This weekend, CP and I will be closing a chapter in our lives. We will make the permanent move into our NEW HOUSE, leaving the rental house in MA behind. This is pretty significant. We have only spent two years there, but it was the first place that we moved into together. That was OURS.
We also have had quite a few things happen while living there:
*I started my first job out of law school. A job that I started with so much optimism and in the past two years, have grown to dislike because I am so bored.
*CP and I got engaged.
*I PASSED THE BAR! How funny that I said that I would never take that test again…and yet CP and I have been discussing whether I should take the CT bar this winter. *sigh*
*I turned 30 and 31.
*I lost weight. I gained weight. I lost weight. I gained weight. I’m working on losing weight yet again. *sigh* (too many posts to link)
*I had the opportunity to be on “Say Yes to the Dress” and promptly said NO.
*CP and I went to Cancun, Mexico with my family.
*CP and I got certified to be scuba divers in anticipation for our honeymoon.
*I spent three months in DC for work, having fun with friends while poor CP was stuck in MA.
*We planned our wedding in the mountains of New Hampshire (again, too many posts to link).
*I had a really fun bachelorette party after having a mental breakdown regarding CP’s bachelor party.
*After our amazing wedding, CP and I went to South Africa and Mozambique for our honeymoon. (that link is the first of a few posts)
*We entertained the thought of moving to Denver, CO, but despite all of the great interviews, we couldn’t make it work.
*We decided to limit our intake of processed foods and haven’t looked back since.
*We planted our first garden!
*We decided to try for a baby. Hopefully that decision will pan out soon!
*We decided to move down to CT, with our focus on starting a family.
I can’t wait to see what we have in store for the two of us (maybe more?) in our new house!
Showing posts with label the wedding industry can suck it. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the wedding industry can suck it. Show all posts
8.13.2010
1.01.2010
What will 2010 bring?
Looking back on the year that was 2009, CP and I had a pretty busy year.
*We survived a year in the most boring town imaginable for people our age. Hopefully we will remedy this soon and move to Denver!
*We survived planning a wedding hours away from our house and without much help from family and the wedding party. Luckily, now we just can look forward to other people’s weddings….including one later this month in New Orleans!
*We survived spending three months away from each other because of my work rotation. Hopefully CP’s job doesn’t have him traveling a lot this year, but one never knows.
*We survived working with a trainer and going to the gym together. I managed to lose 20 pounds, gain back 10 while living in DC, and lose 15 more before the wedding. I am up 5 pounds and need to get back on the losing-weight train. CP lost about 25 pounds himself, but has put on more than 10 of it. He is currently back in the gym, trying to run it off.
*We survived trips to Cancun and South Africa/ Mozambique. This year we have only two trips planned so far- New Orleans for a wedding and Denver for a week of skiing (but hopefully we will have moved by then!). Not as exotic, but just as fun!
*We survived our money troubles and will hopefully continue to move in a positive direction. We have a strict budget in place that we monitor weekly and hope to get a renter into our condo out west soon. Paying for a mortgage and rent at the same time and only living in one of the places? Pretty much sucks.
Today is the first day of 2010. What will the year ahead look like for me and CP?
*We survived a year in the most boring town imaginable for people our age. Hopefully we will remedy this soon and move to Denver!
*We survived planning a wedding hours away from our house and without much help from family and the wedding party. Luckily, now we just can look forward to other people’s weddings….including one later this month in New Orleans!
*We survived spending three months away from each other because of my work rotation. Hopefully CP’s job doesn’t have him traveling a lot this year, but one never knows.
*We survived working with a trainer and going to the gym together. I managed to lose 20 pounds, gain back 10 while living in DC, and lose 15 more before the wedding. I am up 5 pounds and need to get back on the losing-weight train. CP lost about 25 pounds himself, but has put on more than 10 of it. He is currently back in the gym, trying to run it off.
*We survived trips to Cancun and South Africa/ Mozambique. This year we have only two trips planned so far- New Orleans for a wedding and Denver for a week of skiing (but hopefully we will have moved by then!). Not as exotic, but just as fun!
*We survived our money troubles and will hopefully continue to move in a positive direction. We have a strict budget in place that we monitor weekly and hope to get a renter into our condo out west soon. Paying for a mortgage and rent at the same time and only living in one of the places? Pretty much sucks.
Today is the first day of 2010. What will the year ahead look like for me and CP?
10.22.2009
If I had a time machine.....
Although our wedding weekend went GREAT, there are a few things that I would change if I could go back in time:
*Although we got a lot of compliments on the Inn, the owners were crazy. They constantly talked about money and then pulled weird things like only putting 50 plates out for the rehearsal dinner. Or doing the champagne toast Friday night, having some glasses of champagne leftover and instead of handing them out to people, they brought them back into the kitchen. There was still some champagne left in the bottles, so why wouldn’t they pour it? It’s not like they could keep the bottle to use it for later guests…AND my in laws had already paid for it. WTF? In addition, two hours before my wedding, I guess some random people stopped by the Inn wanting a drink. Instead of telling them that we had a wedding and that the Inn was closed for other business (we took up the entire Inn, another nearby hotel AND part of another nearby Inn), the owner allowed them to have drinks and sat and talked to them instead of helping with the set up. ???? If CP and I had it to do again, I think that we would have looked at other places to take over for the weekend….
*If we could have afforded a wedding coordinator, that would have been a helpful person to have. Even if it was just a wedding coordinator that came with the property or one the day-of. My mom ran around like a maniac, and CP did too. It would have been nicer to have both of them able to relax the day of the wedding.
*I wouldn’t have done the out of town bags. Yes it’s nice to give guests Gatorade, gum, snacks, etc. but it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
These are fairly minor changes though….at least in my mind. Despite the fact that the Inn owners were crazy, the only people that really knew what was going on were CP’s parents and my parents. So to our guests, it was pretty much a seamless weekend….and that’s what you want!
Overall it was one of the best weekends of my life. I simply couldn’t stop smiling the entire weekend….and I have continued to have a perma-grin on my face since then.
If I am still alive and I haven’t been abducted in Mozambique or South Africa, then I will let you guys know on Monday how the honeymoon went (and I promise no more wedding recaps!!!).
*Although we got a lot of compliments on the Inn, the owners were crazy. They constantly talked about money and then pulled weird things like only putting 50 plates out for the rehearsal dinner. Or doing the champagne toast Friday night, having some glasses of champagne leftover and instead of handing them out to people, they brought them back into the kitchen. There was still some champagne left in the bottles, so why wouldn’t they pour it? It’s not like they could keep the bottle to use it for later guests…AND my in laws had already paid for it. WTF? In addition, two hours before my wedding, I guess some random people stopped by the Inn wanting a drink. Instead of telling them that we had a wedding and that the Inn was closed for other business (we took up the entire Inn, another nearby hotel AND part of another nearby Inn), the owner allowed them to have drinks and sat and talked to them instead of helping with the set up. ???? If CP and I had it to do again, I think that we would have looked at other places to take over for the weekend….
*If we could have afforded a wedding coordinator, that would have been a helpful person to have. Even if it was just a wedding coordinator that came with the property or one the day-of. My mom ran around like a maniac, and CP did too. It would have been nicer to have both of them able to relax the day of the wedding.
*I wouldn’t have done the out of town bags. Yes it’s nice to give guests Gatorade, gum, snacks, etc. but it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
These are fairly minor changes though….at least in my mind. Despite the fact that the Inn owners were crazy, the only people that really knew what was going on were CP’s parents and my parents. So to our guests, it was pretty much a seamless weekend….and that’s what you want!
