purchase (which I used to pay for the expedited shipping) and they were also having a 15% off sale. They carry photo cards for the holidays too, some really cute designs.


3. The Dress.

Still not sure if my mom is going to feel up to coming but my aunt (and godmother) is going with me to the bridal shop tonight. My future mother-in-law and sister-in-law will be meeting us there too. I am so excited to try on the dresses! To do before I go tonight: 1. See if the shoes that my mom wore for her wedding will fit me. They are totally retro-looking but if they are cute and comfortable, I think they'll be fantastic, just have to see if they fit. 2. Make sure I'm wearing Spanx and a strapless bra *wink*


4. Guest favors.

I've finally decided on sweet, simple and pretty. As much as I'd love to have heavenly chocolate truffles from our favorite bakery, I'm sure that they are already out of my budget...let alone adding packaging so that people could take it home to eat instead of scarfing it down in between lunch and cake!


These are going to be so fun (and easy) to put together!

Since I'm going with white linen tablecloths (not sure on the napkin colors yet), soft green hydrangeas and vintage white vases, I think these favors will add a small pop of color to the tables with the colorful candy inside (I'll be doing light blue, teal, lime green and silver). And they have a bit of a unique, vintage feel too, don't you think? There is a slot in the top of each cork for a placecard so it covers two things in one!


M&M needs to start selling the peanut ones in these pretty colors too!

19 days - Wedding Countdown

Another day, a few things checked off the wedding planning list.

1. The address list.

Narrowed down the guest list with my fiance (aka: Neighbor Boy) and got some of the addresses from my future mother-in-law. He filled in the blanks on a few of them (like the names of the children) and called a few people who are out-of-town to give them the heads up about the short notice. However there are still a few mysteries to figure out (like what is the last name of some longtime friends?!)


2. The cake.


I like butterflies but sometime they look too juvenile to have them on the wedding cake. This is a nice look, having everything in crisp white.


This one is nice too, with the flowers and bits of color from the ribbon.

Contacted four bakeries. Two responded and said they were unavailable on that date. The other two bakeries haven't responded. I'll be stopping by one of them this afternoon on my way home from work to talk to them and see if they are available and if not...I'll be contacting a few more!



I really do like the look of this one, with the alternating blue and white fondant layers and the detail work. I like the elegant simplicity. I'm sure this particular style would cost an arm and a leg but the idea and colors of it are what I like most.


3. The dress.


This is not my dress, but it sure is pretty!

Called the bridal shop and they have the style and size I need available and IN STOCK! Going out tomorrow with the entourage to try dresses on. Fingers crossed that my mom will be feeling better by tomorrow evening to go with us. She had her second surgery on Monday and hasn't got much energy and is in more pain this time (they removed lymph glands from under her arm). I really would like my mom to be with us, though she's told me, "Please don't wait for me to feel better, the clock is ticking and you need to get this dress as soon as possible!!"


4. Invitations.

So I showed NB the printout sample from our crummy color printer and he said it looked like there should be a monkey swinging in all that foliage! "Wow, honey, that is JUST the feeling that I was going for." Silly man! He was joking though...he'll offer suggestions but knows that all these details are WAY more important to me than to him!



Of course, then I looked at the RSVP date and realized that my Mom told me a date off the calendar that is really early. In fact that might be the day that guest would actually be receiving the invite in the mail! I hope that people will receive their invitations and still RSVP right away and not think, "Oh darn it, I'm too late!" Okay, so that's only the first set back I've noticed so far, other than that, we've been smooth sailing!

20 days - Wedding Countdown

Just because my office desk looks like this, it doesn't really mean I'm disorganized.



Really, you'll have to trust me on this one, I guess!

Still, even though I am a pretty organized person (on the inside), twenty days to plan a wedding is VERY short notice, even for Ms. List Maker!

Here is what we have completed and finalized so far...

1. The venue.


The ceremony will take place in this lovely garden gazebo and the reception in one of their rooms that overlook the golf course. The reception manager here is fantastic, she has been so helpful and great at answering all of our questions. And just about everything is included... from the service, to the linens, beverages, appetizers and lunch, cake cutting, etc. I'd priced some rental halls and with the cost of renting chairs, tables, linens, the food and drinks, it was going to be so much more expensive. And this way, I'm glad that my family won't have to do any cleaning up!


2. The invitations.


These colors are just so relaxing and lovely to me, I want to have the cake done up in these colors too. The invites have been ordered and will be to me shortly. All I'll need to do is buy a nice new Sharpie fine line and start addressing & stamping them!

3. The ceremony officiant.

The pastor of the church we attend will be in Israel during the time of our wedding, so we asked the man who was our pre-marriage counselor to officiate. He will be fabulous, he knows us, we are comfortable with him and I'm so glad that he's able to do this for us.

4. Other details.



I purchased some vintage cake stands that we'll use in centerpieces to hold small vases of flowers or tealights. I think I have settled on green hydrangeas and white roses. Need to finalize favors...I'm leaning towards chocolate! My cousin (and Matron of Honor) has generously offered to host a bridal shower so I started an online registry. A friend offered a suit for The Boy to wear but I need to find a dress for The Girl. My fiance has his own checklist (suit, wedding band, book hotel for honeymoon night).

Still to be done, my wedding dress and a cake. Will be going out this week to find a dress (hopefully there is something that will fit me like a glove and won't have to be altered!) and I've already contacted a few places in regards to the wedding cake. In closing, isn't this just so elegant?