All the Single Ladies

Today is my birthday. My last birthday as a single lady. I don’t know if this should make me panic or not, but I feel good about it. I mean, I’m not psyched on getting older or anything, but it hasn’t turned into some milestone that made me second-guess my wedding etc., etc. I feel like that would happen in a romantic comedy: Ashton Kutcher or Hugh Grant or whomever has this big birthday party and, although he was previously googly eyed and drooling over his beautiful woman, he suddenly sprints out of the room, running from his fiancée and for the hills only later to turn up in another country with a pseudonym. As I said, that’s not me. But I did get a sweet birthday party. Have you ever had Chocolate Cake shots?

Commence Panic

After our second wedding in as many weekends, I am really starting to feel the pinch. So many details, potential problems, right timings…and comparisons! What if my raging dance party isn’t as fun as the raging dance party we just went to? What if random people jump up and start giving toasts (we heard eleven in the past 9 days)? I will just die. Literally die. Well, you know. There are myriad other worse things that could go wrong that I would actually die from, but you get my drift.

I feel confident we have the details under control—read: we know what the details are. Getting them to exist correctly, that’s another story. As we peered around the tents, secretly measured the dance floors, and mentally catalogued the awesomeness of music, I started to realize how soon our date is coming. I’m not just a lucky guest, I’m a lucky engaged guest. Yikes! Luckily I am uber-organized (and anal) so nothing (yet) surprised me out of nowhere. None of my ideas were shot to hell, yet. We’ll see how calm I am on Saturday morning when something dumb happens like the paper lanterns won’t hang straight. Bridezilla will not die until she falls asleep a married woman. Oy.

Time Spent Working: Good or Bad?

In between back-to-back weddings (more judging!!), I’m home for the week. This means my mum, who has summer vacation, and I are doing over 1,000 errands. At least. Let’s say that is a lot of driving. Anyway, we have about 17 lists going (Mum has more) and I am trying to check things off those lists as fast as I can. How many paper cocktail napkins vs how many cloth dinner napkins? Where do we get compost bins? How are we going to write out the seating list, I mean seriously, what kind of marker and where do we get it? What if we get the wrong kind? Oh dear, oh dear. I thought coming home for the week would help us get things done but I think we’re just adding to our lists and stress…

Sneak Preview

I just experienced my first wedding-while-engaged and it was fantastic. Have you ever just wanted to sit back and judge? Because that is what you can do at a wedding if you are in the midst of planning your own. I mean, you can’t tell anyone what you think, no-no Bridezilla, but you can observe and inner-monologue-comment and smirk to yourself all you want. Or cry, snivel, sigh with contentedness, and steal ideas—whatever you prefer. People think you are a greedy, needy, crazy-person anyway.
There were several details I desperately wanted to copy exactly for my upcoming nuptials/party, and there were several details I immediately placed on the do-not-ever-do list. Unfortunately, about half the guests will be at my own wedding so they probably would notice (and judge) if we copied everything. The stuff I didn’t like will stay secret with me.
Isn’t it funny how a very common ceremony (or, more importantly, party) can be so different from day to day, person to person? As long as I know mine will be the best…

Gimme, Gimme!

We went camping over this 4th of July weekend and I’ve got the raging blisters to prove it. I guess those hiking boots are a half size too small after all. Note to self: do NOT get blisters immediately preceding your wedding.
What was good about our hiking/camping adventure, besides making our dog wear his backpack—yes, it is awesome—is that we came up with about 700 more things to put on our registry. Selfish, you say? I say, so what? I’ve spent 26 years being unselfish (oldest child); besides, we just had the worst time trying to make up a good wedding present for someone who had an extreme dearth (read: 4 gifts, none of which we could afford) of gifts on their registry. So really I’m doing you a favor— if you’re my friend and you’re even invited, that is. On our own registries, there are, as suggested by the several wedding books our librarian and teacher mothers have sent us, a range of prices, a range of sizes, a range of styles, and a range of purposes. Everyone should be happy. Except for the spending money on us part. But still. Maybe I’ll ask for new hiking boots…

The Little Things

I just took a whole week off from thinking about the wedding. I coached a team in a European tournament, and when we got back I realized I hadn’t thought about the wedding since I left. Debate is on whether that is a good or bad thing. The trip was fabulous, thank you, and it was—looking back—the perfect way to think about something else for a while. It really does get tedious, worrying about RSVP numbers and table linens and all the little things somebody has to think about. Now that I’m home I can really start stressing. Yay. But that’s what makes the wedding mine (and Fiancé’s, I guess); I get to decide everything if I want to. In the end, when (if) it all falls into place, I will know I had a part in all the details and I can revel in the glory I have created. Or laugh at the disaster my silly ideas turned into…