Overall it was one of the best weekends of my life. I simply couldn’t stop smiling the entire weekend….and I have continued to have a perma-grin on my face since then.
If I am still alive and I haven’t been abducted in Mozambique or South Africa, then I will let you guys know on Monday how the honeymoon went (and I promise no more wedding recaps!!!).
10.20.2009
Looking back on our wedding, here are some decisions that we made that I thought turned out great:
*Spending time with friends and family the two days before everyone else arrived. I think they helped to keep me calm and collected and not worrying that everything was going to get done.
*Inviting all of our friend to the Inn Friday night. It was great to see almost all of our guests the night before the wedding. If CP and I had headed to our room for the night, I think that we both would have gotten nervous about the next day. Instead we were able to talk to friends that either flew or drove long distances and have all of our friends and family meet the night before the wedding to get to know each other.
*I am happy that we did not print out a menu for every guest. We didn’t even print out one large menu to put near the place cards. It simply wasn’t necessary. It would have been a waste of paper. I AM happy that we ended up doing programs. We used the same leaf stamp (bought at Michaels) as we used for the save the date cards, bought plain program paper at Staples, and voila! Now we have a program of our wedding for the rest of our lives.
*Our unity ceremony was a not a typical candle or sand ceremony. CP put thought into our plant ceremony and we had our officiant say a few words about having to nurture the plant, just as we would our marriage. We then put some soil and water on the plant and that was it. The best part about it was that the plant was a clipping from my great-grandmother’s Christmas Cactus so the plant has meaning to us. Hopefully we keep it alive!! Here is what the plant will look like when it blooms around Thanksgiving (and Easter I guess? So who knows why it is called a Christmas cactus??!!):
*Spending time with friends and family the two days before everyone else arrived. I think they helped to keep me calm and collected and not worrying that everything was going to get done.
*Inviting all of our friend to the Inn Friday night. It was great to see almost all of our guests the night before the wedding. If CP and I had headed to our room for the night, I think that we both would have gotten nervous about the next day. Instead we were able to talk to friends that either flew or drove long distances and have all of our friends and family meet the night before the wedding to get to know each other.
*I am happy that we did not print out a menu for every guest. We didn’t even print out one large menu to put near the place cards. It simply wasn’t necessary. It would have been a waste of paper. I AM happy that we ended up doing programs. We used the same leaf stamp (bought at Michaels) as we used for the save the date cards, bought plain program paper at Staples, and voila! Now we have a program of our wedding for the rest of our lives.
*Our unity ceremony was a not a typical candle or sand ceremony. CP put thought into our plant ceremony and we had our officiant say a few words about having to nurture the plant, just as we would our marriage. We then put some soil and water on the plant and that was it. The best part about it was that the plant was a clipping from my great-grandmother’s Christmas Cactus so the plant has meaning to us. Hopefully we keep it alive!! Here is what the plant will look like when it blooms around Thanksgiving (and Easter I guess? So who knows why it is called a Christmas cactus??!!):
*Inviting our guests to a brunch on Sunday morning. Amazingly enough, I was wide awake and not hungover by 7:30 so we were there to greet our guests before they had to catch flights. It was fun to recap the wedding and to spend a few extra minutes with friends or family that we didn’t see too much of the night before.
*I’m glad that I didn’t go crazy by micro-managing our vendors. For the flowers? We told her our colors, said what flowers we didn’t want and let her do what she thought would look great. And you know what? My flowers were beautiful! Same with the guitarist for the ceremony. Would anyone REALLY care what was playing when people were sitting down? No. The only thing that I cared about was that “Here Comes the Bride” was played as I walked towards CP with my dad.
*Despite the fact that I had made the table cards, put together the guest book, went to all of the vendor meetings, etc., it was great as the bride to come down to the ceremony and gaze in wonder (and surprise! I didn’t plan an ugly wedding like in my nightmare a few months ago!) at the beautiful job the vendors did. Or when I walked into the tent for the reception, it was nice to see all of my little touches. I’m glad that I didn’t do a lot of DIY projects for the wedding as the few ones that we did, people did end up noticing.
*Not caring what people thought of us playing Beirut and Stump after the reception (especially in our wedding attire). There was nothing to do in that area of NH anyway, so why not spend more time with your friends and family?
*The weather was nice enough on Friday and Sunday so that guests were able to see WHY we picked the location that was so far away from civilization. The foliage was in its peak, guests saw bears, moose, turkeys and other wild animals, and the air was fresh.
Come back on Thursday. I have a few things that I would have changed….
*I’m glad that I didn’t go crazy by micro-managing our vendors. For the flowers? We told her our colors, said what flowers we didn’t want and let her do what she thought would look great. And you know what? My flowers were beautiful! Same with the guitarist for the ceremony. Would anyone REALLY care what was playing when people were sitting down? No. The only thing that I cared about was that “Here Comes the Bride” was played as I walked towards CP with my dad.
*Despite the fact that I had made the table cards, put together the guest book, went to all of the vendor meetings, etc., it was great as the bride to come down to the ceremony and gaze in wonder (and surprise! I didn’t plan an ugly wedding like in my nightmare a few months ago!) at the beautiful job the vendors did. Or when I walked into the tent for the reception, it was nice to see all of my little touches. I’m glad that I didn’t do a lot of DIY projects for the wedding as the few ones that we did, people did end up noticing.
*Not caring what people thought of us playing Beirut and Stump after the reception (especially in our wedding attire). There was nothing to do in that area of NH anyway, so why not spend more time with your friends and family?
*The weather was nice enough on Friday and Sunday so that guests were able to see WHY we picked the location that was so far away from civilization. The foliage was in its peak, guests saw bears, moose, turkeys and other wild animals, and the air was fresh.
Come back on Thursday. I have a few things that I would have changed….
10.16.2009
Wedding recap- post reception and Sunday
Saturday post-reception
After the reception concluded at 10pm (due to the town noise ordinance), CP and I brought out the regulation-sized Beirut (aka Beer Pong) table for the after party.* We kept our wedding attire on and the first game was against my parents. My mom had quickly run back to her cottage to grab flats and proclaim them her “Beirut shoes.” Awesome. I then proceeded to win every single game. It must have been the luck of the bride, but I was on FIRE. After my parents went to bed, I played my drunk aunt (the loser of the chug-off) and my uncle from Canada, once again kicking butt.** CP was frustrated later on when I kicked his butt too. Hee hee.
While the Beirut table was going on, other friends had one of the pregnant wives drive to a nearby restaurant to pick up a huge tree stump. Someone had the forethought to bring a hammer and nails and thus, the game of Stump was ready to be played! Frankly the one and only time that I played was when CP and I were down in New Orleans for the Eagles/ Saints game and I don’t particularly remember the rules because I had been drinking so much, but needless to say, it’s a fun game.
The after party went on until 2am or so, which was perfect timing for CP and me to head off to bed. Thinking about it now, I am shocked that I was alert, not cranky, and up that entire day because I woke up so early and didn’t get a good night sleep.
Sunday
I was amazingly NOT hungover in the least bit, but just a bit tired. We invited all of our guests back to the Inn for brunch, and a good number of people came. After reuniting jackets and other items with their owners and cleaning up the tent, CP and I drove home in separate cars, but married. While we had dinner that night we watched our wedding video because it’s true what people say- the day goes by in a flash and we were both so nervous that we couldn’t remember most of the ceremony!!
*The table was a wedding present from one of my friends from college. We totally intend to bring it to the Patriots game we are going to in December!
