Countdown until 2008

I cannot believe that Christmas has already come and gone. It seems like just yesterday Brad and I were passing out Halloween candy to the neighborhood kids, and now we're preparing to welcome 2008 in less than a week. The past three months have been a complete whirlwind. Between work, family and occassional planning time has flown by--faster than I could have ever imagined.

In August when Brad and I picked a date in March, I remember feeling like we had FOREVER to wait. Time couldn't pass fast enough. Yesterday I had my first realization that despite what I might have previously thought, time was passing and I needed to catch up. I woke up with a desperate desire to start creating lists of things I need to accomplish now, or perhaps yesterday. I'm a huge fan of "To Do" lists, actually, I can hardly function without them. About halfway through my most recent list, I realized that there are far more things left to do than I had originally thought. The most unfortunate thing about planning a wedding at the same time as someone else in your family is that there isn't always enough time to handle things in advance--it's the first things first philosophy. Until last week the Walls-Stripling wedding was on hold, and now I must make decisions in a haste. I need invitations, favors, flower girl dresses, tuxes, an event designer--and a lot more that I can't even begin to type! These things weren't urgent when Allie only had 3 months to plan, but now that I'm down to less than three months, they are quite important. I have to make some decisions, and I have to do it fast.

I imagine the next couple of weeks will be some of the most stressful. I actually kind of hope they are--making decisions will eliminate other stresses. I am dying to have all of these details ironed out--obviously I'm not a fan of the last minute. As I've said before, I'm a planner and advance plans are my favorite.

Oh the things to do... I have to get to work!

Love!

The grand scheme of things...

If you know anything about me, you know that I'm very fond of sticking to a "vision" or a theme of sorts. I like to have a look and stick with it--carry it out into even the tiniest details. Every event I've ever planned has a clear theme. At one time I had a very clear vision of how my wedding day would "look" and while I'm still going for the classic, elegant fairytale princess concept my old color scheme is out the door and now we're moving on to plan B.


If you've heard my vision of a pink and brown wedding--pretend you never did and start imagining something new. Imagine a romantic, candle lit setting with shades of pink, sahara and, despite my overwhelming desire to prevent it from appearing anywhere on my wedding day, BLACK! I should explain that I have nothing against black at weddings, but Allie's was entirely black and white, so in an effort to keep some guests from feeling like they went to the same event twice, I made an effort to keep it out of all March 8th plans.

Well, my trusty everyday color (I don't know how I ever made it without my black Michael Stars turtleneck) has crept into my big day, in the form of a sash. The six sashes that adorn my otherwise perfect bridesmaids dresses have black undersides! How did this happen?!? It was all a big misunderstanding between the store and the designer, that everyone was incredibly apologetic for. The shantung fabric is absolutely perfect, the sahara shade is just what I had in mind but then when you tie the bow--surprise, it's not sahara like the other side, it's a deep onyx. I couldn't possibly have brown AND black, so the sash wins--black it is.


The colors are new, but in the grand scheme of things I don't think it will matter that much. I'm very anxious to flesh out my new concept, maybe it's all for the best. Now the girls will have a much easier time finding shoes--that's a plus. All in all, it's probably the first of many things that won't go exactly as planned, but hey, I prefer surpsises 80 days out, rather than the day of, so I'm counting my blessings!

We ordered our engagement proofs today! We love the photographers we are working with and can't wait to see the creative concepts they have in mind for our day. I'll share more pictures when I have them. We're getting closer and closer...

Love!

81 days to go!

My blog now officially has a purpose--tracking my life in the days leading up to the wedding! Exciting, huh?


First bit of news--we have a honeymoon spot! Yeah for us! After weeks of contemplating (and watching the air fares rise and being mislead by a certain travel agent) we finally decided on Couples Swept Away in Jamaica. We'll be there March 10-15 and I am already counting down the days. I think it will make the perfect setting for our first week of marriage. Check out the resort at http://www.couples.com/.


If you're wondering why I didn't think of this wedding tracking thing before, I have been reluctant to post too much about it because the focus has generally been on Allie's big day (fair enough, I get Dec. 16-March 8, haha) and for me, it was on surviving Allie's big day myself. Yes, I'm her big sister and quite possessive. I didn't realize that I was so possessive until I had to start thinking about sharing her with someone else. I honestly hate the idea, but as of Saturday I no longer have a choice (okay, I didn't really have one before but I felt a little more in control than I do now). She's happy and therefore I'm happy for her. I survived her special day and in all honesty it was absolutely wonderful. She was truly stunning--one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen! All of the extravagance of course made me an emotional wreck who couldn't look at her without crying, but nonetheless I made it without causing too much of a scene and I'm officially moving into the acceptance phase (I don't have a choice, right?). Isn't she pretty?


Well, now that I have a purpose I assume that I'll be posting much more frequently. I am incredibly excited about my upcoming wedding and LOVE being able to share the details.

Love!