I know, I know, where I have been lately? Well, in case you haven't experienced it all yourself, when planning a wedding, you barely have time to breathe near the end of the planning period! But, I don't want to horribly neglect my job of informing you loyal readers about all the fun that has been going on! My goal is to post a blog a day until the wedding! It may not be lengthy, but it will help build the excitement!
And, when it is all said and done, the secrets I've kept all this time are going to finally be revealed as I will continue to write about our wedding experiences to share with friends and family who were unable to be with us on our special day. It will be a great medium to recap the major events of the weekend. I also think I'd go through some major blogging withdrawal if I just quit cold turkey.
So what have I been doing? Anxiously awaiting the final packages of supplies and decorations to arrive at our doorstep. Doing art projects. Organizing timelines, drivers, gifts, bridal necessities, honeymoon luggage. Dealing with "normal" life throwing us curve balls, like my car key falling apart, or our sprinklers springing leaks. Answering so many e-mails that I try to not open Gmail until I am mentally prepared. Working out. Buying new clothes that fit my slender new figure. Trying not to run out of funds!
Are you excited? Can you believe that this journey is nearing its climactic peak? I am getting teary with anticipation and nostalgia all at the same time.
<a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5751029/Erica%27s_wedding" title="Wordle: Erica's wedding"><img src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/5751029/Erica%27s_wedding" alt="Wordle: Erica's wedding" style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd"></a>
Showing posts with label anticipation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anticipation. Show all posts
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
2012 Preview
I am a list-maker. Since I was a young age, I have found it easier to be productive when I get to cross off each item as I complete it. Today, I make electronic lists by e-mailing myself with schedules, agendas, and reminders. I make lists in my planner (still old fashioned- not electronic) and make lists on post-it notes that I post in my planner. I make lists all over my desk at work, and make new lists each time the current list starts looking too messy. I will not apologize for my lists. So here is my current 2012 wedding planning list, otherwise known as a preview of what fabulous topics are to come over the next few months of this blog.
- Book caterer
- Decide on cake decorations and flavors
- Book DJ
- Decide on Videographer
- Choose floral arrangements
- Make reservations for rehearsal dinner
- Choose groom's and groomsmens' outfits
- Choose my wedding accessories, shoes, jewelry...
- Choose first dance...
- Create Centerpieces
- Write wedding ceremony (portions)
- Order favors
- Lose that last inch so my dress zips up
- Accessorize the wedding!
- Continue Pinterest and Etsy inspiration (obsessions)
- Make invites
- Send invites
- Stay positive
- Enjoy every second of it, as it will be the only time I'll get to plan a wedding!
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| As the sun set on 2011, 2012 is set to be the best year of our lives thus far! |
Monday, December 19, 2011
Ok, I'll admit to having a teary moment...
I've been strong, held it together, and continued to insist that weddings (my wedding to be specific) are CELEBRATIONS not tear-fests. I've not cried at many weddings myself, although a good Hollywood movie wedding filled with pathos and irony can often get me, but in real life I find it hard to cry about something so darn good!
I had a teary moment.
One of the best moments of this engagement thus far, however. In fact, one of the best moments of my relationship, I'd venture to say!
I had been asking Kyle to write up a blurb about me for our wedding website (still a work in progress) as I wrote the "About the Groom" section and thought it would be fun if we told each other's stories. He, being busy and mathematically minded, was putting it off until I begged him to help me mark off items on my to-do list.
And then he wrote the most touching, funny, and true paragraph with words I thought only Hollywood could come up with.
And once again, wishes, fairy tales, and maybe even Hollywood movie weddings CAN come true! And DO!
Tear.
I had a teary moment.
One of the best moments of this engagement thus far, however. In fact, one of the best moments of my relationship, I'd venture to say!
I had been asking Kyle to write up a blurb about me for our wedding website (still a work in progress) as I wrote the "About the Groom" section and thought it would be fun if we told each other's stories. He, being busy and mathematically minded, was putting it off until I begged him to help me mark off items on my to-do list.
And then he wrote the most touching, funny, and true paragraph with words I thought only Hollywood could come up with.
And once again, wishes, fairy tales, and maybe even Hollywood movie weddings CAN come true! And DO!
Tear.
