The past month and other thoughts as we round second base...

82 days until the wedding!? On one hand it seems like plenty of time, on another it seems like its tomorrow.

They weren't kidding when they said that time would fly from when we set the date until the wedding. Oh, how I wish I had done things differently...but alas, even an organized freak like me can make mistakes and misjudge the workload involved in planning a wedding. Well, there is no point in looking back, I am forging ahead and focusing on the "need to do now" stuff as it smacks me in the face. Which feels like a daily occurrence.

However, I did get a PANTLOAD of things done in the past month. Too much to list. My biggest accomplishment has been the crazy invitations. I slaved over the designs and text for WEEKS. And after finally finalizing them, I printed them (myself) last week and will have them assembled (because there are multiple parts) and mailed out soon. I am definitely submitting photos of the finished product to several sites that showcase over-the-top invitations, because, well...mine is the very definition of over-the-top. And I love them.

I also went on an insane shopping spree at several craft stores last weekend. I had gathered coupons and then waited patiently for a sale. The 4th of July is that magic time when all of the sales go on steroids. It was great, I got all of the remaining crafty things and decorations I needed at half the cost I would have paid normally. Yay, coupons!

Though on a sad note, it was really hard shopping for the silk flowers I needed. My Mom was a silk florist my whole life until her stroke, and she was the best floral designer I've ever known. She knew everything about floral design and even ran her own business out of our home. She was a guru.

So when I was wandering around Michael's floral department, stupefied by the choices and trying to design arrangements in my head, I really felt the void of not having her by my side. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful she is still alive and can visit her in the nursing home so frequently, but it sucked that she couldn't be there, gathering the flowers and materials she needed to create my arrangements and centerpieces, while I pushed the cart. A few times, I caught myself trying to imagine what she would have done and hopefully, I came close enough to what she would have chosen.

Either way, she will help me as I design some of the arrangements, as she can still give input and guide me, even though she physically is unable to do the work. And I am thankful for that.

Moving along...

I feel like I should change the name of this blog to BudgetWeddingFailure, as we are so far over budget it's ridiculous. Then again, if we wanted to stay within our budget we would have just eloped. If I have learned anything in my 8 or so months of wedding planning it's that even cheapo weddings still cost a friggin' fortune.

Sure, there are fantastic ways to cut corners and be thrifty if you aren't a bridezilla...but when it comes to catering and furniture rentals, there is no dodging those bullets, unless you have the flexibility to provide those things on your own. Most venues, aside from country fields and backyards, require those things when you rent the venue.

Without those things, your guests will likely be rather uncomfortable and/or annoyed. Of course some couples are assholes and don't really care about the comfort of their guests...which lends the question, why on earth do they even have guests to begin with?

I heard a story recently of a destination wedding that was all types of annoying and messy. The couple really took the "this is our day and we'll do whatever we want" to heart, which is fine, but then they dragged way too many people into the void and it got complicated, both financially and logistically.

This couple wanted to just "play everything by ear", so nothing was actually planned...they had 20 some people show up at an amusement park and winged it from there for 3 days. Accordingly to my co-worker, who is a cousin of the groom, it was 3 days of pure hell. From getting awoken at 5am without warning for photos as the sun came up, to witnessing shouting matches between family members, to being exhausted and overheated (this was a few weeks ago, in South Carolina) from walking around and standing in lines all day. And keeping everyone together was like herding cats.

In my opinion, the couple was extremely inconsiderate to their friends and family not to mention just plain stupid. I think you have to have some structure to your event and give serious thought to how you much you care about the comfort and convenience for your guests. That is, if your brain even works that way.

Personally, I like the idea of eloping and just having a picnic or party when you come back. Makes so much sense. Friends of mine who recently hosted a fabulous example of this are Brandy and Mike. They kept it super casual by having it a picnic grove in a nearby park. It was mostly potluck, and there was plenty of it! I loved how they got mismatched furniture from thrift stores and scattered it around for seating. The decor was breezy and very 'thrift-store cool'. They had a great bluegrass band play, and overall it was an excellent way to honor their upcoming marriage and who they are as people. I was very impressed. Also, anywhere I can go barefoot automatically makes me happy. :)