And just like that... it was over...

I have a lot of catching up to do, I guess, but in the meantime, here's some of the bad news. :D

Aw. :(

:D

And also, with an initial budget of $5,000, we totally didn't make it. Here's the final pie:

(It clicks bigger.)
The total, including the rentals which my dad paid for, and the flowers that Robin paid for, came to around $8,500. It's a pretty intensely huge sum of money, and while I can't say it was worth it (because it's such a huge amount of money), I can say it was a really, really, really magical day. I don't know how it all came together so amazingly well, but it did and I'm so grateful.

Also, I miss the shit out of my house guests. They were so easy to have around that I got used to them all being here and the house still feels empty (and way less funny) without them.

It was a good week, you know? I'll post more later, I guess. Pictures and things.

Timing is everything..?

Ok! So we don't need a permit from the city, but I was warned about the consequences of supplying alcohol, which further reinforced my intention to... um... not.

I contacted the rock guy, but he said I have to set up an appointment at the warehouse because there isn't always a person there, so I have to do that this week.

Robin and I discussed the flowers s'more. Pink hydrangeas are apparently too expensive and too intermittent in terms of quality, so they're not a sure bet. Instead, the florist she's working with suggested Akito roses, which I'm ok with since they're pretty fricken pretty.

I wrote another part of my part of the wedding ceremony today that is intended to be read (also by Robin) but it's six minutes long... Is that too long for a reading? I have no idea. And I have no idea if I should let Mike read it before the wedding or not since he's supposed to write the same thing from his point of view... Twelve minutes? And then the poem would be like five minutes, intro five minutes, other thing with the things about six minutes too, then the vows which are like five minutes each, then the rings which are about five minutes total... so... like... give or take forty-five minutes? Is that too long? I have no idea. Bah.

Do to things from last time and new things!

Last week's to dos (I'll use a musical note to denote they're done because I can't figure out how to do a check mark on here):
♪ - Post the announcement at the courthouse (we posted the other one in the park already).
- See about ordering rocks for the guest book.
- Call the city to make sure we don't need a permit.
♪ - ummmmaaah.
- Finish the script (a little more at least).
- Show the offish and the local bridesmaidy my newfound makeup abilities...
- Start organizing the basement... (Ugh.)
- Eventually, paint.

Um.. Oops.

But there is news!

My friend Robin called yesterday to ask how things were going with the weddingy stuff and so I went through everything and she was all, "What are you doing for centerpieces?" and I was all, "Um, nothing, really. Fuck it, I guess. White table cloths are fine." And she was all, "I'M DOING IT! WHAT COLOR ROSES DO YOU WANT? WHITE?!?"  And I was all, "WTF?!?!!!" And she was all, "YEAH!" and I was all, "ARE YOU SERIOUSLY FULL OF SERIOUSNESS?" Ok, so maybe it wasn't that dramatic, but it felt like it.

So now we're going to have centerpieces (!!) with white roses and other things to be determined. AND!!! New paragraph for the best part that I've been thinking about all day.

My plan was to go to costco on the Friday, buy the best roses they had (they sell two dozen roses for, like, twenny-five dollars including tax), take two for the rose ceremony and make makeshift centerpieces with the rest. And I know from oooing and aahing over those roses for the past twelve years or more that they never have white. Sometimes they have yellow, but the yellow ones generally are a little bruised. Usually, they have really strong and fresh pink ones or the yellow ones with the reddish streaks, but the rest are kind of touch and go. And you can't have yellow for a wedding (infidelity, even though that's such a load because yellow roses are awesome), and pink? Well, pink is alright, but with my dress already pink...

But now (!!!!) she's getting us white roses for the rose ceremony. Like.... I'm so grateful and I didn't even realize how much I actually wanted white till she made it an option.

I didn't really budget for flowers. I mean, I spent about $200 on the bouquets (fake flowers), but I couldn't see spending more than that getting other flowers, especially not a ton of flowers that would eventually just go to waste.

