The transportation conundrum

Ah, the drama of transportation. First, the details.

We need a limo (or transportation of some sort) to pick up the boys at our apartment at noon the day of the wedding. It then has to take them to Mayfair so they can make sure everything is set up, and then at 2 p.m. start seating guests (well, the boys excluding Richard and Danny.) This limo must then return to my parents' house, and pick up me and my bridesmaids to take us back to Mayfair for 1:45 p.m., in time to hide out in the bridal room before the ceremony starts at 2:30.

A mode of transportation must then return to Mayfair at midnight to pick up Richard and I and take us to our wedding night hotel. If you count that up, it's roughly two hours in the afternoon and then an hour at night.

Now, the conundrum. Most limo companies only do four hour bookings, and they must usually be consecutive hours. This makes sense for most weddings that involve moving between ceremony and reception, but not for ours. Thus, Richard is calling in his connections, hopefully.

I'm hoping a resolution will appear before us soon...

269 days to go.

Whoa...

Uh yeah, we're getting married in 300 days! No, I have no idea why that number is so exciting, but it just seems so much close than 320 or whatever.

Things are ticking along and we're (and by we're, I mean I'm) finally ticking things off my list. We've asked one of my cousins to be our master of ceremonies, so that's exciting! He was one of the first people to visit when I was born, and apparently used to babysit me and read me his economics textbooks to get me to go to sleep. Plainly that didn't instill a love of math or anything in me, but that's neither here nor there.

All of our dresses have arrived, which is ridiculously exciting. My mom, Amanda and I went to try ours on last week and I about died. It finally hit me that yes, I am getting married! I think it was that it's the actual dress that I will be wearing that finally did it, but who knows. It could also have been the bridesmaids dress because we'd never seen it in all black before.

Flowers for the bridesmaids (and by extension, the groomsmen) have been chosen as well. I may have made them stick their faces in the bouquet to make sure none of them were allergic to it, but luckily no one is (not even Vanessa, who's usually allergic to everything), so they're all set! I chose mine awhile ago, so now it's just the centrepieces, corsages, boutennieres and other table flowers left.

It's getting closer, slowly but surely!

Working on the details

Finally, I have addresses for mostly everyone on our guest list! The bridesmaids are coming over on Sunday to help me put together our save the date cards, which at this point will involve printing labels, stuffing envelopes and tying ribbons. This may become an experiment in whether we can make our own invitations or not. The cards will be going out at the beginning of October, so yay!

In other news, we're still searching for a cupcake tier for our wedding cake. I'm hoping an event rental company will have some for us to choose from, along with something for our place cards.

333 days to go!

Engagement photos!

Richard and I had our engagement photo shoot with Jonathan on Sunday. When we woke up, it was pouring rain and my heart sank. As the day went on, it got brighter and brighter, and by 5:30 it was actually sunny. I don't know which god to thank, but I'll go with the Egyptian sun god Ra, just for kicks.

We started off at the playground at Steveston Community Centre, where we played on the swings. We then moved to the pier at the end of No.1 Road, before ending up at Garry Point.

We both had an awesome time, and cannot wait to see the photos. Hopefully they're amazing!

354 days to go!

Saving the date

I didn't realize it was hard to find the proper colour of purple for the save the date words. I think I've printed out the wording seven times trying to find the perfect shade, but I think I've finally found it.

The guest list is coming together slowly. Richard and I have completed ours, so now we're just trying to coordinate schedules for the two sets of parents to get together and finalize the list so I can print the correct number of cards and get them all addressed so I can send them in early October.

In other news, I've got emails out to a few wedding commissioners regarding officiating our wedding. I suppose that's an important part huh?

We've also finalized our processional music for the boys, girls and myself. We now have to find about 45 minutes of music to be playing while the guests arrive and are seated, so we're thinking some basic background music, nothing too fancy or overwhelming.

Our engagement photos are on Sunday! I'm really looking forward to them.

361 days to go!

One more year!