**My aunt was the only embarrassing part of the wedding. First, she berated my dad and their sister about things that happened years ago, making my dad feel awful. At one point, I went up to them and said that it was not the place for this to try to save my dad. I really like this aunt too….so it was also embarrassing when in the middle of playing Beirut she was pulling her top down to expose her cleavage. She’s in her 50s so it was not appropriate and really weird of her to do so. That is something that I used to do in college and haven’t done in at least 10 years myself.
The funniest thing about it though? A family friend was playing on my team and decided that she had enough of the cleavage. So instead of aiming for the cups, she whipped the ball straight into the cleavage of my aunt. Best shot of the night!
Next week I have a few pre-written posts including one with PICTURES of the wedding. :-)
After the reception concluded at 10pm (due to the town noise ordinance), CP and I brought out the regulation-sized Beirut (aka Beer Pong) table for the after party.* We kept our wedding attire on and the first game was against my parents. My mom had quickly run back to her cottage to grab flats and proclaim them her “Beirut shoes.” Awesome. I then proceeded to win every single game. It must have been the luck of the bride, but I was on FIRE. After my parents went to bed, I played my drunk aunt (the loser of the chug-off) and my uncle from Canada, once again kicking butt.** CP was frustrated later on when I kicked his butt too. Hee hee.
While the Beirut table was going on, other friends had one of the pregnant wives drive to a nearby restaurant to pick up a huge tree stump. Someone had the forethought to bring a hammer and nails and thus, the game of Stump was ready to be played! Frankly the one and only time that I played was when CP and I were down in New Orleans for the Eagles/ Saints game and I don’t particularly remember the rules because I had been drinking so much, but needless to say, it’s a fun game.
The after party went on until 2am or so, which was perfect timing for CP and me to head off to bed. Thinking about it now, I am shocked that I was alert, not cranky, and up that entire day because I woke up so early and didn’t get a good night sleep.
Sunday
I was amazingly NOT hungover in the least bit, but just a bit tired. We invited all of our guests back to the Inn for brunch, and a good number of people came. After reuniting jackets and other items with their owners and cleaning up the tent, CP and I drove home in separate cars, but married. While we had dinner that night we watched our wedding video because it’s true what people say- the day goes by in a flash and we were both so nervous that we couldn’t remember most of the ceremony!!
*The table was a wedding present from one of my friends from college. We totally intend to bring it to the Patriots game we are going to in December!
**My aunt was the only embarrassing part of the wedding. First, she berated my dad and their sister about things that happened years ago, making my dad feel awful. At one point, I went up to them and said that it was not the place for this to try to save my dad. I really like this aunt too….so it was also embarrassing when in the middle of playing Beirut she was pulling her top down to expose her cleavage. She’s in her 50s so it was not appropriate and really weird of her to do so. That is something that I used to do in college and haven’t done in at least 10 years myself.
The funniest thing about it though? A family friend was playing on my team and decided that she had enough of the cleavage. So instead of aiming for the cups, she whipped the ball straight into the cleavage of my aunt. Best shot of the night!
Next week I have a few pre-written posts including one with PICTURES of the wedding. :-)
10.15.2009
Wedding recap- Saturday part 2
After the ceremony, we spent an hour taking pictures with our family and the bridal party. It was off and on raining, so we will have umbrellas in some of our pictures, and in others they will be absent. Despite the fact it was in the 50s and rainy, my bridesmaids toughed it out and agreed to do outside pictures. By the end of the pictures, I was getting a bit cold…so I was happy to hear that CP and I had about 20 minutes to go into our cottage, eat some appetizers and relax before being introduced into the reception. During the introductions the DJ messed up my sister’s last name (she is not married so it was the same as mine before that day and it’s not hard to pronounce), but she took it in stride.
We elected to do our first dance right after our walk into the reception and because it was so rainy, the bottom of my dress was basically like a mop to the floor. LOL. CP and I also couldn’t stop talking through the song. We chose Etta James “At Last” even though lots of other people use it. We figured that it’s a classic for a reason. It was during our first dance that we made our two fathers cry. Score!
The three toasts went well. J was trying hard not to cry and CP’s best man went off his script a bit because as he was practicing it that afternoon, three bears came out of the woods and scared him. CP and I had a sweetheart table because we heard from married friends that it was the best way to get a few bites of food- and we did! We successfully ate the red pepper bisque, had to skip over the salad, but then ate our dinners (me- swordfish, CP- duck with cherry sauce). Between courses we were rushing around trying to greet people at all of the tables and I’m sorry to say that we didn’t get to everyone while they were sitting down.
Next up was the cutting of the cake. The DJ put on “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard and although I had warned CP that I didn’t want cake on my face, he did it anyway so I did it right back to him! We have some funny pictures of that moment, but needless to say before the father/daughter, mother/son dance we had to run inside to the Inn to wash up.
We had “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong play for the dance with our parents because we couldn’t think of anything better. After that, we had an anniversary dance- it’s where the DJ has all of the married couples slow dance and once the DJ calls out a year range all couples that have been married at some point in between that range leave the dance floor. CP’s great uncle and aunt have been married for 72 YEARS so we gave them some flowers when we were the last two couples on the floor.
From there, the DJ employed a great trick. He had all of the guests get together on the dance floor for a huge group picture. After the picture was taken, he then said, while you are on the dance floor….and played a song that old and young people would dance to. Good trick buddy!
The dance floor was pretty busy all night long. CP’s grandmother had some great moves, although her knees hurt her the next day because of it. CP and I were on and off the floor, talking to people, getting drinks, etc. Luckily, we handed off our new video camera to CP’s brother-in-law to tape the ceremony. Not only did he get the ceremony, but he got the reception entrances, the toasts AND then put the camera down and pointed it at the dance floor for a good 40 minutes. NICE. We definitely have blackmail video of some of our friends and family- hilarious!
At one point during the dancing, CP and I ran inside to get drinks. We just happened to come in on my aunt challenging my dad to a chugging contest. I totally jumped on this idea and ran to the bar to get the drinks. It was closer than I thought, but my dad pulled it out. Then CP’s dad decided to challenge my dad and it wasn’t even close (my dad was the chugging champion of 6 colleges). CP and I basically tied during our chug-off in our wedding attire. So klassy. :-)
But the night wasn’t over for us just yet…..
We elected to do our first dance right after our walk into the reception and because it was so rainy, the bottom of my dress was basically like a mop to the floor. LOL. CP and I also couldn’t stop talking through the song. We chose Etta James “At Last” even though lots of other people use it. We figured that it’s a classic for a reason. It was during our first dance that we made our two fathers cry. Score!
The three toasts went well. J was trying hard not to cry and CP’s best man went off his script a bit because as he was practicing it that afternoon, three bears came out of the woods and scared him. CP and I had a sweetheart table because we heard from married friends that it was the best way to get a few bites of food- and we did! We successfully ate the red pepper bisque, had to skip over the salad, but then ate our dinners (me- swordfish, CP- duck with cherry sauce). Between courses we were rushing around trying to greet people at all of the tables and I’m sorry to say that we didn’t get to everyone while they were sitting down.
Next up was the cutting of the cake. The DJ put on “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard and although I had warned CP that I didn’t want cake on my face, he did it anyway so I did it right back to him! We have some funny pictures of that moment, but needless to say before the father/daughter, mother/son dance we had to run inside to the Inn to wash up.
We had “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong play for the dance with our parents because we couldn’t think of anything better. After that, we had an anniversary dance- it’s where the DJ has all of the married couples slow dance and once the DJ calls out a year range all couples that have been married at some point in between that range leave the dance floor. CP’s great uncle and aunt have been married for 72 YEARS so we gave them some flowers when we were the last two couples on the floor.
