Time is on My Side: 84 Days to Go

Nothing underlines the insanity of wedding planning like putting together your calendar for the month.  This August we have three whole free days... exciting.  Not like the other days will be filled with hard labor or anything.  There's much fun to be had.  Much much much much fun.  Exhausting levels really.  I'm not complaining.

They're Heeeeeere: 85 Days to Go

The invitations have arrived! The invitations have arrived!  We were very excited to come home to a delivery today.  Our invitations have arrived and we do love them.  But with all things in this process, that means more work must commence.  Invite assembly, envelope stamping, stuffing and fancy penmanship skills must now be applied.  More hard work to follow. 

For each wedding task accomplished, three more take its place.  And these are the things about which we are genuinely excited.

Must Play List: 86 Days to Go

Started filling out or DJ's online forms today, letting them know what songs we want and where, what are the must plays (sentimental songs we sing to each other at karaoke, awwwwwwwwwww) and what are the do not plays (anything about cheating or breaking up).

Don't forget to request songs for the reception on our website!

It's Hip to be Square: 87 Days to Go

The invitations shipped today.  We want to get them out by the middle of August, so get ready to hear all sorts of exciting tales of double-sided tape and misaddressed labels!

Unfortunately, I just found out that it apparently costs more to ship square invites than rectangular, regardless of weight.  Yay, mounting costs!      

 

Being Difficult: 88 Days to Go

Our many thanks go out to the staff of David's Bridal in Canton for bearing with us even though we stayed well past closing.  It's nice to encounter people who are friendly and accommodating and we (being Erica, myself and maid of honor Shanda) all being familiar with working customer service, apologized profusely.

Beervana: 89 Days to Go

What the heck are we going to do in Portland, of all places, you ask?  Well, we spent a good chunk of tonight planning just that.

For starters...

Raccoon Lodge
Widmer Brewing Company
Alemeda Brewhouse
Full Sail Brewery
McMenamins Brewery / Movie Theater

...yeah, we're going to be just fine. 

Pulling the Trigger part 2: 90 Days to Go

As promised we pulled the trigger on our honeymoon plans today.  Sleeping on it didn't really give us any added perspective (not that we needed any, we were pretty happy with things yesterday) but it did put us one day closer to the deadline so it had to be done.

Perhaps I should be more actively excited that we're definitely going on a honeymoon and the plans are finally made.  I'll get there as soon as I get over the horrible dread that we did something wrong and there's no going back.

Pulling the Trigger: 91 Days to Go

The honeymoon is all planed, worked out, decided upon and ready to go.  We just need to click the button and make it happen.  Of course we're sleeping on it and pulling the trigger tomorrow.  Making plans isn't that difficult.  Signing contracts, finalizing sales, clicking "go" and being filled with the immediate dread that we've done something horribly wrong and there's no going back... that's the hard part.

Somebody loves us!: 92 Days to Go

We got our first official wedding gift in the mail!  Exciting!    

S-T-R-E-S-S: 93 Days to Go

Some days you have a hundred things to do and you fly through them with success and tenacity.  Some days you have only a couple things to do but you want to do more.  Some days there's nothing you can do even though there's still a lot to get done. 

And those days might be the most stressful because you realize just how little control you have over many of the elements that go into the day that will ultimately have your name on it.  You look for some meaningful lesson in all the frustration but it's late and there's no real resolution so you hop into a comfortable bed with your fiance and think "well... life could be worse."

To Limo or not to Limo: 94 Days to Go

We've been struggling with the question of whether or not to get a limo for awhile now.  It seems like such a fun idea, and it looks nice in pictures... but...

It's not like we have to get from a ceremony location to a reception.  The only place we would need to get a ride to would be the photographs... and I don't relish the possibility of paying a driver to wait around for a couple hours.  Besides, I'm sure we could spend the $400 or so in a much better way.

So I think this means no limo.  Ah, well. 

Leaf Me Alone: 95 Days to Go

It's 11:30.  Are we in bed?  Nope.  Are we partying hard?  Nope.  What are we doing?  Assembling 100 leaves on strings.

Light Days: 96 Days to Go

Today all we did was practice dancing, pick up dress accessories and jewelry, update the registry and make a map for our out of town guests.

And that is what we'll be calling a "light day." 

A Few Words: 97 Days to Go

Went to Claire's birthday party today, which was adorable.  Lucy remembered what we taught her about being a flower girl.  We also worked on ceremony wording and bought a few supplies for the table signs.  Quite exhausted but also quite happy.

