May the Weather Fairies Smily Upon Our Union

I just took a look at the 10 day weather forecast and I'm not impressed with the prediction of snow showers for March 7th and rain/snow showers for wedding day. So, please call upon any favor you may have with the Weather Fairies and ask for decent traveling weather for next Thursday through Monday. I want our wedding guests to have no trouble getting to our rehearsal, and wedding, and home. And we especially don't want any trouble with Michael and I making it to Boston so we can fly out at the crack of dawn on Monday morning. So, whatever your spirituality allows, please either pray, mediate, send positive energy, chant, use Jedi mind control, whatever you have to do to help us insure our wedding weekend is free of weather woes. One of my coworkers tried to tell me today that bad weather is lucky on your wedding day. I think that's rain, not freezing rain, or a blizzard, or sleet. What a winter!

Just Days Left!!

The wedding countdown has switched over to just days left until the wedding now. No more months and weeks. 28 days! 26 days until Michael and I check into the Lake Opechee Inn. On Friday, I was figuring that I have 13 full business days in my office to wrap up and try to catch up (that's really funny if you know the pace at the office) so that I can take time off for the wedding and hopefully not worry about work. I have the week off before the wedding. I'm sure the office won't want me around that week anyway. And then we fly away on the Monday after the wedding for the honeymoon and we will start flying back on Michael's birthday, March 17th. I think we actually will arrive home in the wee hours on March 18th. 28 days...

All Things Wedding...

My blog posts and knitting activities have taken a back seat to all things wedding lately. My ticker says the wedding is one month, two weeks and two days away. There is so much that has been done and yet so much left to do. The date is coming fast! It is hard to believe that when we were engaged back in July that picking a March date seemed so far away. I wasn't sure how I could wait that long, and now I am trying to figure out how to bring everything together in time without driving myself, Michael or the bridesmaids crazy.

We have the big things booked such as the DJ, caterer, reception hall, the florist, the photographer and a cake. Michael's wedding band has arrived.

Things left to do...

We have to pick a honeymoon destination. And we need to start thinking in more detail about our ceremony and reception to include vows, music, flow, and a schedule. I better get my dress fitted. We need to pick a place for Elleigh and Lucas to go while we are away on the honeymoon. It's time to work with the girls to put favors together, and ceremony programs, and struggle through who is a Mrs., Ms., or a Miss so it can be written on envelopes correctly. And I would never have thought I would have become an expert on the subtle shades of pink. Peachy pink and purple pink are not acceptable. But one fuchsia is not another bride's fuchsia, so I just walk around with swatches in my bag at all time. And our accent metal is silver, not gold.

I don't think I have turned into a Bridezilla yet. Michael will have to comment if I am not accurate on that point. I'm sure he has gotten a hairy eyeball look once or twice, but that's a long way off from a true Bridezilla moment.

What I want most of all is for Michael and I to have everything in place by the Thursday before the wedding so that we get to truly enjoy each other, our friends, our family and our wedding. And we both want everyone to have a great time and enjoy the evening as much as we will.

Basket Class

I went to basket class on Saturday and made this continuous weave basket. It's about 6 inches wide and about 5 inches tall. It still needs to be stained. I believe I will be keeping it for myself and not gifting this basket.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Nancy and Jacinda were both in the same class!

After class, the three of us ended up on an impromptu wedding shopping trip. We had a quick lunch at Taipei & Tokyo in Bedford, and then we were off to Grenon Trading Company. We searched through the vases, plant pots, decorations, ribbons, silk & artificial flowers, candles and more. I found potential vases for the wedding tables, as well as some candles for the table tops, and plenty of satin and gross grain ribbon in matching wedding colors.

Wedding Whirlwind

This week has been very productive in the wedding planning arena. I've ordered some decorations for the reception hall. Michael and I worked on our guest list. I've shopped for flameless votives and tea lights. I took information from my fellow knitter, Denise, on her wedding photographer and now I have a very promising lead for our wedding.

And then today was a complete wedding whirlwind. I started off the morning with Tony, my hair artist, and he and I made a plan for my hair for the next two months. I then went to the travel agent and picked up the latest 2008 versions of potential honeymoon locations. We still don't have a destination picked out, but we know we want that to be a warm and relaxing location where ever it is.