From there, the DJ employed a great trick. He had all of the guests get together on the dance floor for a huge group picture. After the picture was taken, he then said, while you are on the dance floor….and played a song that old and young people would dance to. Good trick buddy!
The dance floor was pretty busy all night long. CP’s grandmother had some great moves, although her knees hurt her the next day because of it. CP and I were on and off the floor, talking to people, getting drinks, etc. Luckily, we handed off our new video camera to CP’s brother-in-law to tape the ceremony. Not only did he get the ceremony, but he got the reception entrances, the toasts AND then put the camera down and pointed it at the dance floor for a good 40 minutes. NICE. We definitely have blackmail video of some of our friends and family- hilarious!
At one point during the dancing, CP and I ran inside to get drinks. We just happened to come in on my aunt challenging my dad to a chugging contest. I totally jumped on this idea and ran to the bar to get the drinks. It was closer than I thought, but my dad pulled it out. Then CP’s dad decided to challenge my dad and it wasn’t even close (my dad was the chugging champion of 6 colleges). CP and I basically tied during our chug-off in our wedding attire. So klassy. :-)
But the night wasn’t over for us just yet…..
10.14.2009
Wedding recap: Saturday part 1
Saturday morning, after a trying night of sleep due to CP’s snoring, I woke up, completely alert at 6:40am. This is despite the fact that I left the party the night before around 12:30 and was desperately trying to go to bed when CP came in at 1am. I knew that there was no way that I was getting back to sleep, so after a nervous bathroom break, I decided to get into the shower and start moving. CP on the other hand, was not ready to get up, as he had a nice headache.
I finally got him out of bed as my stomach was in knots. Turns out, it would be this way all day long. At breakfast, I sat with CP and three of my bridesmaids as I tried to shove food down my throat. Normally that is not difficult, but with my nervous/ anxious stomach? I thought that I was going to throw up. Not from being scared about getting married or scared that CP was the wrong guy, but nervous that the day was going to go okay and that everything was going to get done.
After breakfast I kissed CP goodbye and went upstairs with the girls. The hair stylist arrived and started to do our hair. I had my ipod on shuffle and the mood was fairly chill for most of the day. Once in a while, my mom would come in and ask a question, or update us with the status of things. I guess that she and CP ran around quite a bit that day making sure that everything was ready while I was sequestered with the girls. Although my stomach was in knots, it relieved me to know that the two of them were in control.
We ordered sandwiches so that we wouldn’t be drinking on empty stomachs later on and once again, the anxiety made it hard for me to eat. After lunch I kept looking outside the window to see what the weather was doing. At some points it was pouring rain, at others, it was just cloudy. Three hours before the 3pm ceremony CP made the decision that we were going to have the wedding outside. With 30 minutes to go, an employee came up to my room to ask what we wanted to do. It was currently raining at the time, so I made the decision to have the ceremony in the patio under the tent. I figured that I didn’t want the sky to open up during the ceremony.
About an hour before the ceremony, our photographer came in. My sister was nervous at this point, so she was fanning her armpits. Once my mom rushed in from getting ready, the girls helped me get into my dress. After a few pictures, my maid of honor J popped the champagne and we toasted to the wedding. And yes, my stomach was still in knots.
Right before my mom and the girls were going to head downstairs for the processional, I made a joke about my mom crying. She of course then started to cry, which made me cry and my sister cry. Damnit! Thankfully we had to get the show on the road so we cleaned up and they all headed downstairs.
As soon as the girls walked off though, I saw my dad waiting for me and I started to tear up again. Twice in the span of a couple of minutes? How unlike me! But I composed myself and headed down the stairs to meet my dad.
The processional went fine other than our ring bearer. He got a little nervous (he’s only 4) as everyone was watching him and walked most of the way down the aisle before darting into an empty seat. CP had to come over and take the ring bowl from him. LOL. How cute.
Our officiant, a mutual friend from our time out west did a fantastic job. He talked about our sense of adventure, the first time he met the two of us, and how everyone just knew that we would always be together. CP’s sister read the poem Love by Roy Croft- I simply love the first couple lines of the poem.
I love you
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.
I love you
Not only for
What you have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.
Our second reading was read by one of my best guy friends from college who just got married a few weeks before us.
Our unity ceremony was actually a plant ceremony. My mom gave us a clipping of a Christmas cactus that my great-grandmother started to grow. We poured some soil and water on it as our officiant spoke about needing to nurture the plant like we need to nurture our marriage. Semi-cheesy, but I think that the fact that it was a family plant saved it from being barf-worthy.
After CP joked about using these as our wedding vows, we ended up saying this:
I take you NSC/CP as my wife/husband
I promise to be your faithful best friend
I promise to communicate openly and truthfully with you
I promise to grow together with you
I give you my hand and my heart
As a sanctuary of warmth and peace
In times of sorrow and joy
In times of failure and triumph
I pledge my love, devotion and honor
As I join my life to yours.
My voice was at a good level when I first started the vows, but as I repeated after our friend, I was so worried about messing up that my voice got softer. Throughout the ceremony I smiled at CP as I couldn’t believe that our day was finally here! Every once in a while I did try to take a deep breath (it was hard to do in my corset dress!) to calm my nervous stomach and beating heart, but I’m not sure that it helped…
I had to help CP push my ring onto my finger, but his went on with no problems. We were announced as husband and wife and we had a nice kiss.
At this point we had successfully made both mothers cry. Score!
I finally got him out of bed as my stomach was in knots. Turns out, it would be this way all day long. At breakfast, I sat with CP and three of my bridesmaids as I tried to shove food down my throat. Normally that is not difficult, but with my nervous/ anxious stomach? I thought that I was going to throw up. Not from being scared about getting married or scared that CP was the wrong guy, but nervous that the day was going to go okay and that everything was going to get done.
After breakfast I kissed CP goodbye and went upstairs with the girls. The hair stylist arrived and started to do our hair. I had my ipod on shuffle and the mood was fairly chill for most of the day. Once in a while, my mom would come in and ask a question, or update us with the status of things. I guess that she and CP ran around quite a bit that day making sure that everything was ready while I was sequestered with the girls. Although my stomach was in knots, it relieved me to know that the two of them were in control.
We ordered sandwiches so that we wouldn’t be drinking on empty stomachs later on and once again, the anxiety made it hard for me to eat. After lunch I kept looking outside the window to see what the weather was doing. At some points it was pouring rain, at others, it was just cloudy. Three hours before the 3pm ceremony CP made the decision that we were going to have the wedding outside. With 30 minutes to go, an employee came up to my room to ask what we wanted to do. It was currently raining at the time, so I made the decision to have the ceremony in the patio under the tent. I figured that I didn’t want the sky to open up during the ceremony.
About an hour before the ceremony, our photographer came in. My sister was nervous at this point, so she was fanning her armpits. Once my mom rushed in from getting ready, the girls helped me get into my dress. After a few pictures, my maid of honor J popped the champagne and we toasted to the wedding. And yes, my stomach was still in knots.
Right before my mom and the girls were going to head downstairs for the processional, I made a joke about my mom crying. She of course then started to cry, which made me cry and my sister cry. Damnit! Thankfully we had to get the show on the road so we cleaned up and they all headed downstairs.
As soon as the girls walked off though, I saw my dad waiting for me and I started to tear up again. Twice in the span of a couple of minutes? How unlike me! But I composed myself and headed down the stairs to meet my dad.
