Sunday was my (our) bridal shower. My lovely aunts (Cindy, Connie, Cathy, Barb, and Carolyn), with some help from my mom, made this really great celebration. It was so pretty. Our wedding colors, red and ivory, decorated the house. They had placed beautiful white daisies throughout the house. Everything was so great. The food was really yummy. And then the cake! German chocolate, which is my all time favorite. So many people came. I was amazed how blessed we are to have so many friends and family that care. People were way too generous! I can't believe the things we received. It had been a while since we had made the registry. We promised each other we wouldn't look at it so it would be a surprise. Well, time passed and we both just kind of forgot about it with everything else that's going on in our lives. Though the gifts were things we had added to our registry, it was still a great surprise since we hadn't looked at the registry.
I have to say I just really loved my helpers. Emma, my cousin's little girl, and Megan, my soon-to-be-niece, were very helpful with the task of opening presents. They were so cute. Emma is about 4 and megan is a year and a half. They were a great team. I think there's some good pictures of them somewhere. I thought I knew how to open presents but these girls have it down to a science. Emma took charge of the more difficult wrapping jobs. They were under strict orders not to break any ribbons. And they followed said orders! They were so cute. Megan was in charge of taking the bows and ribbons to my friend, Hiroko, to make the practice bouquet. She did a great job. She was a little confused at first. I think there were just too many new people. The girls were great!
The morning of the shower, I was in the bathroom getting ready. I was wondering who would be there and what was planned and how embarrassed would I be when it hit me. I'm getting married. For real. Soon. In six weeks. Holy $h!t! There have been times when I feel like an adult. But usually in my head I still feel like I'm anywhere between the ages of 13 and 19. It all depends on the company I'm with, like the kids or Kevin. With this realization, I really felt like an adult. A full adult. I can't say I'm not nervous. I am. Very. But not about spending my life with Kevin. That part comforts me. He's my best friend and everything I could ever want in a husband. He makes me laugh. He comforts me when I'm down. He stands by me when I need strength. He reminds me of my good qualities. He gets dorky and nerdy with me. He loves me unconditionally. No other guy has ever made me feel as happy as he does. He is my perfect match. I suppose what makes me nervous is being the center of attention and making sure everyone has an awesome time. Someone mentioned to me at one point that even when I'm slurping soup, people will be watching us. That's just freaky. And pressure! I almost always spill on myself. I don't want anything on my wedding gown and I really don't want anyone to see me spill on myself! Kevin joked about getting me a bib or something. I'm seriously considering it. The bridal shower was a good practice at being the party's focus. But I know it will be much more intense the day of the wedding. I keep praying I don't trip and fall in front of everyone!
For the most part, everything is coming together. I was freaking out about the invitations. Karen, Kevin's sister, had a great idea. She suggested that I contact the printer and have her send the invitations now. The problem was the envelopes. The printer didn't have the envelopes yet. She was still waiting for them. I couldn't wait any longer. The invitations were supposed to be mailed out the first week of July. Karen said we could buy envelopes and print them ourselves. Karen is quite a crafty person. She's like a really awesome version of Martha Stewart. She knew of a shop that had all kinds of supplies for this sort of thing. The invitations were sent next day air. I bought the envelopes. We started printing them right away. We worked on them all weekend. Monday morning we bought all the necessary stamps. They are now stamped and sealed and ready to go to the post office first thing this morning. Thank goodness! There is one thing we didn't make clear. The ceremony starts at 4pm outside on the patio. It should be about 30 minutes. The cocktail hour starts at 5:30pm inside on Bourbon Street. We decided there should be some downtime between the two so we don't miss anything and also to give the vendors time to set things up. That gives our guests time to check-in, change, use the bathroom, stretch, or whatever else they would like to do before the party starts. The wedding party and some family members will be taking photos during that hour break. The reception will immediately follow the cocktail hour in the Orleans ballroom. Everything will be marked but I thought we'd give a little warning.
My brother, the Man of Honor, went with me to my trial hair and make up appointment. There were several points when I saw the look on the stylist's face. I did tell her that my brother is not in fact gay. He just knows about vintage hair styles and make up, which still sounds strange. It was a good time. He gave me good advice. I'm not quite satisfied with the look and may ask for another appointment to try something a little different. I have a piece I really want to incorporate. We'll see what happens.