Except that... I love roses. As un-friendly and choppy as cut flowers may be, I do have a soft spot for them for some reason. The yellow ones remind me of my grammy and the white ones are the ones I used to give people when they were having a hard time (unless they were having a really hard time, in which case, they needed yellows). The yellow ones remind me of the fragility of life and how the small things can be so beautiful, while the white ones, to me, are symbolic of an eternal shared love we have. You know what I mean? It's pure and complex and beautiful...

I dunno. I just like roses. They're my flower of choice.

I'm so grateful she offered to do this. It's the sweetest thing. And to top it off, she was all, "Do you want the rose ceremony ones to be a bud or open or...? Send me a picture of what you want and I'll get it."

So now I get to look at pictures of roses for a while. *prances with jazz hands*

Also, how scary is it that the little counter at the bottom of this page has the snowman almost touching the house?! GAH. I never thought this would ever happen. I thought he'd stay at the six month mark forever.

Things to do this week...ish....

- Post the announcement at the courthouse (we posted the other one in the park already).
- See about ordering rocks for the guest book.
- Call the city to make sure we don't need a permit.
- ummmmaaah.
- Finish the script (a little more at least).
- Show the offish and the local bridesmaidy my newfound makeup abilities...
- Start organizing the basement... (Ugh.)
- Eventually, paint.

There are other things I'm forgetting.

I fixed (hopefully) the bridesmaids' presents and we got the favors in the mail today and they're fricken awesome.

That's about it, I think.

Update...

Point form because I'm sleepy.

Wedding script: coming along.
Rentals: rented- including tan colored parasols, white square plates and white table cloths. Yey! Somehow, our wedding might end up really pretty and summery...
Dress alterations: done and great. I can't really breathe in my wedding dress, but it keeps my back straight. :D The shorter dress is bigger, so if I want to eat, I'll just change.
Bridesmaids' presents: I got them, but they're a little broken, so I have to fix them all.
Favors: They're supposed to be in the mail (as of June 30th), but I have no idea how long they'll take to get here. She had to mail them super slow ground mail because they're magnets and magnets kill planes.
What else?
Hair: I decided on a haircut, I think. Short. Natalie Portman style. I think I decided it a long time ago, but thought maybe something would come along that would be better...
Nails: I found a nail polish I like. This one. It's actually a top coat, but it goes on shimmery and sheer, so yey.

I think that's it for now.

Dress! And other things...

At Maxine's behest, an update on the dress.

I'm due to pick it up Saturday at eleven thirty. Hey, speaking of Saturday at eleven thirty, you know, Maxine, you could always crash the dress fitting and see it? :D

Anyway, after a scare this morning upon receiving an email saying the dress was done but ended up too small (what's the saying? Measure twice, cut once? Or something about not being able to make a short thing longer once you've cut it?), it seems to have worked out in the end, I think. The short dress might not be done in time, but luckily my dress altery person is the same size as me, so she's been able to check the fit as she's gone along.

Anyway, it'll be nice to see what she's done with it, if she removed the flowers under the waistband and how that looks if she did- hopefully it'll make me look thinner and less bulky around the midsection without all those extra layers.

We'll see.

I should also mention that Mike got me the earrings I wanted, except not.

Remember these?

Source: etsy.com via Prin on Pinterest

Except that instead of those, which I wanted because they're topazes and they'd match my engagement ring, Mike got me these:

Source: etsy.com via Prin on Pinterest

But really, the picture doesn't do them justice, and I'm actually really glad he got me these instead of the topaz ones because they're so delicate and tiny that when you hold them in your hand, you can't fathom how the topaz would fit or make it nicer. Then again, maybe if I held the topaz ones in my hand I'd feel differently, but I really don't think so. They're teeny tiny and simple. Perfect, I think. And the 18K wires mean I don't have to worry about getting all infected, which is what happens when I wear any other earrings than the 22K hoops my dad got me when I was four.

Maybe I should take my own picture to see if I can do them more justice.

Also, I decided that instead of a guestbook, I want to do this:

Source: historicfloridawedding.com via Prin on Pinterest

Except that means I have to figure out where to get stones that are lightly colored enough that writing will show on them. The alternative, maybe, would be blank fridge magnets that people write on, but I'm not sure how long they'd last.