The processional went fine other than our ring bearer. He got a little nervous (he’s only 4) as everyone was watching him and walked most of the way down the aisle before darting into an empty seat. CP had to come over and take the ring bowl from him. LOL. How cute.
Our officiant, a mutual friend from our time out west did a fantastic job. He talked about our sense of adventure, the first time he met the two of us, and how everyone just knew that we would always be together. CP’s sister read the poem Love by Roy Croft- I simply love the first couple lines of the poem.
I love you
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.
I love you
Not only for
What you have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.
Our second reading was read by one of my best guy friends from college who just got married a few weeks before us.
Our unity ceremony was actually a plant ceremony. My mom gave us a clipping of a Christmas cactus that my great-grandmother started to grow. We poured some soil and water on it as our officiant spoke about needing to nurture the plant like we need to nurture our marriage. Semi-cheesy, but I think that the fact that it was a family plant saved it from being barf-worthy.
After CP joked about using these as our wedding vows, we ended up saying this:
I take you NSC/CP as my wife/husband
I promise to be your faithful best friend
I promise to communicate openly and truthfully with you
I promise to grow together with you
I give you my hand and my heart
As a sanctuary of warmth and peace
In times of sorrow and joy
In times of failure and triumph
I pledge my love, devotion and honor
As I join my life to yours.
My voice was at a good level when I first started the vows, but as I repeated after our friend, I was so worried about messing up that my voice got softer. Throughout the ceremony I smiled at CP as I couldn’t believe that our day was finally here! Every once in a while I did try to take a deep breath (it was hard to do in my corset dress!) to calm my nervous stomach and beating heart, but I’m not sure that it helped…
I had to help CP push my ring onto my finger, but his went on with no problems. We were announced as husband and wife and we had a nice kiss.
At this point we had successfully made both mothers cry. Score!
10.13.2009
Wedding recap: Friday
Friday
People started to arrive throughout the day. I got a little annoyed at my sister as she and her boyfriend went off to gallivant in the foliage, promising to leave for only an hour or two, only to arrive back at the Inn in just enough time to shower and get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Meanwhile, CP and some of the groomsmen put together and hung lanterns in our tent and dropped off the out of town bags before going into one of the Inn rooms and drinking a bunch before the rehearsal dinner. My parents and I put together the favors, meanwhile greeting friends and family. Finally I was able to find CP and we were ready just in time for the rehearsal dinner.
The rehearsal dinner was an informal BBQ at the Inn where we were set to get married which was great. Everyone wore jeans and the only annoying thing was how much the Inn charged people for drinks. It’s not like we were in NYC! The other weird thing was the chef (one of the owners) only put out 50 plates. It was a buffet, so not like our guests were eating a ton of food, but it is not unheard of to take a little of each thing to make sure that everyone gets some and then go back again for seconds. Plus, a couple of people rolled in later than the 6:30 start time and it took 10 minutes for her to bring out more plates. Ridiculous.
Otherwise, dinner was fine and it was time for the slideshow. My maid of honor put it together and there were a few snafus in getting it loaded, but it was about 30 pictures total of CP and I throughout the years (including one of CP in drag for Halloween- HILARIOUS). There was also a mystery video from my sister that they had problems playing because it was on her Mac. We finally got it played and it was DONOVAN MCNABB (QB of the Philadelphia Eagles) saying “Congratulations CP and NSC on your wedding. Congratulations.” OMG. I almost pooped a brick I was so excited. I guess my sister saw him at a Superbowl party LAST FEBRUARY and filmed him on her Blackberry. SO F*ING COOL. CP was a little miffed that she didn’t get Tom Brady (QB of his favorite team the New England Patriots) to say anything, but I told him he was pushing his luck.
CP’s stepfather has a license to blow up fireworks in the state of NH so he was going to have an awesome display, but it unfortunately started to rain. So no fireworks that night. :-( After the rehearsal dinner we invited ALL of our wedding guests to come to the Inn for a pre-wedding celebration- we figured that there was nothing else to do in that part of NH Friday night anyway! It was great to see friends and hang out with them after they had traveled such a far distance to be there.
That night CP and I both did a bunch of shots- to celebrate my friend passing the bar, to celebrate our wedding, etc. I wisely drank water periodically as I didn’t want to be hungover the next day. CP? Well, he did not. Finally at midnight I decided that it was time for me to go to bed. I could still hear friends drinking and laughing and texted my sister to make sure that CP drank water. She tried to have a chugging contest with him (with water), but he didn’t fall for it. LOL. I then complained a bit to my maid of honor that people were loud, and thankfully she went downstairs and told people that I was trying to sleep and to keep it down. And that is why she is so awesome.
CP finally came into our cottage around 1am and I spent most of the night listening to his snoring. I kept trying to roll him over onto his side and it wasn’t working. *sigh* I was annoyed with him, but figured that I wouldn’t let it ruin the wedding day.
To be continued….
People started to arrive throughout the day. I got a little annoyed at my sister as she and her boyfriend went off to gallivant in the foliage, promising to leave for only an hour or two, only to arrive back at the Inn in just enough time to shower and get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Meanwhile, CP and some of the groomsmen put together and hung lanterns in our tent and dropped off the out of town bags before going into one of the Inn rooms and drinking a bunch before the rehearsal dinner. My parents and I put together the favors, meanwhile greeting friends and family. Finally I was able to find CP and we were ready just in time for the rehearsal dinner.
The rehearsal dinner was an informal BBQ at the Inn where we were set to get married which was great. Everyone wore jeans and the only annoying thing was how much the Inn charged people for drinks. It’s not like we were in NYC! The other weird thing was the chef (one of the owners) only put out 50 plates. It was a buffet, so not like our guests were eating a ton of food, but it is not unheard of to take a little of each thing to make sure that everyone gets some and then go back again for seconds. Plus, a couple of people rolled in later than the 6:30 start time and it took 10 minutes for her to bring out more plates. Ridiculous.
Otherwise, dinner was fine and it was time for the slideshow. My maid of honor put it together and there were a few snafus in getting it loaded, but it was about 30 pictures total of CP and I throughout the years (including one of CP in drag for Halloween- HILARIOUS). There was also a mystery video from my sister that they had problems playing because it was on her Mac. We finally got it played and it was DONOVAN MCNABB (QB of the Philadelphia Eagles) saying “Congratulations CP and NSC on your wedding. Congratulations.” OMG. I almost pooped a brick I was so excited. I guess my sister saw him at a Superbowl party LAST FEBRUARY and filmed him on her Blackberry. SO F*ING COOL. CP was a little miffed that she didn’t get Tom Brady (QB of his favorite team the New England Patriots) to say anything, but I told him he was pushing his luck.
CP’s stepfather has a license to blow up fireworks in the state of NH so he was going to have an awesome display, but it unfortunately started to rain. So no fireworks that night. :-( After the rehearsal dinner we invited ALL of our wedding guests to come to the Inn for a pre-wedding celebration- we figured that there was nothing else to do in that part of NH Friday night anyway! It was great to see friends and hang out with them after they had traveled such a far distance to be there.
That night CP and I both did a bunch of shots- to celebrate my friend passing the bar, to celebrate our wedding, etc. I wisely drank water periodically as I didn’t want to be hungover the next day. CP? Well, he did not. Finally at midnight I decided that it was time for me to go to bed. I could still hear friends drinking and laughing and texted my sister to make sure that CP drank water. She tried to have a chugging contest with him (with water), but he didn’t fall for it. LOL. I then complained a bit to my maid of honor that people were loud, and thankfully she went downstairs and told people that I was trying to sleep and to keep it down. And that is why she is so awesome.