Little details are being worked out. There are a couple surprises for the ceremony and wedding and I'm so excited! Even Kevin doesn't know everything. It's going to be great!
I'm getting really excited. And I have to say, I'm really looking forward to the honeymoon. I need a vacation!
How long has it been?
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx
And that my friends and loved ones is the kind of joke Kevin tells. You'll agree if he has ever tried to tell the Ford truck joke... Yikes!
Anyway, time is marching on, as it always does. I believe the little count down clock says 54 days. Less than two months. Does anyone else think that's just crazy? I mean, it was just yesterday that he asked me to marry him. I guess it was really just over a year ago, but it feels like yesterday. As my brother will tell you, I'm not the best at time. He mentioned the other day his ten year high school reunion is coming up. It didn't make sense to me because I had my ten year reunion last year. And my brother is four years younger than me. Then he ever so gently reminded me that my reunion was in 2008. And by "gently" I mean he smacked me in the forehead and basically called me old. Nice.
Back to wedding business. There have been some bumps in the road. But we're taking them in stride. All the vendors seem to be ready and have answered all our questions as they come up. Kevin and I are going to be working on our vows soon. We've been thinking about them but we'll start working with the Reverend on them. Time for little details now. Like the wedding favors and stuff.
One of the bumps is that we're still waiting for our invitations to arrive. Normally, I'm not a nail biter. I leave that to Kevin (who will be getting a manicure before the wedding if he likes it or not!). But these days I barely have any nails. I've been assured that she will mail them out this week with a rush delivery. The envelopes she said that were mailed to her were crushed and she had to reorder them. I politely but sternly explained my invitations were supposed to have been mailed to my guests 2 weeks ago. So, I'm a bit peeved.
Everything else is going well. I had my final gown fitting on Friday. I was really nervous and freaking out. All in all the day turned out well but started out really awful - which I will get into soon. My cousin and bridesmaid, Sara, joined me at the bridal shop for the fitting. She's finally back from Spain and I can't believe how tan she is. She looks great! She was helping me into these torture devices we call under garments when there was a knock at the "door" which is really a curtain. Karen, my soon-to-be sister-in-law poked her head in. I was so pleasantly surprised! I was thrilled! She helped me into those torture devices. She and Sara used great team work to figure out how to properly secure me in my gown. And then I stepped out of the curtain to that little pedestal to give them room and see how it looked. Suddenly, my mom showed up! I almost cried. I went from being unsure that anyone would be there with me to having all these important people there. I felt so loved and supported! My mom and Karen had never seen the gown in person. They were really happy. I was happy. But I was feeling self-conscious. I've been battling this red patchy rash all over my body. It's very prominent on my arms and legs. Well, luckily my legs are hidden away. But some of the rash on my arms shows. I wanted something to cover it up just in case. The staff there helped us figure out what we were looking for and had the perfect solution. I felt so much more at ease. Just before we left a woman poked her head out of a dressing room. I thought she was looking for one of the seamstresses. She looked at me and told me how beautiful I looked and that she understands why I'm self-conscious but I shouldn't be because I looked beautiful. And I tried not to cry. My family told me I looked great which means a lot but to hear it from a stranger, it just makes it a little more true somehow. I mean, your family loves you no matter what and they see the person you are so you're beautiful to them anyway. So that ended on a positive note.
One of the other little bumps was the bridal shower invites. There was a typo for my mom's phone number. Kind of an issue. But we managed to take care of that. I collected as many phone numbers as I could and sent messages to the people I could about the error. I think almost everyone has been contacted now. Disaster averted.
The honeymoon plans have been set in motion. This is so much more less stress which is great for me! I'm pretty sure the stress of everything is what's kind set this rash on me. Kevin and I booked our trip to the West Coast. We leave for San Diego on September 6th. We return from Seattle on September 22nd. It's going to be great! I can't wait. We're not planning every moment of every day. We are spending some time in San Diego to see the sites. Then we have a few spots here and there we want to see but nothing else set in stone. I talked to a friend that's from California. She just took her family out there for a vacation and they had a few plans scheduled but nothing else strictly set. She said it was the best vacation they've had. That's what we want, too. I think we're going to make a stop at Disneyland. Kevin's never been to any of the Disney parks. I've never been to Disneyland so this will be great!
