Day 574 - Final details

Today was the day we confirmed our meal selection, went through some final details and picked up my wedding dress. If I could describe my feelings today as one feeling I would. However, my feelings are really just a cluster of random extreme feelings. Fear, excitement, butterflies, love... is love a feeling?

With the venue appointment I was so full at the end it was unbelievable. It was nice to sit down with our co-ordinator and put those final layout descriptions on paper. I now know where I'm going to put specific things as well as where I will be coming in during the ceremony and even discussed a room divider to add something to the room. The way the room is I will be coming into the room, turning left then right then right again at which point I will be facing David.

Because of this I thought the room divider would remove the visual part of the left turn and as a result I'd just be walking across the back of the room and then up the centre.

After filling up on food and details plus paying off the remaining balance of the venue it was off to pick up our wedding dress. First we had to drop the groom and children off at home so there'd be no worries about loading the dress in the car nor risk David seeing it. As I put it on I was nervous and excited all at once. I love how it fits me since I've lost all the baby weight, I am worried about how the bouquet may hide me as it's big and I'm small. I'm worried about the fact that it's not a sweetheart neckline and so I may look smaller than usual. I'm worried about armpit fat. I'm just worried about so many things but mostly just excited to be marrying my best friend.

Lately I have been listening to loving music a lot just to envision the day. I have even changed my ringtone to what my daughter refers to as, "your dress song mommy!" she of course is referring to the video I have of me saying, "Yes to the dress" where the song played in the background.

At the venue today while trying to envision the layout and deciding on where aspects would go, where the aisle would be, where the groom would be. We had David stand at the end of the aisle and I walked down towards him. It was the closest to "real" we've had so far. Makes me that much more excited for the next 38 days to go by.

<3 your organized hippie bride. 

Day 307 - PARTY IN THE HIZOUSE!

I am so completely excited for tomorrow. It will be the first real celebration of our engagement since the brunch the morning after with friends! So excited am I that I have been blasting the sunshine pop and hippie tunes while preparing! Only the engagement part of the century!! or year...whateves!

And what's even better is it lands on Hug a Vegetarian day this year! So hip hip horray for this veg bride-to-be :)

I'm going to go sing now.

 ♥ ☮ ♫"Hello lamppost, What cha knowing? I've come to watch your flowers growing. Ain't cha got no rhymes for me? Doot-in' doo-doo, Feelin' groovy." ☮♫ ♥

Day 240 - Wedding website

I am listening to Beautiful Mess while updating our wedding website. That song sure does take me back to the old days with hubby-to-be.

It's amazing just how much life has changed in the past few years and will only continue to change yet those old songs still mean the same to us.

Day 212 - Heartbreak #2

After a panicked moment when I realized the website I was going to take my music from no longer existed I set all my nerd/geek friends on a mission to find it for me. I now have a hard copy and many back-up's of it.

With that trial over I started my research into local flourists. I thought my choice of Gerbera Daisies would save me a bundle. I was right, but it's still looking like I should have budgeted for $400 or more. I can't rationalize spending that much money on flowers.

I decided to switch gears and look into the details of our best man marrying us. Only to hit another roadblock. Today I learned that every province in Canada permits your friend to marry you with the disappointing exception of our province!!! I didn't want to end up living in this province in the first place and this only fueled my already flaming disgust with this province. I guess I will have to settle for a stranger marrying us.

<3 your disappointed hippie bride

Day 66 - Inspired after the showcase

I am really worried about not getting people booked in time. Looking at the budget, punching in the numbers and thinking that this is going to work. I have to book the venue in April then get married over a year later. Sure I can do it. I found the perfect song for the bridal party to walk down the aisle to so I've been having luck with the musical side of things.
I have a coupon for a free pearl necklace if I throw a jewelry party. I am curious if any of my friends are actually interested in something like that. But there are a lot of useful coupons from the other night as well. So still totally worth it both mentally, emotionally and financially.
As for productivity? I sent off the wedding planning e-mails, updated a wedding registry with bed bath and beyond, researched wedding venue options and now I'm going to wedding pla--...bed.

Day 10 - MEN!

What is with men?! Not all men, I don't like to stereotype but if my romantic, loving man can be so uninvolved in a wedding there certainly must be a lot of other men.

He is glad to be getting married but asking him to look at two cake samples and he acts as though you told him to bend over and cough. I love him, I do, I just worry that I might slap him a little in his sleep and deny knowing where the bruises came from in the morning. "I swear, I had this dream that you were hovering over me and gave me a whack on the arm!" "Oh sweetheart, that's silly! Now, could you take a peak at these two photos, do you want the white daisies or the pink?"

Outside of my fiancée's collapse in testosterone this weekend was very successful. We have learned more about our venue, prices and options.

Now I'm torn though, both venues are good in their own ways and a little lacking in luster in other ways.

Venue A Pros:

• Personal and sentimental in it's location
• 2 seconds walking from where we want our wedding photos to be taken
• Would only cost $1500 - $1800 and would include tent set up
• Would not be inside a building but would still remain away from the elements

Venue A Cons:

• The location lacks in beauty and is a bit more military than we ever could be.
• Not sure of how we'd hook up our sound system for walking down the aisle.
• There isn't really an..aisle to walk down.