CP finally came into our cottage around 1am and I spent most of the night listening to his snoring. I kept trying to roll him over onto his side and it wasn’t working. *sigh* I was annoyed with him, but figured that I wouldn’t let it ruin the wedding day.
To be continued….
10.12.2009
Wedding recap: Wednesday and Thursday
Wednesday
CP and I had friends from our west coast city come in to stay the night before heading into Boston the next day. They were not able to make the festivities on Friday (they had another wedding), but it was great to hang out with them. We basically had everything done before they drove in so we were able to relax with them all night long. However, I didn’t drink that night so they automatically assumed that I was pregnant. WHAT?!!?
I still was feeling calm and collected at this point, which was quite weird.
Thursday
CP had to go into work for most of the day, so I slept in a little bit and then had a few errands to run. I had my last fake bake appointment and then went to the SKETCHIEST nail salon I have ever been to (it’s in my town). When I walked in the door, I had to ask if the equipment was clean. Seriously. But so far I haven’t died and I haven’t had any appendages amputated, so I guess I was lucky? :-) Fuzzy Britches and I then ended up making our way up to NH through Concord so that I could get my ring cleaned. Thursday
CP and I then met up with two of our other west coast friends, my parents, and my sister and her new boyfriend. Because we all arrived so late, we had time to do dinner and then sit around drinking a bit before my parents went to bed. All six of us youngins then ended up staying up until 1:30am playing Jenga and drinking. I would highly recommend it as it was fun and it kept my mind off wedding stuff.
At this point, I was still relaxed. Amazing.
To be continued tomorrow.....
10.01.2009
Only bullets...
With the wedding on Saturday, I can only come up with bullets for you....
Update on my dad- the shingles outbreak is not as bad as last time. He had medicine from the last time it happened (it is uncommon to get it twice) and got to the doctor on Tuesday. It is only in his stomach area, so no one will see it all weekend long.
We had friends in town last night and it was great to see them! I felt bad as we still had to pack up the car and make sure that we had everything for the weekend, but it was nice to hang out with them. They left early this morning for Boston and will be going to the Red Sox game tonight, along with a bunch of other wedding guests.
Tonight I get to see our officiant (ordained on the internet!) and his wife, friends of ours from out west whom we haven't seen in about a year and a half. I'm glad that we will be able to spend some time with them before the craziness of wedding.
I also get to see my parents, my sister and her new boyfriend (I met him the weekend of my bachelorette party).
Before driving up to NH, I have to run around a bit this morning. My last fake bake session*, getting my nails done, and buying umbrellas. Yes, unfortunately the weather forecast calls for rain on Saturday. But what can you do except hope that the rain holds off until about 5pm!
Other than that? I'm out. Hopefully all goes well this weekend- I'll let you know how everything goes on Monday! Then I only have to slog through five days of work before AFRICA!!!! :-)
*Yes, I know that it is awful- I have been very careful about the number of minutes I have been going in....and have only gone 3 times. My dress only came in bright white and I am practically translucent, so it was very necessary.
Update on my dad- the shingles outbreak is not as bad as last time. He had medicine from the last time it happened (it is uncommon to get it twice) and got to the doctor on Tuesday. It is only in his stomach area, so no one will see it all weekend long.
We had friends in town last night and it was great to see them! I felt bad as we still had to pack up the car and make sure that we had everything for the weekend, but it was nice to hang out with them. They left early this morning for Boston and will be going to the Red Sox game tonight, along with a bunch of other wedding guests.
Tonight I get to see our officiant (ordained on the internet!) and his wife, friends of ours from out west whom we haven't seen in about a year and a half. I'm glad that we will be able to spend some time with them before the craziness of wedding.
I also get to see my parents, my sister and her new boyfriend (I met him the weekend of my bachelorette party).
Before driving up to NH, I have to run around a bit this morning. My last fake bake session*, getting my nails done, and buying umbrellas. Yes, unfortunately the weather forecast calls for rain on Saturday. But what can you do except hope that the rain holds off until about 5pm!
Other than that? I'm out. Hopefully all goes well this weekend- I'll let you know how everything goes on Monday! Then I only have to slog through five days of work before AFRICA!!!! :-)
*Yes, I know that it is awful- I have been very careful about the number of minutes I have been going in....and have only gone 3 times. My dress only came in bright white and I am practically translucent, so it was very necessary.
9.30.2009
Vows
Last night CP and I were trying to work on our vows (nothing like leaving it to the last minute!). Here is his crack at them:
Non Sequitur Chica:
CP, I give you myself as your biatch
I promise to live in truth with you/
I promise some action once a week/
I promise to grow and to age with you, but not too old,
then you can trade in for a new woman, we'll call her the baby sitter
I give you my hand and my heart/
as a sanctuary of warmly baked deserts/ *
in times sorrow (as long as it ain’t the crazies) and joy,
in times of failure and triumph, assuming I still get paid
I pledge my love, devotion, faith and honor
as I join my life to yours.
Isn’t he SPECIAL???? LOL.
Don't worry....we have a nicer draft in the works. :-)
*I mentioned to CP that "deserts" makes even less sense than desSerts, but he shrugged it off. The things I have to put up with for this boy.... ;-)
Non Sequitur Chica:
CP, I give you myself as your biatch
I promise to live in truth with you/
I promise some action once a week/
I promise to grow and to age with you, but not too old,
then you can trade in for a new woman, we'll call her the baby sitter
I give you my hand and my heart/
as a sanctuary of warmly baked deserts/ *
in times sorrow (as long as it ain’t the crazies) and joy,
in times of failure and triumph, assuming I still get paid
I pledge my love, devotion, faith and honor
as I join my life to yours.
Isn’t he SPECIAL???? LOL.
Don't worry....we have a nicer draft in the works. :-)
*I mentioned to CP that "deserts" makes even less sense than desSerts, but he shrugged it off. The things I have to put up with for this boy.... ;-)
9.28.2009
COMMENCE FREAK OUT in 4...3...2...1
Oh. My. God. My mom just called and said that my dad has SHINGLES. Commence freaking out. Not only am I worried about my dad as he is going to be in pain for the next two to three weeks (he had them before), but I was reading online that if his blisters are oozing (EWWWW) this weekend, he should stay away from pregnant ladies. According to a couple of online sites, if the mother has had chickenpox, then she is immune, along with the unborn baby. So in order for this to really be a problem, the expecting mother would never have gotten chicken pox AND they would have to touch the oozing blisters (ewwww). We are going to have at least FOUR pregnant ladies at the wedding this weekend (two are groomsmen’s wives, one is a bridesmaid = closer contact with my parents than regular guests)……and I hope that they don’t freak out.
This? Not what I need right now.
This? Not what I need right now.
Randoms
By now you guys know that various National Parks around the country are near and dear to my heart. So did you watch the National Parks: America’s Best Idea special on PBS yesterday? Mine is stuck on my DVR because I was busy with wedding stuff, but the rest of the 16-hour documentary airs all this week, finishing Friday.
I would strongly urge you to check it out- maybe it will inspire you to visit a National Park next year! :-)
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I would strongly urge you to check it out- maybe it will inspire you to visit a National Park next year! :-)
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I’m not sure where all of this luck is coming from, but right on the heels of winning this lady’s GAP contest, I just found out that I won this lady’s BlogHer swag contest!!! Nilsa called it “good wedding karma.” I’m pretty sure that all of you guys already read both of these great blogs, but if you don’t, you are missing out!!