This time next year Richard and I will be married! We'll have walked down the aisle, said our vows and sealed it with a kiss.

We've been engaged for nearly six months now, and it's gone by ridiculously quickly. I can only hope that the next year will do the same. We've done so much in preparing for it already, and I can't wait to see it all come together next year.

I'm on vacation until August 17, so I'll be spending the next couple days organizing our guest list and laying out the save the date cards. Hopefully I'll be able to get all the cards printed, and then have a ribbon tying party to finish them all up. I'm planning to send them out in early October, but I may as well get them all printed at least so I don't need to worry about them once I get back to work.

364 days to go (because it's now after midnight)!

One more thing off the list

Bridesmaids dresses are ordered! They should arrive in about three to four months, hopefully around the same time my dress does, and then they'll hang out in the vault until we start alterations. When that will be I don't know, but I was thinking March. We shall see.

I tried on the sample dress again today though, and I absolutely love it. I'm now deciding on what I want to do with my hair, as we've ascertained that I want an updo. Hopefully something wavy and pretty, since my hair is normally straight so I'd rather have something fun and pretty, especially for when I take my veil off after the photos.

In other news, I purchased the sand for the sand ceremony yesterday. Purple for me and black for Richard. Next up, finding the vases for them to be poured in to.

My biggest hurdle ahead? The dreaded guest list. *insert threatening music here, ala Jaws*. That's not going to be enjoyable at all. I'd love to be able to invite everyone, but with the venue restriction of 180 and the fact that we haven't won the lottery yet, we're going to have to chop the list. Ugh.

378 days to go!

It seems so far away

I'm back in full wedding mode after the wedding of Richard's best friend Ken this past weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony, and I definitely shed a few tears. They are a beautiful couple and I wish them all the happiness in the world.

But as I watched them seal their vows, it made my wedding seem so far away. 403 days seems ridiculously long, but Richard maintains it will go by quickly. I think it'll feel a lot more real once the one year mark hits on July 31, but it's still a bit sad.

I can't wait to be married to him and spend our lives together. I can't wait to put his ring on his finger, seal our vows with a kiss and dance away into the night.

*sigh* 403 days to go.

And I'm not even sorry about it

So remember how I said I was taking a break until July 18? Well that was a total lie.

My mother and I went out to pick up the save the date cards today, so I'm now working on the proper wording. The cards are simple and elegant, so that makes me happy as well. I have to look into the cost of including a small photo in the cards as well to see whether it's worth it, but I hope it'll be pretty easy to accomplish.

We're getting engagement photos taken in August! I have to figure out what I'm going to wear for those, but I'm thinking jeans and a black and silver striped shirt. I have to see how it photographs first. One of those photos will be the one that goes in the save the date cards.

413 days to go!

Random musings

I ordered my dress last week! I'm still in love with it (possibly more than I am with Richard) and I still think it's the most beautiful dress in the world, so I'm so happy that it's mine ... well, half of it is. The other half of the cost doesn't get paid until we pick up the dress after alterations.

In other dress-related news, why do certain designers insist on calling their plus-size lines "Woman" or advertise it as "for real women"? Er, last I checked I was still a woman, even if my size is smaller than a size 14. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a plus-size, but it's a bit offputting to see advertisments that apparently classify me as something lesser just because I'm smaller. Sorry oh great gods of advertising, I'm still just as much of a woman as the size 16 bride trying on dresses beside me (and looking gorgeous of course).

So now I'm taking a break from wedding stuff until July 18 when Vanessa, Amanda, Ana and I go to order the bridesmaids dresses!

435 days to go!

The wedding website

So I've been building our wedding website today (www.kerryandrichard.weddingannouncer.com), and it's been a bit harder than I thought it would be. I didn't realize how much information I really have to give people. I guess it's good practice before doing the invitations though.

In other news, we've booked the DJ! Hot Wax Productions was recommended by Mayfair, and we ended up spending about two hours talking to the guy when we met him, so I know it'll be a good fit.