It's in the details: 98 Days to go

Got my wedding purse today, my veil and headpiece yesterday, and the jewelry is waiting to be picked up at the UPS.  The accessories should now be all together.  Super!   

I also managed to entirely forget to do the one wedding thing I slated for myself today - calling the salon to finally book my hair and makeup appointment.  Boh.     

The Big Countdown Begins: 99 Days to go

What do you do with less than 100 days until your wedding?  Something every day, that's for sure.  For the next three months we will be eating, sleeping and breathing wedding.  So we thought we'd update the blog a bit every day from now until then for two reasons.  First, it might be entertaining for people to find out all the crazy things to be done.  And secondly, it'll be helpful for the detectives to put together the pieces when they find we've spontaneously combusted leaving behind only a bit of charred tulle.

So on day 99 we finalized the menu (mmmm tasty tasty fall foods, hope y'all like squash), nearly finalized the schedule, got the ball rolling on decorations, clarified the logistics, continued to cement the inclement weather backup plan and ate cake.  The cake wasn't because of the wedding, but instead due to a friend's recent birthday.  However anything that puts you into a stress-relieving sugar coma quickly becomes an integral part of the wedding planning process.

The Best and Worst of the Internet

I cannot imagine planning a wedding without the wonderful series of tubes that is the internet. It has been an indispensable tool for finding vendors, estimating costs, and purchasing various bits on the cheap. However, it hasn't all been icanhascheezeburger and woot... there's been a good amount of hosanna1 in there as well. It's a minefield out there, and no one gives you a map! In that spirit, I present to you the best and worst of the wedding internet.





WEDDING PLANNING WEBSITES
Best - weddingwire.com. Budget tool? Check. To Do list? Check? Seating Map? Check. iPhone App? Check. Good stuff here. The build-your-own wedding website offered here even coordinates with our invites... as in, they were made to match each other. Nice. Honorable mention goes to theknot.com, which fell short of many of the categories listed above... but is filled with great ideas and articles.

Worst - weddingabc.net. Here, you can "make you own wedding place card". Also, don't miss this poorly written guide to wedding photographs, complete with the gem: "Another thing that you would need properly done would be the make-up of the bride and the bridesmaids. As a matter of fact, even grooms today wear a bit of make-up so that would look great in the photographs."

PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITES
Best - www.genevievenisly.com. Has lots of beautiful examples of photos that stand on their own as works of art, and best of all... no annoying soundtrack. It can be done! Too bad she is waaaaay out of our price range.

Worst - (not safe for work) livingstonephotography.com. Wins mostly for the "boudoir" section. I understand the idea behind wedding boudoir photos... as a loving gift to your groom-to-be. However, they have to be done in a very classy manner and these, well, are not. Watch the slideshow for a good laugh! Some of my favorite moments: a bouquet covering the lady business, really bad tan lines, and (I am not kidding) an engagement ring around a nipple.

DISC JOCKEY WEBSITES
Best - selectivesound.com. Proves you can have a nice website without music or videos all over the place. Love the searchable song list! Yes, Laura, they have Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart!

Worst - arizonadjmusic.com. This lady can be your DJ, your band, your officiant, hell... she'll even marry the groom herself if that's what it takes to be your DJ/Band/Officiant. You can even listen to her sing a duet of "I got you, Babe" with herself, you know... just in case you were worried your wedding day would be about you and not her.

HEADPIECE WEBSITES
Best - wedding-veil.com. To be fair, I haven't received my shipment yet, so I can't speak to their customer service, but I must say I was very impressed by the variety, customization, and especially the prices of this website.

Worst - mariaelenaheadpieces.com. I'm not sure what's worse, the looping soundtrack or the complete lack of information. Maybe it's the ethereal way the ladies are photographed, making it impossible to see any detail in the items. Maybe it's the fact that their items seem to only be worn by redheads.

ACCESSORY WEBSITES
Best - zappos.com. I cannot say enough good things about zappos. Shoes are easy to find, and shipping is free and speedy. Best of all, if you need to return shoes (like the beautiful yet painful ones), it's also free shipping.

Worst - catanfashions.com. I really disliked these guys. They were rude, unhelpful, and seemed to not have time for me once they realized I wasn't going to spend $5000 on a dress. So, tell me, if you want to be such a high-class place, Catans, why the ugly and not helpful website? Why?

Well, there you have it! I hope this little guide has been useful! And remember, the internet is a terrible place.