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| The most cheesy romantic cliche photo I could find... butterflies in my stomach! :) |
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Our -1 Year Anniversary
September 29, 2012
Dear Bride-to-be Me,
You are going to be glowing with happiness and love. You will be so excited to see your closest friends and family, but moreso your CLOSEST friend and soon to be official family, your groom. Your ivory dress will be stunning, with hair and makeup accessorizing your natural beauty. The atmosphere of the mountains, that has always inspired you and given you peace, is here to support you and inspire you. You have worked hard, met your goals, and deserve every ounce of joy you are currently feeling. You can look back on the past year and know that you were amazing in your planning and preparation, balancing the vision of a perfect day with the consideration of the vows you are going to take shortly. You've built your relationship up with long talks about your future, your dreams of having a family, you shared your worries about maintaining it while still allotting time for each other. You spent hours online, flipping through magazines, browsing through stores, envisioning your moment, your decor, your feelings. You've prepared with therapeutic talks and energetic walks. You found love. Focus on it today. You took care to make every guest feel as important as you do today. You honored your family, you toasted your friends. Take it all in, look around you, feel the love surrounding you, and hold onto it for those moments when it seems to have disappeared. Don't sweat the small stuff today, (you have Johnna for that). Relax, drink champagne, take lots of pictures (or have them taken) and never, ever forget the anticipation you felt just one year ago today, knowing that you were a mere year from this epic and everlasting occasion.
Love,
Your Eager Self
Dear Bride-to-be Me,
You are going to be glowing with happiness and love. You will be so excited to see your closest friends and family, but moreso your CLOSEST friend and soon to be official family, your groom. Your ivory dress will be stunning, with hair and makeup accessorizing your natural beauty. The atmosphere of the mountains, that has always inspired you and given you peace, is here to support you and inspire you. You have worked hard, met your goals, and deserve every ounce of joy you are currently feeling. You can look back on the past year and know that you were amazing in your planning and preparation, balancing the vision of a perfect day with the consideration of the vows you are going to take shortly. You've built your relationship up with long talks about your future, your dreams of having a family, you shared your worries about maintaining it while still allotting time for each other. You spent hours online, flipping through magazines, browsing through stores, envisioning your moment, your decor, your feelings. You've prepared with therapeutic talks and energetic walks. You found love. Focus on it today. You took care to make every guest feel as important as you do today. You honored your family, you toasted your friends. Take it all in, look around you, feel the love surrounding you, and hold onto it for those moments when it seems to have disappeared. Don't sweat the small stuff today, (you have Johnna for that). Relax, drink champagne, take lots of pictures (or have them taken) and never, ever forget the anticipation you felt just one year ago today, knowing that you were a mere year from this epic and everlasting occasion.
Love,
Your Eager Self
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Wedding Location Cold Feet
So maybe literally getting married in Colorado will make all my guests, wedding party and family freeze their tootsies off. But what I am talking about here is the issue of second guessing myself over what I originally thought was the PERFECT plan for my wedding. And this post is for Kyle who says I am just going crazy right now and that I should just blog about it to feel better.
I will admit, getting married on the mountainside in Colorado may be a little self-indulgent. Besides going to summer camp in the mountains for 5 summers, attending Colorado College for 4 years, and traveling back and forth from the Rockies a minimum of 4 times a year (average for the past 7 years), what tie to I have to Colorado besides just being in love with the mountains?!
Darn you, Kyle, now that I write it, yes, I sound ridiculous.
I think that it is a very common issue that brides have, second guessing themselves when trying to set the details for the MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF YOUR LIFE (for now). I am finding myself completely caught up on the details of what my friends, family, and other guests of diverse backgrounds, economic situations, and interests would want at my wedding. I don't want to let anyone down, after all they have been waiting for 6 years for this to happen, and above all I want to make sure I am not let down on the day because I made a decision that prevented others from being there, having fun, or enjoying the day as much I enjoyed all their weddings. Above everyone else, I am worried that I cannot please my parents with my decisions.
Most of this anxiety is coming from, what Kyle calls, other peoples' "helpful advice" about what I should be doing. Like my previous post, the wedding magazines give so many contradictory options that I find myself spinning in circles. Like the mags, the event planners, caterers, venues, family, and friends all have something they want to suggest for my wedding. I love that they seem to care about helping make my day perfect, but what it starts to feel like is that I won't ever please anyone.
