We picked up our marriage license last night. It was one of those things that made me really feel like an adult. Kind of like the first time you schedule your own dentist appointment. And then actually go to said appointment, and pay for whatever insurance didn't cover.

We're ready for this wedding. I have to fill the centerpiece vases with rocks, and we've got a lot of shopping to do, but that's practically nothing. People keep asking me if I'm excited or nervous, and yes, I am both. I think a lot of people say that the nerves have nothing to do with the marriage, but the wedding, and I would say that is completely accurate.

I feel like the wedding is a play - nay, a musical! - and I'm the producer, director, stage manager, and leading lady. In real life, that's pretty much impossible. The stage manager can't be on stage! Who would run the show? Yeah. Exactly. Who is going to do all the crap I can't do on the wedding day because I'm too busy getting married? Answer: whoever is willing. That stuff will be delegated and it will be fine, but until those roles are filled it's just one more stupid thing to deal with. But it's going to be awesome.

Tangent over! I'm suuuper excited for mah party tonight.

dwindling task list

I have 11 things left on my to-do list (not including "pick up the marriage license," which, psh. That'll take ten minutes):

Five of them involve shopping
Three are things to figure out the night before
The other three are assembling DIY stuff

Easy.

Dear Ladies of Honor,

I made a couple really simple chokers for you to wear for the wedding. Just green ribbon with a single flower attached. I think they will look pretty on you. You can totally take them off once the ceremony is over. :)

Love,
Katrina

programs = FINISHED.

They look awesome.

What up.

...

I didn't get as much done this weekend as I'd hoped. Putting together the programs takes more time than I anticipated, but I think I'll probably be able to get them done in the next two days.

I didn't even start the silverware bundle things. Or buy the rest of the vases.

(Although I did get some vase filler. It's actually aquarium gravel, courtesy of PetSmart. We also purchased a cat leash while we were there. Truth).

We did buy Darren a suit, though. We took the awesome Calvin Klein jacket (that he found at Goodwill for $15) to Men's Warehouse and the guy was all "We have this suit, but I can't separate the jacket from the pants, I can only sell them together." And it's a $500 suit. Sooo we decided to get him a brand new $300-on-sale-for-$200 suit instead. And he looks awesome. He'll probably look even better once the pants are tailored. The jacket didn't need any altering at all, which is awesome. The alterations on the pants are only going to cost $20. Win!

The unfortunate thing is we somehow ended up buying shoes from the, too. "We actually have some good deals on shoes right now, too." Ha! Okay, they might be the most comfortable dress shoes Darren's ever worn (awesome), but they were $109. Laughs! Ah, but in the end Darren and I will have spent pretty much the same amount on our wedding ensembles, so whatever. bring on the hundred dollar shoes.

We're going to do the marriage license stuff on Thursday, then pick up the suit on Friday... awesome. We're in the home stretch.

woot

Rental Lady called me back. Pip! Now she just needs to send me the invoice... dun dun dun. It won't be so bad considering we cut the stupid dance floor.

I'll be spending this evening working on program construction, by which I mean cutting them out. I finished all of the printing stuff last night (just in time- I ran out of colored ink. As a result I'll be short 8 water bottle lables. preeeeetty sure no one will notice). I also glued together the popsicle sticks, which as it turns out were the fat ones I'd originally wanted. Since I had so many, I decided to glue two together to make them longer and, in theory, better able to support the waving of the fans.

Goals for the weekend: buy the rest of Darren's stuff, finish fan construction, and make silverware bundles. And make the guest"book." And hopefully buy the last 5 vases and vase filler for all of them. I'm a friggin' machine.

stuuuuuuuuuuuuff

So! Some things.

1. I emailed the rental company on Sunday evening to give the lady our final numbers and I haven't heard back yet and I'm kind of losing my mind over it. RAR.

2. I trashed my previous programs because putting them together made me want to stab something. I changed to an easier and more effective fan-program.

3. I needed some kind of handle for my fans, so I went out in search of either a) stir sticks for paint, or b) tongue depressors. I couldn't fine them anywhere. So I finally got some regular popsicle craft sticks and decided I'll just glue two of them together, wrap them with ribbon, and handles I will have.

4. Anna is dropping off the discount form for our marriage license tomorrow, so next week we're going to get our marriage license. Yay!

5. Progress is being made in several areas, such as: programs (obvs), guest"book", decor, serving/dining stuff, road signage, and general awesomeness.

6. We're going to get the rest of Darren's fancy clothes this weekend. And the last of the centerpiece stuff.

7. I need to figure out what to get you guys for the finishing of the Ladies of Honor gifts. It might be bottles of wine (in addition to the other (secret!) things)... because shopping is hard.

8. It's Kate's birthday tomorrow!

9. I am super excited for my bachelorette party!

title?

I bought the lanterns and silverware/serving utensils/serving bowls/napkins the other day. Go me. Next weekend Darren and I are going pants/shirt/shoe shopping for him. Hopefully we find some pants that match his awesome $15 Goodwill suit jacket.

Also, my mom called last night to tell me she'll totally be able to get food through work. Yay, tacos! And fruit, too! Om nom nom.

So, here's what's up. I have come to the realization that I dislike being called - or referring to myself as - a bride. It is weird and I avoid it at all costs. Which is too bad, because the fact of the matter is I am one. It's als weird because I don't mind calling other wedding-planning ladies brides. Just not myself. Nope. I'm looking forward to the day, 29 days from now, actually it'd be 30 days from now, because the 29th is the actual wedding where I will most definitely be a bride- and just be a wife (hee!).

this is a post about how much my mom rules.

My mom is going to buy the taco ingredients. She's going to find out if she can get it through work, and if not she's just going to Wal-Mart.

My mom is awesome.

lanterns

I need to buy paper lanterns, like, this week and I keep losing the web site.

10 8" beige lanterns

10 12" beige lanterns

10 8" sage lanterns

10 12" grass green lanterns

Why we should've eloped.

We are 33 days out and, thanks to Darren's mom's pushy family, had to add another 10 people to the invite list. Never mind the fact that we passed the RSVP due date. I hope they all say no.

Sometimes this week we're going to have to get in touch with Darren's grandma, because she seems to know who all is coming from her side of the family. Almost none of them bothered to respond. I want to assume that none of them are going to be there, but I don't want a shitload of extra people just showing up and have there no be enough seats for everyone.

I also briefly considered making a seating chart, so the people who were smart enough to respond get seats, while everyone else can basically go eff themselves. I'm still kind of tempted to do that, actually. It wouldn't take that long. But then I'd have to make table numbers, too. Argh. That seems like too much work just for the purpose of putting people in their place.

Rage rage rage. I wish I could go back in time and have a guest list do-over.