What else?

Oh, today we went to the notary, but I'm in the process of writing about that elsewhere... so... the main points are the paperwork is filled out, the rules and laws and such were explained to us and she managed to make us cry. :D

Meanwhile, my dad and stepmother are handling the dishes ordering... And I sent out the pinterest registry to everybody on the list... And I guess that's it for now.

ETA: That ticker at the bottom of the page is starting to freak me out. "2 months and 4 days" GAH! The website that came from says 65 days. Holy crap. O.o

Updates- dress and officiant... and things...

So my SIL got an email notification last week saying the government received our form asking for her to be the officiant. Eee.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting with the lady (my friend Jon's sister) who will hopefully make my dress fit more fabulously than it does now. It needs to be cinched at the waist more and my friend Robin decided I should ask if she can cover up the seam in the back a little better. We'll see. Remind me to pack an extra ativan tomorrow just in case I panic. I'm not great with trying on clothes in stores.

97 days to go. HOLY SHITSNACKS WITH RICE AND SOME COOKIES FOR DESSERT.

Also, we have to figure out the schedule and the menu. And where my hair will be done. And make up. And I think that's all I'm freaking out about at the present time. Oh and the vows and structure of the ceremony. I should book the notary.

Hooo. It feels like I had everything figured out a few weeks ago... Now? Not so much.

ETA: Oh, and while there are some invites still in the mail mysteriously, there are about a half dozen we forgot to mail. :-o Sorreh. :D

Dress!

So the dress alterations will probably happen Saturday. Well, the decisions on the alterations, anyway. We'll see what happens.

Also, invites are still being delivered to Montrealers. It's utterly ridiculous. A month to go from a suburb to the city? Come on. Just unbelievable.

That's about it for updates.

Eeee... and random updates...

Mailed the officiant papers today. :-o We'll see what happens.

Theknot.com says we have 106 days. Hopefully the papers will get there before the 90 day cut off mark.. Eee. Also, the knot says I have 109 things to do and 72 things done... It doesn't feel that way...

I may have also found the gifts for the bridesladies, which I think is just my sister in law (officiant), Maxine and Tracy, so cost-wise, it's not so bad. :D I found something that I think is plain enough to be worn, cute enough to mean something and hopefully, depending on the vendor's response, a certain color to represent us.

Mike still hasn't decided boo about his groomsguys' gifts as far as I know.

I guess the other main things left are deciding what we'll do for the ceremony, fixing my hair and make up,  getting the dresses altered, telling Mike's mom (if he wants to?) that she's doing the rehearsal dinner...? Um. What else? Finalizing things with the photographer... Arranging the rental of the plates and stuff... Deciding if we want a tent... Um... I guess a lot of stuff.

So far... [counts] Twenty people are coming. I don't think we'll need a tent for that.

I guess that's it for now. Oh, and some people still haven't gotten their invites, which is a bummer. The people we know of are in Montreal too, so wtf.

Invites!

In other news, the invites went out yesterday and apparently, quite a few of the local peeps got them today already. :-o

me: It sucks how you can't predict Canada Post's reliability.
Mike: It could get there in a day... or three weeks. Yey!

:D

It's kind of a mixed bag of emotions. If it was a pie, it'd break apart kind of like this:

"Oh my gah! I have to get married!" - 15%
"Oh my gah! This wedding isn't all in my head anymore! It's actually real!?" 20%
"People have our invites, like, in their little hands. Huh." 20%
"I wonder if they'll come..." 18%
"I wonder if they understood the invite." 18%
"I wonder what their face looked like when they opened it." 55%
"Holy shit. It's in four months. I hope Mike still loves me then." 36%
"Man, this is so over 100% but I'm going to keep going anyway because my family always ends up with more than half a pie left, regardless of how many people attend the party." 4%
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..." 63%
"I wonder what my family's reaction was/will be." 22%
"Boo better survive till my wedding." 92% (He's having a bad night tonight.)
"I wonder who else I forgot to invite." 37%

I think that's about it. :D