Venue B Pros:

• It's gorgeous! Absolutely breathtaking! Stone steps leading down a grassy hill to a gazebo on a lake beach. GORGEOUS!
• It would cost $1000 for the wedding, $1500 for the wedding plus the booking of the additional room inside in case of rain. It'd be $2000 if I want them to take photos and $2500 with the extra room and photos. Considering the photographer would cost me $1200-$1500 that potentially saves me $500....if they take nice photos ;) 

Venue B Cons:

• It holds no sentimental value to us what-so-ever
• It's a 27 minute drive from where we want to have our wedding photos taken.
• I'm not sure again how we'd hook up our sound system for walking down the stone path into the gazebo. 

Compared to each other one is personal, one isn't. One is Gorgeous one isn't. As far as price goes they are tied but location not so much. It's tough. When I went to show him the photos of Venue B (he already is familiar with Venue A) he wanted nothing to do with it. Not with the venue mind you, with the pictures. He says, "As long as you're happy" and has the resolve that seeing any pictures would make him quite unhappy. So what is a girl to do? Bitch and moan and insist their fiancée look of course! I'll try him again in a few days. I still have more questions for the operators of said venues. 

Past week one, your hippie bride! <3 

Day 8 - Singing and dancing

I've begun to envision my wedding reception. The people I want to see there, the people I want to dance with, those I want pictures with and what songs make me think of these people.

This song came to mind today and took me back to a time in my life when romance was only just starting to play a part. A simpler time when I was not even a teen yet. I remember dancing around for hours to this song with my best childhood friend Kathy! It's one of those times in your life that you'd gladly relive again.

As much as my relationship with her has faded in the years and we've grown apart with busy schedules, distances and different life choices here and there she will always hold an important place in my heart and memories.

On my wedding day I'm going to drag her ass out onto the dance floor to shake her tail feather with me to this song! Her and anyone else I can grab sure but absolutely must dance with her!

I can still combine my childhood dreams and happiness with my future happiness. I just have to negate the inbetween bits. ;) 

Day 7 - A Rolling Ring Gathers No Moss!

WHOA! What a productive day. It seems the moment I knew my colors would work I moved on. Almost like it was a big speed bump and once past I could just fly! Today started conversation with a friend who would be honored to marry us. What followed was a message to the photographer, conversations with the DJ and planning the venue. Even planning the events of the day so they would work. It is all coming together and we still have so many months to go! 604 days to be precise!

So what did we figure out today? Well to start, it's sounding very reasonable to have our friend marry us which is super exciting. That will make the day that much more personal. The venue is still a bit of a juggle but I feel when we actually go check places out it'll be more final. We may even have our ceremony and reception at one place and simply have it set up while we have our photos taken and then return for the reception. That would make sense right?! Would certainly cost less ;)

I then tracked down the photographer and assuming he does work in my city we have our photographer for a lovely $1200-$1500 (I giggle because Single Ladies - Beyonce just came on my track. The song he was singing all month) My only question and concern for the photographer is does he also do videography? I assume not... but one should never assume. Really though, how can you expect him to be taking photographs of you walking down the aisle if he's manning a video camera? So who will we get to do that?! *STRESSER* I really desire a video of my wedding day, the wedding and our first dance. Some other bits but those are the most important videos I want. We plan on having a special dance for our first dance (it's a surprise) so a videographer is a MUST! :) But I'll figure it out. 604 days left ;)

I sent my old DJ a message and he has expressed he is available to me within our budget. I then asked if he'd mind doing the ceremony as well. We have special songs selected that are not standard piano played songs. He hasn't objected so that'll be grand :)

The colors seemed to be my writers block and now the book is just flying! Honestly, if it weren't for our financial situation we could EASILY send out wedding invitations for this summer. But I want to do this right as it's the only wedding I'm ever going to have! :)

Feel the excitement people!

The only additional things my bombarded fiancée and I have discussed are things like:

• Photographer sharing - I would like the photographer be there when the girls and I are getting ready. Yet I also want photographic memories of his day. The solution? Simple, assuming we are still living in this building I will get ready with the girls in our apartment and he will use another tenants apartment. We are fortunate enough to have a very tight knit community in this building and I am sure the tenants would be more than thrilled to share their dwelling for the day. That way the photographer could simply run back and forth between us which would be no different than going to a room down the hall in a big house! :) We'd have the maid of honors and the best men ensuring that neither bride nor groom exited at the same time. As much as we will likely spend the night together the night before the wedding we will not be seeing each other all dressed up before the wedding.
  
• Soundtrack - Music means a lot to us and it's something we're being very selective of. We have unique entrance music for the wedding party as well as mine. Our exit music and then the entrance to the reception. All of it is planned out :)
  
• Goofy is the new Happy - Just that he's loving how goofy happy I am and I'm loving how quietly full of smiles he's been.
  
• The Groom will not wear pink - "Honey what about this wedding is important to you?" D- "You're happiness. As long as you don't make me look like a complete Jack ass!" I later tested this and with a very serious tone I said, "Honey, I was thinking a Yellow Tux with pink stripes and then a hot pink vest." D - "Excuse me?!" Me - "Yes, I figure if we had a lemon yellow tux with vertical powder pink stripes and then a hot pink vest - " D - "I am not wearing pink!" Me - "Just making sure you'd draw a line! *smiles* Oh by the way, you're wearing a wine colored vest." 

Well I wasn't planning on posting today but it was too productive not to talk about. Now to lose 50lbs in a year! *stress* Hippie Bride