After another weekend away in the woods, and with a trip to Colorado coming up in just 4 short days, I feel like I am a little calmer and not as worried about my decision to get married in the mountains. But I still think that I will feel like I am letting everyone else down at times during this process, and that I cannot possibly be the only bride who feels this anxiety while planning. I'll just have to keep blogging about it so I can let that anxiety go a little bit at a time, and hopefully I will eventually get rid of it and replace it with the pure excitement of getting married to the man I love.
I will admit, getting married on the mountainside in Colorado may be a little self-indulgent. Besides going to summer camp in the mountains for 5 summers, attending Colorado College for 4 years, and traveling back and forth from the Rockies a minimum of 4 times a year (average for the past 7 years), what tie to I have to Colorado besides just being in love with the mountains?!
Darn you, Kyle, now that I write it, yes, I sound ridiculous.
I think that it is a very common issue that brides have, second guessing themselves when trying to set the details for the MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF YOUR LIFE (for now). I am finding myself completely caught up on the details of what my friends, family, and other guests of diverse backgrounds, economic situations, and interests would want at my wedding. I don't want to let anyone down, after all they have been waiting for 6 years for this to happen, and above all I want to make sure I am not let down on the day because I made a decision that prevented others from being there, having fun, or enjoying the day as much I enjoyed all their weddings. Above everyone else, I am worried that I cannot please my parents with my decisions.
Most of this anxiety is coming from, what Kyle calls, other peoples' "helpful advice" about what I should be doing. Like my previous post, the wedding magazines give so many contradictory options that I find myself spinning in circles. Like the mags, the event planners, caterers, venues, family, and friends all have something they want to suggest for my wedding. I love that they seem to care about helping make my day perfect, but what it starts to feel like is that I won't ever please anyone.
After another weekend away in the woods, and with a trip to Colorado coming up in just 4 short days, I feel like I am a little calmer and not as worried about my decision to get married in the mountains. But I still think that I will feel like I am letting everyone else down at times during this process, and that I cannot possibly be the only bride who feels this anxiety while planning. I'll just have to keep blogging about it so I can let that anxiety go a little bit at a time, and hopefully I will eventually get rid of it and replace it with the pure excitement of getting married to the man I love.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Waiting for an engagement
The engagement. I know that some brides are not expecting an engagement at all when it happens. The other half have spent hours and possibly even years in anticipation knowing that the moment was upon us. Some others spend days wondering, waiting, and getting impatient because their boyfriends have allowed them in on the process. I honestly kept coming up with scenarios in my mind, and shared some of those ideas with others. When Kyle heard I was trying to guess how he would propose (which is totally normal), he told me to stop trying to ruin the surprise. Oops.
My final guess was that on a work trip to Chicago, with Kyle tagging along, he would propose on Navy Pier, where his grandparents wed. So, after a weekend full of fun sightseeing, romantic moments, and minimal required meetings, when it had not happened I figured that it was not meant to be.
Until our last day. Here is how the day unfolded:
Another normal day in Chicago it was not. Sunny and warm, for starters. And, work was paying the bill for our hotel for an extra night, allowing us to attend the most unique of events, the Pride parade. We knew we’d need to get the party started early with some screwdrivers! (Little did I know that Kyle was letting my coworkers in on his plan for later that day while mixing up some drinks.)
We took a crazy cab across the city for 45 minutes to get to the marina and the parade route. I sat blissfully in the center of the back seat, and my coworkers and Kyle texted messages back and forth about the secret. I was CLUELESS.
After being amazed by the show of support for the GLBT community during the Parade, and sipping drinks in the marina of Lake Michigan, Kyle and I headed off to take in a few more last minute sights around Chicago. We rode public transportation. We walked along Michigan Avenue. We even went to the top of the Hancock building for appetizers and martinis with a view. At this point, the weekend away was almost over, and with no proposal over the course of all the romantic dates (pizza at Lou Malnati’s, an architecture river boat tour), I decided that Chicago was NOT the locale of our engagement as I had originally thought.
That just goes to show that even after 6 years together, Kyle can still completely take me by surprise. For the rest of our engagement story, see my next entry!
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