Happy Accidents

We didn't make it to the station in time to go to Washington DC today......but we got great recommendations on lunch and happy hour. Check out Sasha's for lunch and Mick O' Shea's for happy hour if ever you visit Baltimore. Completely awesome for different reasons.

Sneak Peak

Photo by A Love Story Photography. And I love it.

Run through

So, the rehearsal was Saturday. One theme dictated at first: LOST. Nearly everyone got completely and utterly lost trying to find the venue. It's not exactly a typical wedding venue or even an event venue. It's an office complex. The address says it's on a highway, and it isn't. All the online map and direction providers conspire against this place, because they all give incorrect directions. So, a few people drove right to the place (I think with the help of the handy-dandy map and directions from the invitations, but perhaps not). Everyone else, had to make one if not many phone calls to find it. We had the space for an hour for the rehearsal, and thank goodness, because one showed up forty-five minutes late. Then apparently, when people did arrive, the parking garage refused to allow them to park. Ugh. The day of the wedding I sent out an email trying to make sure my guests don't get equally lost, warning them of the online map situation. Fun times.

The rehearsal was genuinely good though. I felt love in the room. People listened (something severely lacking in most parts of the wedding planning). We talked through it, then walked through it twice. No sweat. I was quite impressed, as I expected far more mass chaos. Nope. Listening, doing, and lots of laughing. Could anyone ask for more?

The luncheon was also fabulous. BJs pizza garnered praise from my Italian mother-in-law! Woot!! Everyone loved their gifts and much camaraderie was had that I had been sorely missing. It was one of those genuinely good days full of good memories. Thank you to all that contributed.

And now for something completely different.....

Yeah, go Python fans, go.

So, the wedding should be in the books when this pops up. Now that all is said and done, I'd like to show you some of the insane projects I did. I only say insane because three of my bridesmaids, plus an extra friend for good measure, kept telling me it was while helping me finish the flowers after the rehearsal. And they didn't even see all the projects! Huh. I guess I just thought that's what people did. No?


So, first up.......my guestbook. I dislike guestbooks that you just sign your name. I'm just not looking for a roll call here people! So, I decided to try to make my own. It's a bit.....rustic. (Yeah, that's it. Rustic. That's the nice word for odd and utterly handmade, right?) So, I used plain cardstock for the pages, adding engagement photos and scrapbooking stickers. The covers were made of cardboard scored so that the book would open and covered in various remnants I found in craft stores. All of the parts were hole-punched so that I could hammer in grommets and hold the whole thing together with ribbon. Honestly, I completely love the outcome! It was a couple hours worth of work, but it's just what I'd hoped. And the cost was about the price of a journal at any large bookstore. The photos were the expensive bit....if roughly $11 can be called expensive. I sent the extra couple cents at an online photo printer for "professional" quality prints. Still not utterly professional, but better than glossies from the drug store.


It's being put out at the wedding with a sign that encourages people to write all over it! I hope they do. I'll show you photos later if they really did.

Forever starts here

Conversation as we drifted off to sleep.....

Me: Is it Christmas yet?
Him: Soon but you have to sleep first.......and wait an entire day.
Me: Doh, poor planning.................



The last few things are left to load into the Element.....Ruby has her seats latched to the interior walls so that we could adequately load her down with decorations, speakers, flowers, and the like. the last few things are left to be loaded after a truly chaotic, busy, productive, joyful day yesterday. We're enjoying the calm before the storm (which is funny because it's pouring ferociously outside our house right now and is supposed to stop later). It's just me and him right now....relaxing and about to sip a cappuccino with a nip of Frangelico and a biscotti. This will be a good day. Oh yes.


Photos of stuff that still needs to find space in the car for the trek to the venue......and the manicure set I used this morning. :)

And the moment you've all been waiting for.....

Today feels almost more important and certainly more chaotic than tomorrow. Yeah, I get married tomorrow, but you plan and plan and plan for that. Today is the rehearsal. You don't rehearse the rehearsal. I mean, that would be redundant, right? So, today is the first day for most of my immediate family, most of his immediate family, all the maids, and all the men to come together in one spot with the goal of learning how to make tomorrow even better and more seamless. Then we all dine together. To me, today has FAR more potential for disaster, as all of these people have never been in one place at one time or worked together ever before. Will there be dominance struggles? Will they all get along for the good of the common goal? There's simply no way to know. I went to dinner with hairdresser bridesmaid and redheaded bridesmaid last night.....after pedicures! And they both said that they are looking more forward to today than tomorrow because they want to see all of this potential drama play out. They giggled in the acknowledgment that their enjoyment comes at the cost of my stress level and fleeing sanity. I really can't blame them. I'm curious myself. Just not in the fun way they seem to be.

Eh, it will all be fine. Or it won't. But I'll still be married at the end of this weekend!

Errand day

Hey......did you know I'm getting married this weekend? Heh. Yeah, thought you might.

Today is the great big errand day. We have all sorts of places to run and collect things from. I wish there was a way to not have a day like this exist, but I think it is truly inevitable. First stop, breakfast with my aunt. She has our votive holders. They just came in yesterday. Next, Ravelin Bakery in Denton to pick up the stuff that we are creating our favors out of. Then several small store dash-in, dash outs. After that, we get to assemble our favors! Remember I showed you the little plantable gift tags that are going on them? So, it's a treat for now from the bakery and a treat for later from the wildflower seeds. Cute (or maybe cheesy), right?

This evening, my betrothed and I part ways. He's off for his stag party. (And please Lord, let it be a success.) I'm off for a pedicure with my redheaded cohort! My second pedi ever. Yeah, pathetic, I know. I might also swing into the gym beforehand. I gained this week, and yes, I went to the gym twice already. I'm not happy about it at all! Darn Valentine's brownies! They're just so irresistible with their little caramel swirl.

As a side bar.....my brother send me an awesome picture text last night. It was a baby with a mohawk doing a mean face and pumping his fist with a caption that said "Let's $#@%^* do this!" and a note from him stating that this is our motto for the weekend. I laughed for a good five minutes over it. Good call, Bubba. Good call!

I can't find the baby photo online, so you get Rosie the Riveter instead. :)