17 Days

That's right, 17 days until I enter into one of my biggest life commitments!

Of course...what else did you think I'd be blogging on?! And wow, I actually found some time to blog. ;0)

I'm ready. There's almost nothing left on the list. I ordered favors and printed ribbons...ribbons arrived; favors should be arriving shortly. I have what I think is a final head count and a rough seating chart drawn up (word to the wise, seating chart is actually proving to be one of the hardest things in the whole planning process! but, unfortunately, it seems to be frowned upon to let more than 100 people just choose where they want to sit, so seating chart is a must). I have a final dress fitting on Saturday, as well as final DJ appointment. Saw a mock-up of the flowers...they look great. Corresponded with the photographer today and everything looks like it's set. My sister has taken care of the bridesmaid jewelry. And all the groomsmen have been fitted for their tuxes. Mom is having a brunch for out-of-town family the day before the wedding, and I designed and sent out invitations for that too.

The only things that are still outstanding are getting a color swatch to the baker, which I plan on having Ryan do tomorrow on his way home from work, and we also have to get them the cake topper. That's been a little detail that's flown under the radar because we wanted to design and build it ourselves. However, Ryan didn't order the pieces until very recently, and we're still waiting for them to arrive. So I had to call the baker yesterday and cajole them into letting us bring it in 10 days in advance instead of 2 weeks (they explained that they have to approve it beforehand, and if they veto it, they want us to have enough time to come up with a back-up plan. Now that I think about it, though, if they veto it, we just won't have one. Easy.) Oh, and one other outstanding thing...I can't figure out what to have as table sign holders. Y'know...the signs that tell you what number the table is. I designed the signs myself using funny vacation photos of Ryan and I (individually and together). Those traditional metal stands that hold signs are not expensive, but I can really only find them online and the shipping is ridonculous! Probably because they're metal and heavy. So I've been perusing stores trying to figure something out. I'll probably go with (sigh) picture frames or something.

I also have to find time to get to my mom's so she can practice on my hair. She used to be a hairdresser, so I have a built-in stylist! I also have to meet with my friend who's doing my makeup to practice probably on the Friday before the wedding, which is also probably the same day I'll take my sister to have our nails done.

I know it sounds like a lot, but really, those are things I can't do until closer to the wedding. All the pre-planned stuff is pretty much done.

What's been fun is doing a lot of details myself. I don't know if it really saved us any money, but that wasn't really the point anyway. I like adding personal details so that our wedding will be memorable and reflect "us" and our tastes. We don't have a traditional first dance song. The cake topper (if it works out) isn't very traditional either. Neither is my choice of song for my procession down the aisle. Many of the songs we requested from the DJ are songs I had to burn to disc to give him because they're off the beaten path (but don't worry, I'm not talking Bjork/Beck kind of stuff...just lesser-known artists). As I blogged before, the flower girl is not a girl but a woman. :) I won't have a veil. Our recessional song is the Peanuts theme. I designed the invitations myself. The bridal party arrival song is the Imperial Death March from Star Wars. Need I say more?

So, as you can see, we just decided to do what we want, within traditional boundaries but with personal flair. There were times when we wanted to just run amok and all wear Chuck Taylors and walk down the aisle to Guns N Roses (c'mon, that Sweet Child O' Mine guitar solo is SWEET!) and go crazy, but after laughing about it for a minute, realized that we can't cater only to our tastes...our parents have been waiting our whole lives to see us get married, so it should be pleasant for them too. Besides, I don't even think my mom knows what Guns N Roses is. She might think it's a shooting range at a nursery. ;0)

Oh, I just remembered I have to set up a meeting with the winery before the rehearsal dinner. So that's one more thing on the list. I'll call them tomorrow. Oh, and attendant gifts! Haven't finished that either...although we've made progress. That's actually kind of hard too.

Meanwhile...cramming a bunch of holiday songs for some Special Blend and chorus gigs coming up right after my honeymoon. Work is crazy with meetings and projects...I guess you can see why I never have time to blog these days!

Will update soon...hopefully before 17 days is up!