I swung back to the house to pick up Michael, and then we were off to the Lake Opechee Inn to meet with Ann, the wedding coordinator. We have the time of our wedding now, picked the entrees we will offer, talked hors d’ oeuvres, beverages, ceremony set up, schedule for our wedding weekend, rehearsal, shades of pink for linens, etc.

After meeting with Ann, we had an early dinner at Fratello's in Laconia, which is located right across the road from Lake Opechee Inn. We tried to make it to MW Tux in Concord, but they were closed before we got there. And then we went to Target to add some items to our wedding registry. And then Michael browsed wedding bands again at Jared's. It was a busy day, but we got a lot accomplished for the wedding.

Tuxedos

Michael and I went Tuxedo shopping today. We ended up going to Mr. Tux in Concord, after a very unpleasant experience at a shop in Meredith that supposedly sells attire for "special moments." I wanted to use the Lakes Region store because of the Laconia location proximity to Lake Opechee Inn. And my bridesmaid Nancy had ordered her dress through that same Laconia shop and had reported no problems. I will spare you the details of Saturday's experience, but everything works out for the best, I guess. I need to do some follow up calling on Monday though, as I am a bit concerned about whether they really did order Nancy's bridesmaid dress and try to get a delivery confirmation date for her.

Mr. Tux is being purchased by Men's Warehouse. As of January 1st, the two companies will merge and the tuxedo rental part will be known as MW Tux. The Mr. Tux website is being changed now to reflect the change in ownership, so you can't get on the mrtux.com currently. And the new products that Men's Warehouse will be offering through the old Mr. Tux locations won't be available to look at until after January 1st. So, Michael found a 2 button Calvin Klein black tuxedo that will definitely be available in 2008 that he liked. He looked very handsome in it too, I might add. And it is visible on the Men's Warehouse website right now. It is the lighter wool, so not as stiff and scratchy as the winter weight tuxedo. And then we found a brown vest and tie set that has the dark chocolate color of Kim's, Shaelyn's and Nancy's dresses, but also a lighter brown in it so that the brown and the black together in the tuxedo actually look a lot nicer than I had originally pictured. (I think maybe Gram had instilled in me that brown and black don't go together in fashion, so I was feeling weird putting them together in a suit.) I am thinking matching bow ties instead of the ties for the boys, Angus and Ryan. There is a really pretty pink vest and tie option that matched Jacinda's dress swatch that I am still trying to talk Michael into for himself to keep him a bit separate from the other guys, but he's not sure why he can't look the same as all the other guys. I think he will do the pink if I insist, but it won't be his first pick. I originally wanted the tuxedos to be rented out of a shop in Laconia, so it would be right near Lake Opechee Inn and I thought easier for the out of state guys to collect the day before the wedding. But using MW Tux may work out better in the end. I have double checked the Men's Warehouse website store locater and it appears that by zip code that there is a Men's Warehouse rental location 2 miles from Brian in Tennessee and 8 miles from Bill in Pennsylvania. There is a location in Williston, Vermont, that's not too far for Ryan. I think my folks will have the longest drive to a store location from Brandon to Williston. The tuxedos can be picked up from any MW Tux location and dropped off at any MW tuxedo location. So the guys can get measured and pick up the tuxedos at a location near their homes and bring the suits with them, or use the Concord location. And then all can be dropped off together after the wedding in Concord no matter where the tuxedos were picked up. Michael and I plan to go back right after the new year and finalize the style and the vest color, etc., and make sure that MW Tux will still be carrying all of the components we picked out today. I also want to see what Men's Warehouse adds to the rental line in the pink and chocolate brown color scheme too after the merger. The Concord Manager said there should be plenty of time still to order all of the tuxedos for the wedding if the measurements are all received by the beginning of February.

Wedding Invitations

I ordered our wedding invitation kit from Paper Source tonight. The invitations will match the guest book we already got from Paper Source. We are going to print our own invitations using the inkjet printer, and save a bunch of money by doing so. This kit has everything we need to make gorgeous invites: envelopes, ribbon, wrappers, and all the paper needed. We won't send these out until just after the new year, but I wanted to buy them sooner than later. I had a fear that the product would be so popular it would go out of stock, or so unpopular that it would be discontinued.

