Now I Know

I have such an enhanced understanding of brides now that I am a bride, or a repeat bride, whatever you wish to call it. Maybe I'm an encore Bride, or a born again bride, or a repeat offender bride. But, plain and simple, now I know.

I know that no matter how careful you are the budget can take on a life of it's own. I know that what I want to do, and what I can afford to do are a gazillion $'s apart. I also know, after all is said and done most people will only remember it was lovely and the food was good. And, of course that the bride was stunning. Other than that the details will be generalized into an overall memory.

I know that if we can laugh though what ever little things go wrong, and they will, it will all be okay. We will be just as married if there aren't enough chairs, or if there is a horrible food faux pas. For the record I do not wish to jinx the caterer....that is just a random example.

The wedding isn't the celebration and the marriage is not the wedding. The marriage is the sacred part, the rest is just sharing our joy. No amount of money spent can express the depth of that joy. This I know.

Gifts

We received our first wedding gift yesterday. Wow! It makes it all so real.

Here is our take on gifts. We don't need a thing, really. We are completely blessed as it is. Now, tongue-in-cheek, if someone wants to give us a house, on a lake, in the mountains, near the ocean, well, we would graciously accept it. And write the worlds most gracious thank you note!

We tell people no gifts are necessary. If someone insists, a donation to either Pointer Rescue or Outward Bound, in our names would be wonderful. This wedding is celebration enough, and those who share it with us is a gift in itself. Still heartfelt gifts are coming our way.

We will be toasting with a gift of champagne at the reception. It seems a good way to start our life together. Light, bubbly, celebratory....and with those we love most. The toast holds more than wishes for the future, it also honors the journeys of the past that led us to this day.

We are gifted, by those who love us and share life in good times and in bad, in sickness and health. For that we give thanks.

Counting Down

So it's count down time. It's gearing up time. It's pay the balance time. It's a bit of a weepy time. It's almost wedding time.

In the something old category - well, besides the bride that is. I have the pleasure of using vintage footed cake plates to serve cake at our reception. I'll be using my Mom's and Reno's Mom's cake plates. It doesn't get any better than that. I love the vintage look, I love including treasures such as these to grace our event.

Something new, well that is an easy one. New hopes and new commitment. New directions and new challenges. Bottom line, we are renewing our faith in marriage. Kind of a good thing at this time in our lives, huh?

Something borrowed - hmmmmmmmmm. I believe I'll borrow some strength to get me through the next two weeks. Does anyone have any they'd like to lend me??

Something blue....I'd be lying if I said I haven't had some weepy, blue moments recently. It goes with the preparations, the stress, the challenges of getting married, getting a house ready to sell, leaving a job and moving to a new city. Have I mentioned I'm a wee bit emotional these days?? I'm also very excited and slightly terrified.

So yes, I'm counting. Counting down, counting on things being better than we dreamed. Counting on sharing and celebrating. Counting on my best friend to meet me at the altar in just about two weeks.

30 Days

We attended a wedding over the weekend. It provided an excellent checklist for ours. I think we are in pretty good shape. Well, except for the fact it's 30 days from ours, the house will go up on the market soon and I have to/get to travel 15 out of the next 30 days. No pressure at all.

What I was impressed by in the wedding we attended, was the gratitude of the Chad and Emily for the love and support their family and friends give them. Gratitude is everything.

When you look past the gowns, the flowers, the food, the booze, the whole facade of the wedding you get to the important part. Family, friends, vows, commitment and gratitude.

That is what I plan to focus on this next 30 days. When the packing, cleaning and showing of the house pushes my buttons. When my hormones threaten to go ballistic. I'll try to sound an alarm when that is about to happen, but no promises. Whenever the details threaten to overwhelm me, and they will, I'll try to think of Chad and Emily. And what is really truly important.

Family, friends, vows, commitment....and oh yes....gratitude. The rest will sort itself out, thankfully.

Spanx You Very Much

As a young bride the dress is probably thee most important aspect of the wedding. Well, besides the groom. As an older, and hopefully more mature bride, I think the proper girdle is the most important aspect of enhancing the dress for the wedding. Foundations, the sort with spandex and lots of it are vital. Except now they don't call them girdles. The brand I got, from a smart purchase off of eBay, is a Spanx.

So far I love my Spanx. Not quite sure how to easily get into it, but I love it. Have some concerns about getting out of it and not looking like a dork, but I love it. Wondering if it has any idea the g-forces it will need to pull to make me look svelte and fabulous, but hey, I trust it!

As mentioned, I did buy it on EBay and was a wee bit disappointed when it came and I realized it was missing a key component. Like the little straps that attach it to your bra to keep it from rolling the waves of a not so thin midriff. No worries, I'll just check out their website thinking certainly that would be a accessory you could buy separately. Hmmm...not the case. Again, no worries. I'll just write then and explain my predicament.

Obviously the good people at Spanx know their product is the stuff miracles are made of. They also know customer service. They happy offered to send me them free of charge. Sweet! Thanks to the kindness of strangers, and industrial strength spandex, my Spanx will stay safely in place during the wedding. Phfewww....that is a good thing for everyone involved.

Thanks Spanx!

Inviting....

You are just inviting trouble? We invited guests for dinner? She/he has an inviting personality? I have never pondered invitations so much before.

We are making progress. Today I dropped the invitations into the mail. I'd be remiss if I didn't say that was an act of faith. I took small stacks of them and prayed them into the mail box. You probably think I'm nuts. If I am, so be it.

But why wouldn't I do that?? I prayed for those we love, to pray for our love. I prayed we are making the right choices. I know, strange time to be wondering that. I don't doubt the relationship, but I'm wise enough now to know it's not to be taken lightly. The first time around I just assumed all would be hunky dory. This time I'm inviting faith, our family and friends, and the world to support us in this life journey. That makes those invitations pretty precious if you ask me.

We also met with the Pastor who will preside over our wedding. Ahhhh, how comforting to have His hand to guide us. It may be a marriage to two people, but it is a union of three. We need the big guy upstairs to keep us safe, sane and from being stupid along the way. Lord knows we have those "what was I thinking moments".

All that said the invitations we've extended are a very big deal. They are more than lovely paper, dates/time and directions. They are precious words and heartfelt wishes for people to share our day. Turns out those invitations are sacred in their own way. You have to love that.

Black and White

The invites are here - it's all in black, white and hot pink. Oh baby!

I don't recall being as excited about the invites the first time around. Perhaps it's a maturity thing? Maybe a revelation about where I/we are in life. It's darned exciting. Perhaps it's because I've invested some time and energy in the creation of these invites. Rather than flipping through a book and saying "I'll take that one!"

Now, lest you think I'm a creative genius I will say I had help. Lots of help. Elizabeth, from Social Grace, http://social-grace.net, is the master mind. I kept throwing random idea's out and she was able to snag a few from left field, right field and from the dug out and shape them into a winner. I had her scrambling a time or two. No, they are not baseball related, but that is analogy that came to mind so I ran with it.

Of course, now I wish my handwriting was precise and oh so elegant. Okay, how about even neat and tidy? Maybe the cursive Fairy will sprinkle some magic fairy dust on me and my penmenship will blossom like a Spring garden. Or, maybe, my handwriting will pale with the joy that is written into the address of those we want to celebrate with. Ya, I think that's it.

Those we love won't notice the writing. When you get to the black and white of it, only the love will shine.