Anyway, time is marching on, as it always does. I believe the little count down clock says 54 days. Less than two months. Does anyone else think that's just crazy? I mean, it was just yesterday that he asked me to marry him. I guess it was really just over a year ago, but it feels like yesterday. As my brother will tell you, I'm not the best at time. He mentioned the other day his ten year high school reunion is coming up. It didn't make sense to me because I had my ten year reunion last year. And my brother is four years younger than me. Then he ever so gently reminded me that my reunion was in 2008. And by "gently" I mean he smacked me in the forehead and basically called me old. Nice.
Back to wedding business. There have been some bumps in the road. But we're taking them in stride. All the vendors seem to be ready and have answered all our questions as they come up. Kevin and I are going to be working on our vows soon. We've been thinking about them but we'll start working with the Reverend on them. Time for little details now. Like the wedding favors and stuff.
One of the bumps is that we're still waiting for our invitations to arrive. Normally, I'm not a nail biter. I leave that to Kevin (who will be getting a manicure before the wedding if he likes it or not!). But these days I barely have any nails. I've been assured that she will mail them out this week with a rush delivery. The envelopes she said that were mailed to her were crushed and she had to reorder them. I politely but sternly explained my invitations were supposed to have been mailed to my guests 2 weeks ago. So, I'm a bit peeved.
Everything else is going well. I had my final gown fitting on Friday. I was really nervous and freaking out. All in all the day turned out well but started out really awful - which I will get into soon. My cousin and bridesmaid, Sara, joined me at the bridal shop for the fitting. She's finally back from Spain and I can't believe how tan she is. She looks great! She was helping me into these torture devices we call under garments when there was a knock at the "door" which is really a curtain. Karen, my soon-to-be sister-in-law poked her head in. I was so pleasantly surprised! I was thrilled! She helped me into those torture devices. She and Sara used great team work to figure out how to properly secure me in my gown. And then I stepped out of the curtain to that little pedestal to give them room and see how it looked. Suddenly, my mom showed up! I almost cried. I went from being unsure that anyone would be there with me to having all these important people there. I felt so loved and supported! My mom and Karen had never seen the gown in person. They were really happy. I was happy. But I was feeling self-conscious. I've been battling this red patchy rash all over my body. It's very prominent on my arms and legs. Well, luckily my legs are hidden away. But some of the rash on my arms shows. I wanted something to cover it up just in case. The staff there helped us figure out what we were looking for and had the perfect solution. I felt so much more at ease. Just before we left a woman poked her head out of a dressing room. I thought she was looking for one of the seamstresses. She looked at me and told me how beautiful I looked and that she understands why I'm self-conscious but I shouldn't be because I looked beautiful. And I tried not to cry. My family told me I looked great which means a lot but to hear it from a stranger, it just makes it a little more true somehow. I mean, your family loves you no matter what and they see the person you are so you're beautiful to them anyway. So that ended on a positive note.
One of the other little bumps was the bridal shower invites. There was a typo for my mom's phone number. Kind of an issue. But we managed to take care of that. I collected as many phone numbers as I could and sent messages to the people I could about the error. I think almost everyone has been contacted now. Disaster averted.
The honeymoon plans have been set in motion. This is so much more less stress which is great for me! I'm pretty sure the stress of everything is what's kind set this rash on me. Kevin and I booked our trip to the West Coast. We leave for San Diego on September 6th. We return from Seattle on September 22nd. It's going to be great! I can't wait. We're not planning every moment of every day. We are spending some time in San Diego to see the sites. Then we have a few spots here and there we want to see but nothing else set in stone. I talked to a friend that's from California. She just took her family out there for a vacation and they had a few plans scheduled but nothing else strictly set. She said it was the best vacation they've had. That's what we want, too. I think we're going to make a stop at Disneyland. Kevin's never been to any of the Disney parks. I've never been to Disneyland so this will be great!
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