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For those of you who are stuck with the same number on the scale….I just want to tell you to keep up your hard work! At my weigh in last week, I think that my interval running and possibly the low-carb diet finally helped me to lose FIVE pounds (in two weeks). YAY! Now if I can just lose a few more in the next few days, I will be super excited!
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Not sure if you guys have noticed, but I am behind on my commenting- I apologize. I do read ALL of your posts on your various blogs, but can’t really do it at work too much, so that leaves reading the blogs on my Blackberry on the commuter bus ride to my car. And because commenting from a mobile device is seriously annoying, I end up marking the post as “unread” and hopefully get back to it that night. Well, my laptop battery charger died, so that means I have to either borrow CP’s laptop or use our desktop and I’ll be honest, with all of this wedding stuff going on, I am NOT wanting to get on my computer at night. So please know that I am still keeping up with your lives and will probably comment on 5 different posts all at once when I finally get some time. :-)
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One more thing on this random Monday posting…..when are you supposed to get nervous/ uber excited for your wedding? I mean, I’m excited but it still hasn’t hit me that I am getting married on Saturday! Is that normal? When is it truly going to hit me???
9.24.2009
My new love
Right here, right now, I want to proclaim my love of glue lines. No, I am not getting paid for this post. But if you have a project in which you thought you might use regular old-school-sniffing glue? Think again (unless you are into killing off brain cells…..in which case you are probably not needing the glue for a project anyway).
These babies are the BOMB diggity! Easy to use, no messy clean up and they don’t smear.
Check out one of our half-finished table cards:
These babies are the BOMB diggity! Easy to use, no messy clean up and they don’t smear.
Check out one of our half-finished table cards:
All I have to do is use the glue lines to stick brown card stock on the back and then they will be complete!*
*If you haven’t figured it out, our tables are named after tree leaves. CP ordered real dried/pressed leaves from some company off the internet. We have 15 tables of all different types of leaves that I printed the various names onto the cream cardstock, used the glue lines to stick the leaves to the cardstock, and then will be attaching the brown cardstock on the back!
9.21.2009
Stuck
For the past month, I have been stuck at the same weight, unable to see a lower number in the middle column. It has been pretty frustrating because I have been working my butt off. Going to the gym during lunch and either running, using the elliptical, or doing weights. If I run or do the elliptical I have been throwing in intervals to try to mix things up. At least twice a week I also go home and want to kick Jillian Michaels during certain sections of No More Trouble Zones.* In addition, I have continued to eat the same stuff. But the scale hasn’t budged.
My solution with less than two weeks to the wedding? Low-carb diet. Yes, I know that it might not the best thing as supposedly it can lead to headaches and general crankiness from the lack of sugar, but as long as I stay within my WW points and continue to work out? Maybe it will shake up my body a bit and I can drop 5-10 lbs before the wedding. That’s what I am hoping at least….
Here’s hoping I can stay on track. Less than 20 grams of carbs a day is really low- and I had to cut out all of the fruit I had been eating. Booo! Bring on the eggs, salad and lean meats!
Has anyone does this diet before? Any tips/ suggestions?
*AND, I’m using 5 lb weights instead of the 3 lb she recommends.
My solution with less than two weeks to the wedding? Low-carb diet. Yes, I know that it might not the best thing as supposedly it can lead to headaches and general crankiness from the lack of sugar, but as long as I stay within my WW points and continue to work out? Maybe it will shake up my body a bit and I can drop 5-10 lbs before the wedding. That’s what I am hoping at least….
Here’s hoping I can stay on track. Less than 20 grams of carbs a day is really low- and I had to cut out all of the fruit I had been eating. Booo! Bring on the eggs, salad and lean meats!
Has anyone does this diet before? Any tips/ suggestions?
*AND, I’m using 5 lb weights instead of the 3 lb she recommends.
9.15.2009
Whirlwind day
I might be a sporadic poster from now until the wedding….I’m busier at work these days and I find that my brain is pretty fried when I try to write anything. Yesterday was a mind-numbing wedding day. After getting back from my friend’s wedding in Savannah on Sunday night, still hungover, CP and I had to wake up early to get shots. Yes, that’s just what someone wants before breakfast. Typhoid, Hepatitis A and Tetanus (with Whooping Cough). You guys have already heard the story about my last tetanus shot....I’m fairly certain that Argentina wasn’t doling out the special shot that included Whooping Cough, so I decided to get it yesterday because I guess that you are supposed to get it before you get pregnant? Not that we are trying soon, but we figured while we were there….
Anyway, for the rest of the day, CP and I whined about the soreness in our shoulders from the shots. They actually still hurt right now. :-( I was hoping to work out today, but I’m lethargic and sore and that does not put me in the workout frame of mind!
So although there isn’t a specific threat of these diseases in South Africa and Mozambique, the doctor wanted us to be protected in case something comes up. That way we don’t have to go to a hospital that puts their instruments in a tackle box (see story above) if something happens!
After that we applied and received our marriage license. A quick lunch and then meetings with our florist, photographer and DJ. Whew. They were the last of our vendor meetings and although we were dead tired by the end of the 13 hour day, it was good to get all of the them settled.
CP and I still have some major things to get done (seating chart, printing of the programs, writing our vows, putting together the favors, making the table numbers, etc.), but we have nothing planned the next two weekends so wedding stuff is our top priority! Considering we have less than three weeks now, it better be!!
Anyway, for the rest of the day, CP and I whined about the soreness in our shoulders from the shots. They actually still hurt right now. :-( I was hoping to work out today, but I’m lethargic and sore and that does not put me in the workout frame of mind!
So although there isn’t a specific threat of these diseases in South Africa and Mozambique, the doctor wanted us to be protected in case something comes up. That way we don’t have to go to a hospital that puts their instruments in a tackle box (see story above) if something happens!
After that we applied and received our marriage license. A quick lunch and then meetings with our florist, photographer and DJ. Whew. They were the last of our vendor meetings and although we were dead tired by the end of the 13 hour day, it was good to get all of the them settled.
CP and I still have some major things to get done (seating chart, printing of the programs, writing our vows, putting together the favors, making the table numbers, etc.), but we have nothing planned the next two weekends so wedding stuff is our top priority! Considering we have less than three weeks now, it better be!!
9.11.2009
No-drinking train- hop on!
Tomorrow will be my last day of drinking before the rehearsal dinner. Yes that’s correct I am staying away from all types of liquor until our wedding weekend. I’m not a heavy drinker these days anyway since CP and I don’t have any bars to frequent, but on the weekends we will typically have a bottle of wine or two. However, now that football season has started (EAGLES!!!!!!!), not drinking beer on Sundays while watching the games is going to be tough!
I made this decision for one reason, and only one reason. My workouts have been going SO well and although I am not going to be at my goal weight by the wedding, I don’t want to ingest empty calories if I don’t have to. So tomorrow is a very good college friend’s wedding in GA. If I didn’t drink there everyone would think that I was pregnant (not to mention it’s just weird to not drink at a wedding)! Come Sunday though, I’m on the no-drinking train for a couple of weeks.
CP thinks that I am going to be drunk after the first sip of wine at our rehearsal dinner, but I think that three weeks isn’t THAT long to go without alcohol! Hopefully between eating healthy, working out a lot (running/ other cardio and No More Trouble Zones), and no alcohol I can drop a few more pounds before the wedding (or just get a bit more toned)! Wish me luck!
