On Wedding Planning

I have not updated about how wedding planning is coming along, but people keep asking, plus I'd like to be able to look back and remember how I felt during this time....so, here we go!

Over all, I would say I'm really enjoying it!  I love planning, especially "fun" events, so for the most part I am enjoying picking things out and making decisions.  That being said, it is a little tough sometimes (isn't it this way for everyone though?!?!).  There is just a lot going on in my life right now (but I wouldn't change that!  I like busy.) which makes it hard to really feel like I can just focus on wedding stuff for a day here or there and just knock things out. 

I work two days a week, which is really not bad at all, but being a teacher you can't just show up to work and then leave work at work.  I have to do lesson plans and grade, so I use evenings after Juliet is asleep for this.  Then there are wedding errands, meetings, phone calls, shopping, etc.  We are trying to do most things buy ourselves to save money, which is what I would choose, but of course adds a little more work.  This is not hard work, just lots of little details to remember and think through.  Then there is simply figuring out moving to a new state.  Did I mention we are officially moving to Texas?!?  We will move right after the wedding.  So, I try to squeeze in packing here and there because I'm sure packing the week of the wedding will cause a little stress :) My biggest job currently is being a mom to Juliet.  She is so fun these days and we are just loving the warmer weather.  However, Juliet makes doing all of the above a little bit trickier.  It's just harder to be as productive with MY stuff with an 18-month-old either trying to "help" or needing attention.  We have to work around nap schedules, park days, and melt-downs as well, which limits the amount I feel like I can get done in a day.  And I can't forget all the regular life stuff like weekly activities, laundry, and working out (Thanks to my dad for getting me on the 5:30am gym routine which seems to be the most efficient time to workout!).  So we are all just trying to hang-on for the ride! ...and if you notice something at the wedding is not "right" or missing, I'm asking for forgiveness in advance, okay? Thanks!

On another wedding note, I have SO much help!  People are so wonderful to me.  Really and truly.  I have lots of ladies from our church helping me with flowers, decorations, ...you name it!  They are all so talented in different ways and I'm thankful that they are sharing their gifts with us.  Also, my parents are always SO wonderful to help me with Juliet.  They are awesome babysitters if you need one! (You are welcome for the advertisement, mom and dad. ha)  And I don't know what most grooms are like or how they typically help in the whole wedding process, but Micah is so helpful and involved.  He doesn't mind when I ask him to do something (heck, he usually just volunteers) or when I am constantly asking his opinion because I just can't decide.   So, even though this is a busy season I am certainly not working alone :)

One more wedding comment I want to make, as a reminder more for myself than for anyone else....

There are LOTS of friends, family friends, and acquaintances of mine and my family that are also getting married this year.  All of our weddings are different; different styles, different locations, and different budgets and I am finding that it is so hard to go to someone else's wedding and not take notes, get ideas, and compare when you are also planning a wedding of your own. 

Micah and I wanted to have a nice wedding, but we still wanted simple.  We decided that we would rather have some of the money that we could spend on a wedding to use elsewhere in our lives, and we both decided that we would rather invite everyone who was important to us and have a simple wedding more than have a fancier wedding with fewer guests. 

Well, despite what we had decided we wanted, after going to lots of other weddings that were very lovely and special I was beginning to feel the pressure to make our wedding seem nicer, more unique, fancier, more "this" and more "that".   When I told Micah, he was so good to remind me that we could do "that" or make some changes to our current plans, but do we really want that?  And he was SO right.  I don't.  I want our wedding to reflect us, not someone else.  In the plans that we already have we are including the things that are important to us: a ceremony that will present the Gospel, celebration outside, lots of guests, dinner, Latin and Indian flare, dancing, sugar cookies and icing, and Sangria and beer.  It's us and it will be perfect.