Things are moving on the wedding front now, and even Michael seems to be getting into it. I think he actually perused some of the tuxedo brochures Nancy got for us.

I'm up late again to watch the Sox. Go Red Sox!!!

Wedding Planning

Lots of fun wedding stuff happened today!

On the way home from work tonight, I beat the Halloween Howl crowd to Main Street in Concord and I went to Apollo Travel Services. I spoke with Carmen Martin, a travel consultant, and set Michael and I up with a wedding registry for our honeymoon trip. I remember when Allison and Jay were married, they registered for their honeymoon trip to Barbados and I thought it was a great idea. Michael and I are still thinking we might like to go to Costa Rica, but we still have plenty of time to decide on the exact destination and what resort we'd like to stay at.

I definitely need to start the process for getting my passport. I hear that the passports are not taking near as long as before, but I still need to leave enough time for processing.

Nancy brought me several tuxedo rental pamphlets from the Laconia area today, and Allison told me how she and Jay were happy when they used Mr. Tux in Concord for their wedding rentals. Michael still needs to decide on what attire he would like for himself and the groomsmen, but if rentals are involved, it might be easier to rent them in Laconia since it will be closer to Lake Opechee Inn.

And then for dinner tonight, Michael and I met with Rick and Carolyn Bowie, and Nancy and Dale at The Weathervane in Chichester. It was really nice to meet Rick, as he is going to be our wedding DJ. Both Michael and I are excited since he's got a great personality and seems like he will be able to get people moving on the dance floor. We look forward to our meeting with Rick in February when we will go through lists of music for the wedding.

And then after dinner, Michael and I went to Jared's (The Galleria) to look at wedding bands for Michael. He found a few things he liked, so we took model numbers and will stop in there again to see if he still likes the same styles, as well as check a few other stores.

Shaelyn has her dress!

Shaelyn, my little junior bridesmaid, has her chocolate brown dress! Her mother, Karen, found it at JC Penney. Karen is going to add a little pink in the way of a new bow around the collar and/or something around the waist.

Despite the look on her face in the photo, Karen assures me that Shae is very excited about being in the wedding, and has even brought it up to complete strangers.

This is so exciting! I knew I would jump in with both feet (and drag Michael along) with the wedding planning when I got back from vacation, but Shaelyn getting her dress seems to have gotten the ball rolling for me. Hopefully for my friends and loved ones, it hasn't gotten the ball rolling on a bridezilla. But I do need to get moving according to the wedding counter, as there isn't a lot of time left. Not that I am counting or anything.

The Date Is Set

I met Nancy, one of my bridesmaids, and Jacinda, my Justice of the Peace of Honor, at the Lake Opechee Inn late this afternoon. I am so excited to report that the date for my wedding has been set as Saturday, March 8th, 2008. The ceremony and the reception will take place at the Lake Opechee Inn in Lakeport, NH. It is such a relief to have a date. Now I can pull all of my planning so far together with an actual end date. I believe there are 168 days left to my wedding now, 5 and a half months. 5 months left once I return from Hawaii.

Now I can stop stressing about not having a date set and start worrying about how little time I have left to plan.

And I am so lucky to have friends who network. Nancy was able to arrange for me to have a "life of the party" DJ for my wedding. Everything is shaping up for a stellar wedding so far.

Something Blue

I finished reading Something Blue today while driving to and from Concord. Without giving too much away, Something Blue did not turn out to be a wedding story. It started that way, but actually ended up being a novel about becoming a mother. Very much chick lit, but sometimes it is nice to listen to a fun story that will never win any awards.

I am sure it was all the book's fault that I strayed from looking at wedding shoes at the Burlington Coat Factory this afternoon and found myself instead over in the Baby Land area. I was checking out baby cribs, bags and strollers. I got myself back on task though, and bought a new outfit on sale to wear out to dinner in Hawaii and found myself possibly a pair of shoes to wear at the wedding reception after the dressy shoes (that have not been found yet) are killing my feet.