I made this decision for one reason, and only one reason. My workouts have been going SO well and although I am not going to be at my goal weight by the wedding, I don’t want to ingest empty calories if I don’t have to. So tomorrow is a very good college friend’s wedding in GA. If I didn’t drink there everyone would think that I was pregnant (not to mention it’s just weird to not drink at a wedding)! Come Sunday though, I’m on the no-drinking train for a couple of weeks.
CP thinks that I am going to be drunk after the first sip of wine at our rehearsal dinner, but I think that three weeks isn’t THAT long to go without alcohol! Hopefully between eating healthy, working out a lot (running/ other cardio and No More Trouble Zones), and no alcohol I can drop a few more pounds before the wedding (or just get a bit more toned)! Wish me luck!
9.10.2009
How the year has flown by...
Oh how the past year has flown by. My post last September 10th was a plea to CP to propose because it had been four months since we looked at rings…..to that night at dinner where he totally surprised me by doing just that!!!
We haven't planned anything special tonight…..CP didn’t even remember that it had been a year since he had proposed. Silly boys that forget important dates! :-) He did say that he thought it was right around this time….
It has been a crazy year of being engaged….and having to call CP my fiancé will end soon enough (23 days!). Soon I will be Mrs. Non Sequitur Chica and my awesome last name will be gone. *tear* It sounds silly to be attached to a last name, but I have had it for 30 years. Most of my nicknames revolve around it. It has been hard enough to transition into my formal first name at work (as opposed to my informal nickname), how the heck am I going to transition into a totally different last name?
However, as much as I like my last name, I think that it’s important to take his. I don’t want to confuse people by thinking that we are not married because we have two different last names. I don’t want to hyphenate because that makes filling out forms annoying. I don’t want to have to think about what name our kids will use if we end up having any. I will just have to learn a new signature and a new name. It might take a while, but to me, it’s worth it. I know that CP appreciates the fact that I will be taking his name.
In order to keep my last name somewhere in my official name, I am thinking about just adding CP’s last name to mine. So that I would have 4 words in my official name. Current first name + current middle name + current last name + CP’s last name. Will that be annoying too? How does that work when you have to put your middle initial on a form? As in, which one do you use?
If you are married, what did you do with your now-husband’s last name? If you are engaged/ single, what do you think you will do when it comes time to head down to the Social Security office?
We haven't planned anything special tonight…..CP didn’t even remember that it had been a year since he had proposed. Silly boys that forget important dates! :-) He did say that he thought it was right around this time….
It has been a crazy year of being engaged….and having to call CP my fiancé will end soon enough (23 days!). Soon I will be Mrs. Non Sequitur Chica and my awesome last name will be gone. *tear* It sounds silly to be attached to a last name, but I have had it for 30 years. Most of my nicknames revolve around it. It has been hard enough to transition into my formal first name at work (as opposed to my informal nickname), how the heck am I going to transition into a totally different last name?
However, as much as I like my last name, I think that it’s important to take his. I don’t want to confuse people by thinking that we are not married because we have two different last names. I don’t want to hyphenate because that makes filling out forms annoying. I don’t want to have to think about what name our kids will use if we end up having any. I will just have to learn a new signature and a new name. It might take a while, but to me, it’s worth it. I know that CP appreciates the fact that I will be taking his name.
In order to keep my last name somewhere in my official name, I am thinking about just adding CP’s last name to mine. So that I would have 4 words in my official name. Current first name + current middle name + current last name + CP’s last name. Will that be annoying too? How does that work when you have to put your middle initial on a form? As in, which one do you use?
If you are married, what did you do with your now-husband’s last name? If you are engaged/ single, what do you think you will do when it comes time to head down to the Social Security office?
9.01.2009
Still alive
I am still alive after my bachelorette weekend. I had a fantastic time with some of my favorite ladies. My voice though? Shot. STILL. I guess three straight days of drinking at age 30 is not a good thing??? ;-)
I get married next month and here's hoping it comes back....and SOON!
More on the weekend tomorrow....
I get married next month and here's hoping it comes back....and SOON!
More on the weekend tomorrow....
8.18.2009
Feeling less anxious
This past weekend my parents came out to MA to help with wedding stuff. After CP and I made our long spreadsheet of all of the things that we have to do for the wedding, I was kind of freaking out. Not to mention the fact that I thought that we were UNDER budget but forgot to think about the 20% service tax and 8% NH tax on everything. Sooooo it turns out that we are right on budget, but it still made me sad. I was thinking that my parents weren’t going to have to shell out as much money as originally projected. BOOOOO.
Anyway, Saturday morning my mom and my future mother-in-law came with me for my first dress fitting. Thank goodness they were there because they were able to explain to the seamstress what to do to the dress. We took off one of the two layers of crinoline (YAY for stupid scratchy crap gone out of my dress!), took off the ugly and tacky-looking broach on the hip, cut off most of the train (I didn’t want to deal with a bustle so the back will be just a few inches longer than floor length), added straps to hold in “the girls,” and put a small sweetheart neckline in.
I was a bit worried that I would show up for my dress fitting and hate the dress. I mean, the dress is really not something that I care about but I want to at least look good in it and have it look nice for pictures. I didn’t hate it. I don’t think that it is perfect or amazing in any way, but it is nice and plain enough and will serve its job as a wedding dress. And I won’t feel sad at all when I try to sell it!
The rest of the weekend was spent sitting in front of fans as MA went through a ridiculous heat wave. We don’t have an air conditioner for the house (just for our bedroom) – my poor parents and Fuzzy Britches!! My mom and I baked a few things together, CP sweated as he manned the grill, and we made wedding decisions. It was VERY helpful to have my mom there as she was able to help with overall decorating ideas for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. My dad was just there to goad CP into buying a new lawnmower (*sigh*).
After this weekend, I am feeling less stressed at this point about the wedding. I am not suddenly taking on DIY projects and the few things that might involve glue (like putting together our table numbers) won’t take long. :-)
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This picture isn’t particularly related to this post, but I thought that it was too cute not to post.
Anyway, Saturday morning my mom and my future mother-in-law came with me for my first dress fitting. Thank goodness they were there because they were able to explain to the seamstress what to do to the dress. We took off one of the two layers of crinoline (YAY for stupid scratchy crap gone out of my dress!), took off the ugly and tacky-looking broach on the hip, cut off most of the train (I didn’t want to deal with a bustle so the back will be just a few inches longer than floor length), added straps to hold in “the girls,” and put a small sweetheart neckline in.
I was a bit worried that I would show up for my dress fitting and hate the dress. I mean, the dress is really not something that I care about but I want to at least look good in it and have it look nice for pictures. I didn’t hate it. I don’t think that it is perfect or amazing in any way, but it is nice and plain enough and will serve its job as a wedding dress. And I won’t feel sad at all when I try to sell it!
The rest of the weekend was spent sitting in front of fans as MA went through a ridiculous heat wave. We don’t have an air conditioner for the house (just for our bedroom) – my poor parents and Fuzzy Britches!! My mom and I baked a few things together, CP sweated as he manned the grill, and we made wedding decisions. It was VERY helpful to have my mom there as she was able to help with overall decorating ideas for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. My dad was just there to goad CP into buying a new lawnmower (*sigh*).
After this weekend, I am feeling less stressed at this point about the wedding. I am not suddenly taking on DIY projects and the few things that might involve glue (like putting together our table numbers) won’t take long. :-)
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This picture isn’t particularly related to this post, but I thought that it was too cute not to post.
Fuzzy Britches with a HUGE neighbor-grown zucchini.
Our neighbor thought that we might be able to use it to make zucchini bread but my mom assured me that it was way too big! Fuzzy Britches thought that it would have made a nice toy, but we only gave it to her for pictures. :-)
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