Save the date

I ordered 'save the date' cards. I guess that makes it pretty real. I am also going to order my dress tomorrow. Talk about nervous. My maid of honor told me that she went to a dress store in KS to try on the dress we want. They were so rude and told her if she isn't planning to buy it from them she couldn't try it on. Amazing. Talk about customer service. It would have been an easy sale for them but they lost that. I hate that she is having a hard time but I'm hoping she is taking all the bad dress karma away from me. She's nice that way, this is why she is the Maid of Honor. Honeymoon discussions have begun. Hawaii or Canada. ~~~ Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can. Danny Kaye US actor & singer (1913 - 1987)

Sleepless night

Can't sleep tonight I guess I have too much wedding in my head. Photographers...how does one even begin to choose one? And the cost? Wow, they seem to be averaging about $2500...for pictures. Granted the pictures I have seen on their sites are amazing so I guess it's money well spent. So back to how to choose. Any clue? Word of mouth is great but I don't know anyone who has recently gotten married let alone someone who has gotten married in my hometown. I am planning a trip home in a couple weeks so I will be doing a lot of leg work then. The internet is great but nothing like meeting people face to face. Then after I figure out photographers, I have to do flowers and cake. I know where I want my flowers to come from. The florist my family has used in town forever so that's a no-brainer I guess. I can't believe I used the phrase no-brainer...I hate that phrase. I must be tired. Back to flowers. I found a photo of some flowers called anemone which look amazing. They are different enough and will match my colors (black and gray) perfectly. Now I have to research if they are even available in August. Let's put Google to work....hang on be right back. Well this didn't make me smile according to Google 'Anemone blooms can be purchased from a florist between November and June depending upon availability'. Just my luck. Well I'll talk to them about it anyway, maybe we can find one that is close to it in looks and is available in August. What else don't I have done? Oh the list is long. Hotel Shoes Dress (buy) J's suit Cars/Limo Hair/Makeup Flowers Cake Photographer Dinner Rehersal dinner bridal party gifts Ok I can't put anything more on the list or I will have an axiety attack. What was I thinking to organize this by myself long distance?!?!?! ~~~ If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Roman Emperor, A.D. 161-180 (121 AD - 180 AD)

Busy busy

I can't believe I've been out of touch the last few days. My bad. I have been trying to do wedding planning every spare minute I have (which hasn't been many). I spoke to my sister-in-law about the possibility of my niece being my flower girl. Somehow we didn't think it would be difficult to talk the 4 year old into wearing the dress and being a princess. She wants to wear princess dresses every day so this will make her day. And when the wedding is over I know the dress will never see the inside of a consignment shop because she will wear the heck out of it. Music is my next focus. I started a list of music to be played for the wedding. Most of it is for the time when people are arriving. The hard part is finding something for when the bridal party heads down the aisle. I was going to do The Bridal Chorus aka: 'Here Comes the Bride' but I changed my mind for a cople of reasons. First of all it is overdone and expected. Secondly it comes from the opera "Lohengrin" by Wagner. Turns out this song was played in the opera after the wedding and just before the new husband killed about 5 wedding guests and then abandoned his new bride. Doesn't scream happy wedding tune now does it? So that leaves me back at square one. A place I know well. Heading out of town for a few days hoping to get a bit more planned with my friends. Wish me luck on that. ~~~ Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water bath is to the body. Oliver Wendell Holmes US author & physician (1809 - 1894)

Can I get a Woo-Hoo?

Someone was not only in the office to take my call but the venue is available on my date yippee!!! So I guess that makes it official. August 17, 2013 in a Japanese Friendship Garden in WI. Now everything can start to move forward. I have decided on my dress, J will wear a black suit with gray tie, his best man will wear a gray suit with black tie, my matron of honor is wearing a black dress, my flower girl will be in a gray dress and my father will be in a gray suit with gray tie. Whew. Now what's next? ~~~ Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings. Arthur Rubinstein US (Polish-born) composer & pianist (1886 - 1982)

Presidents Day

Presidents Day, kind of a non-holiday to anyone who doesn't work for the government or a bank. No mail, nobody to answer phones at government offices, not even a soul on Wall Street on the off chance you had a share of stock to sell. So now I know where I hope to be married, but there was nobody there today to answer my call asking if my venue is available or not. Now I hope to get good news tomorrow. Until I get the venue, all my planning is at a standstill. Sigh. ~~~ Hope is a waking dream. Aristotle, from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers Greek critic, philosopher, physicist, & zoologist (384 BC - 322 BC)

August 17, 2013

Ok after some discussion with J we decided to try for a wedding date of August 17, 2013. This is 6 months away. Doable? It should be, shouldn't it? Of course I hear of people planning their wedding for over a year. But we aren't doing the big cookie cutter/fairy tale wedding (just in case you missed it in an earlier post) just something small and intimate. The problem with our wedding is that... We live in TN We want to get married in WI J's family lives in KY hence a reception there on our way back home Six months planning time Eek, here we are back at the 6 month deadline. Fingers crossed that our venue is available. A Japanese garden at a park in my hometown. Fingers crossed. ~~~ To believe with certainty we must begin with doubting. Stanislaw Leszczynski elected Polish king 1704-1709, 1733-1734 (1677 - 1766)

Mature Bride

Mature Bride. That's a nice way of saying Old Bride. I certainly don't mean to offend the person who came up with the term or the industry who continues to use it but I have learned that anyone over 40 is considered a 'mature bride'. Hmmm I wonder if I look into groomswear I will find a category for 'mature groom'. Just a thought. ~~~ By my rambling digressions I perceive myself to be growing old. Benjamin Franklin US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)

A little about me

I am a 47 year old female living in the state of confusion...make that Tennessee. Just to get it out in the open I have a very odd sense of humor as you will learn. I have been dating a wonderful man (for the sake of this blog we will call him J) for the last 15 months and we have been very happy together. I knew we would be spending the rest of our lives together but he made it official a few days ago on Valentine's Day when he proposed. Finally I am no longer a girlfriend but a fiancé! Girlfriend...think of it. The phrase immediately sounds like high school doesn't it? There is no permanence to the title, no way to make it sound like you have any sort of commitment besides sharing notes in study hall. The new phrase people use is 'significant other'. That only tells me that you aren't important enough to have a title beside 'other'. It's like the blank check of dating. You can go anywhere with someone and introduce them as your 'significant other' but all it really says is "this person won't be around long enough so don't get too attached". So now I'm a fiancé which is exciting in itself but now I realize it is the next step to the final title...wife! Before that can happen I need to plan a wedding. Looking around the web most of the wedding blogs out there are geared to the 20-something crowd. Well I'm 47 and getting married for the first time. I don't want the cookie cutter/fairy tale princess wedding the 20-something's want (sorry no offense intended if that is your thing) so I thought it might be fun to start my own blog on the subject. Join me if you dare as we head down the aisle. A wedding at 47. ~~~ Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows a person who he should be. Anton Chekhov Russian dramatist & short story author (1860 - 1904)