We've also booked our photographer, which is one of the more exciting parts for me. I absolutely love his photos (www.creativebridalphotography.com), and I know they'll be great. We're doing an engagement portrait shoot in August, so that'll be a good test run. I suppose we need to get used to have our own personal paparazzi.

I have to order my dress next month, which is a bit nerve-wracking. I know it's the dress and I'm in love with it, but I didn't realize how far in advance I'd need to order it! Yet another deposit down. Back to the gym I go.

Dresses

We've chosen both of the dresses! My bridesmaids decided to choose the same dress for everyone, so that's sorted. They'll be ordered in June and then stored with my dress until it's time for alterations. Apparently because it's a 2009 style, there's no guarantee that it will still be around in the fall for ordering, so at least this way they're done and they'll be ready and waiting for alterations next year.

Mine on the other hand, takes a bazillion months to arrive, so it's being ordered next month. Yeah, I'm ridiculously excited about it. Now, back to my regularly scheduled bridal starvation.... =P

The significance of the date

We were originally looking at May or June next year, for various reasons including the fact that May is halfway between our birthday months of February and August. However, it rains way too much in May to have an outdoor ceremony, so that took it off the list.

June was still in play, until we found out that my great-grandparents would have celebrated their 100 year anniversary on July 30, 2010. They were by all accounts very happy together (I never met my great-grandfather, and I was just a baby when my great-grandmother died, though we have a photo together), and so I thought it may bring a measure of good luck to us both. It is also a long weekend, so no one has to rush home the next morning to get to work on Monday (and it means I don't have to take the day off after my wedding, which is nice.)

Though it seems to far away now, time has gone by so quickly since we got engaged, so I know it will be here before I know it.

A veiled triumph

I take my victories where I can get them.

My mother has said several times that she would really like me to wear a blusher veil (the ones with part of the veil over the face, if you're not up on your wedding terminology.)

I hate blusher veils, and flatly refused to wear one (with Richard backing me up on how much he hated them.) However, I told my mother that I would try one on just so that she could see it.

So I did, last week at Lisa's Bridal, and as I said, I hated it. Luckily for me, the consultant also said that few brides wear them nowadays and that she wouldn't recommend it. Therefore, I won the battle of the veil.

One fight down, who knows how many more to go....

It started with conflict

Well, I may as well start at the beginning.

Richard and I met in 2006 when we took a conflict resolution class together at Kwantlen University College (now known as Kwantlen Polytechnic University.) Technically he'll tell you that we met in the other class we took together on the same day, but we didn't speak to each other so I maintain that doesn't count.

We ended up paired together for a conflict exercise, and ended up playing opposing patients at a hospital who were fighting with each other. We ended up in tears laughing so hard, and we were friends from then on. As time went on he would often give me a ride home as he lived a few blocks from me, and we had a lot of good conversations.

After the semester ended, we kept in touch and talked every so often online. At the beginning of 2008 we reconnected and went out for a dinner that lasted for three hours. A couple weeks later he took me snowboarding, and despite falling several times, I had a great time. A week later we went for dinner, skating and a movie, and the rest is history.

The proposal story

Perhaps it's easier to write it down once rather than repeat myself every time someone calls to ask.

Richard and I went to a spa and resort just past Sechelt for our anniversary weekend (which also happened to be Valentines Day.) On the second day, we went for a walk around the grounds and ended up climbing this rock to take photos. He said that we should come back after our massages (yeah, I know, tough life) with some sandwiches to watch the sunset.

However, by the time our massages were over I just wanted to take a nap before our scheduled dinner at 9 p.m. He was very insistent that we go for a walk though, so I took a shower and we headed out to our cliff with some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

So I'm sitting on this rock taking photos as I always do, and he turns to me.
"Will you marry me?"
I burst into tears, he pulls the ring out of his pocket where he had wrapped it in Kleenex so that I wouldn't be suspicious of a box-sized bulge in his pocket, and slides the ring on my finger while handing me the Kleenex.

I may have threatened to beat him for wrapping the ring in a tissue though.