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Friday, April 30, 2010

The Date is Saved! (UPDATE)


Maybe not an exciting update, but I did find a way to get a picture of the Save-the-Date before it came in:



*sigh*

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Date is Saved!

I must admit, I’m a bit on a high at the moment.

Last night, Chris and I selected our Save-the-Dates and ordered them!

This is the template we used (changed the colors, for sure), and this is the photo we used. I'll post what they actually look like when they come.

This is officially our first wedding purchase. Yes, I’ve bought bridal magazines and gone dress shopping, and spent more time online researching and thinking about planning than I should, but this is the first time we have actually bought anything for the wedding.

And, I am surprised, but clicking those buttons and anticipating their arrival in the mail very nearly brought me to tears. I think part of that is that Chris and I have been engaged for very nearly a year (it will be exactly a year on Saturday), and I have been wanting to go-go-go-go since the beginning and now I finally can.

There is also something thrilling about making the decision on the date (despite obstacles to doing so). Even more, ordering a product saying so that we get to send out to people is an incredible kind of high. People have known about our engagement and been asking about a wedding date for a while, so now it’s quite nice to officially sate their thirst.

Ordering the Save-the-Dates also makes me feel like the ball of our wedding is finally rolling.

We really are doing this.

In about a year – which is sufficiently close for me to be able to begin planning in earnest.

And I get to.

And I am.

I’m almost giddy. J

Next up: doing an initial flower consult on Sunday with our great family friend who will also be our florist.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Free Wedding Organizer

Me!

Well, not just for anyone, but I'm definitely serving that function for my mom.
She and my sister came over on Sunday and we spend several hours planning and trying to get things done.
There are now 66 days until the wedding and a great many things on the to-do list that still need to be to-done. It doesn't help the planning process that my mom's computer was still acting kinda hinky, so she doesn't use it hardly at all.

So anyways, I went over last night to deliver the phone charger she'd left at my place on Sunday and I offered to take on more responsibilities as her acting maid of honor (the official maid of honor is actually my former babysitter and she does not live here, so I'm standing in for things like planning and execution).

It's kind of nice to see the later stages of planning and how that all goes, even before the big day, but it sure is frustrating to have really and truly no control. I like control. Especially when it comes to planning and follow-through. These are my strengths....and I am not within my bounds to employ them much at the moment.

In good news on that front, many things have been decided and executed, including the fact that my sister and I now officially have our bridesmaids dresses (and I have my shoes), although both of our dresses need some tailoring, which is something we must do, and soon.
We have also made some decisions regarding the bachelorette party, which will include both karaoke and sushi...both of which are things I love. So, yay! (More on that at another time.)

Altogether, it seems like I'm not just organizing the to-do list, but also the other people involved (my sister, mom, and her fiance).

I wanted to post about doing all this, but now I feel that what I've written is disjointed and poorly organized (noting the irony that I've just listed organization as my strength at the same time as nothing that I'm not doing it so well right now....). But I'll leave it since I feel that it reflects my state of mind.
I'm exhausted.
I could sleep for a very, very long time right now.
At this moment my eyes are drooping, but I must remain awake to complete my responsibilities for the day.


Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Date (For Realsies, This Time)

So after the last date-setting debacle of insanity-inducing run-arounds and craziness, Chris and I are proud to announce our formal, official, 100% solid-gold wedding date!!

Christopher and I
will be married on
Saturday
May 14th
2011

(Confession: writing that, my stomach drops some and, despite my serious fatigue, I can't help smiling and maybe even starting to cry some.)

We have settled now on the place listed previously: Rush Ranch, part of Solano County land trust and located in Suisun City, CA (about an hour north of Oakland and just over an hour northeast of San Francisco). I have even emailed the reservationist and she has set aside this date for us and our wedding.

Our choice of date was locked in for sure when we went back to view Rush Ranch again and do two things: (1) make sure that's where we wanted the wedding and, (2) do some scouting of the lands to decide where things would be.

Hiking to the top of the small hill upon which we have very nearly decided we will be married, I just looked at Chris and decided that there's no way we're not getting married right there.

With that, and with the admonition from the groundskeeper (sidebar: he lives on-site and was totally rad to chat with about the whole thing, basically saying that the Ranch has rules for events....but they don't count for much since he'll be the one there during the actual wedding and why should anyone else care?)....where was I? Oh yeah, what he told us: that once you creep past Mid-May, the weather gets too hot for comfort (there no A/C anywhere at the Ranch) and that the buggies come out for serious.

We had been considering three dates in May and the only things holding me back from choosing were the idea that it would be too cold on the 14th compared to the other two dates (both later) AND the knowledge that my sister will be living in Italy during that time and her finals schedule might be the week before or after the wedding...and I'd kind of like her to be there!
So, since the weather's better then AND it means less likely to conflict with sister's finals: voila!

I'm so relieved and happy to have a date set and cleared with all parents and important others.

I know that this date may not be the most convenient for everyone who will be invited but, dang it, there are SOOOOOOOO many of y'all that if we waited for one that were even convenient for most there would be no wedding.
Part of what's been so difficult for me is knowing just that and needing to make a decision anyways; I wanted to pick a date that works for most people, even if only because I don't want to feel like I need to apologize for picking a wedding date that works for me and my husband-to-be (and our immediate family members and bridal party). So, I won't apologize. I will just say that, I understand conflicts, and I hope that all who are invited can and will choose to come show us off into that land of marriage.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

For my Mother

Lately, as it may be evident, I haven't been doing much wedding planning...for myself anyways.
School has ramped up and I have been spending a lot of time on my volunteer work and in self-reflection.
I have also been helping my mom work on her wedding plans...especially because her wedding is coming up much more quickly: June 26th. I also have a lot of bridesmaid duties, including planning the Bachelorette party.
Because of my dad's wedding a few years ago, my brother's wedding this past August, a close friend's wedding the day before my brother's, my best friend who is planning her wedding for a few weeks following mine, and my mother's wedding, I've had a lot of close contact with wedding lately. It's fascinating to build these ideas and notice how people approach things differently - and all of the wedding that have already happened have been lovely and beautiful.

Also, since my mom's wedding is following her engagement shortly, there's a lot to do in the next 80 days. I plan to focus on her, for the most part, for all these reasons, but I'm also going to be sharing some of that experience here, even though it's not our wedding I'm planning for. I suppose it's a learning experience and I'm eager to share.

To start, I'm helping keep my mom and her fiance on track, time-wise, which is really important since they have so little time left. I visited last night and helped her choose her shoes and get them ordered. I also helped her decide on what tasks she was going to tackle over this coming weekend, which is fun.

I like organizing.

Now, it's time to work more on the Bachelorette Party -- planning what's going to happen and where.