Bachelorette party!

Well, my bachelorette party was pretty darn awesome.  Props to my sis/MoH Katy and everyone else who helped!  The night started with a stretch limo showing up at my house.  My sis had filled it with balloons, beaded necklaces, booze, and candy.  Win!  First stop was the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  Nom!

After that we hit karaoke.  I sang “The Rose” by Bette Midler, one of my faves.  It was a great crowd, mainly older people, which is much more my speed.  I’m not the clubbing type and fit in better with older people.  I hate crowds and noise.

Overall I only had about three drinks and came home barely buzzed at 12:30 am.  A bit different from Simon’s drunken party!  ;)  At least I wasn’t sick like him.  I much preferred my low-key night.

It’s getting down to the wire!  Final week!  I still feel like there’s so much to do.  I finally finished the scrapbook I’m displaying at the reception:

It basically chronicles our relationship from first meeting to wedding planning.

I got in touch with my rehearsal dinner caterer, Smokey’s BBQ.  We’re having pulled pork, BBQ chicken, Portobello mushrooms with tomatoes, Waldorf salad, potato salad, cornbread, cookies, and brownies.  It will be delivered to our house with chafing dishes and paper ware, only $24/person for 25 people.  Not bad!  I also bought personalized s’mores for rehearsal dinner favors, and I may bake a couple more apple pies with all the damn apples I have.

Picked up my wedding gown, which is obviously key.  And finally, finished printing and assembling my 22-page wedding instruction manual.  Six copies of it.

Basically it includes the schedule of the day, photos and instructions on how to set up all the décor, and cell phone numbers for the vendors, family, and wedding party.  My cousin’s wife is my go-to woman while I’m getting ready and taking pics, so no one has to bother me.  There will be multiple copies of that manual in circulation.  Everything SHOULD go smoothly.  *fingers crossed*

So that’s it folks!  By the time this is posted, my wedding will be two days away.  This is the last time you’ll hear from me before my wedding.  The day of, my friends and I will be tweeting from my account, @CelestialAxis.  Other than that, look for a quick re-cap next week and a full re-cap with photos a couple of weeks after the honeymoon!  Wish us luck!!!

Wedding food tasting!

Well, we finally got to do our food tasting, and we were both sick.  I was at least mostly recovered, but Simon was in the middle of the cold he caught from me and was downright miserable.  Unfortunately, all they served us was the antipasti bar food, not the passed hors d’ouevres or desserts, which I was more looking forward to, especially since I don’t like shrimp or olives, two of the things we were served.  What I did eat was delicious, and I have no doubt they will serve amazing food, as I’ve attended another museum event they’ve catered.

The best part about the tasting was meeting the new venue coordinator.  You may recall that my original one left the museum TWO MONTHS before my wedding and I freaked out. Her replacement is actually her manager, so she’s not new, but I was very nervous she’d be more used to managing people than weddings.  Well luckily I was dead wrong.  She is AMAZING.  I like her more than the other lady.  She’s bubbly, excited, outgoing, and just infectiously happy.  She asked all the right questions, and was very organized and helpful.  I feel 100% better now.

We also finalized little details like chair and linen colors.  I love how the venue and catering coordinators know and like each other and work hand-in-hand.  They’re just great.  Sheryl White Vincent and Keith Mahoney at the Museum of Science, I love you!

Finally!  I have my resized engagement ring, and both of our wedding rings.  See, after losing 30+ pounds, your ring tends to get a little loose.  ;)  I was without it for three days, but it’s perfect now.

Here are our wedding bands:

And here’s my engagement and wedding rings together (had to try them on!):

Yay!  Pretty!

Wedding shower

Sunday was our wedding shower!  It was awesome!  Twenty-six people came, plus six kidlets.  My aunt hosted it, BBQ style as we discussed.  I think the guys were far more comfortable than they expected to be.  Successful co-ed shower!

There were so many cute touches, from my aunt’s towel cake:

(…which contained two wash cloths, 2 hand towels, and 2 bath towels!)

…to the sweet sign (containing a pic we have no recollection of ever being taken, lol):

…to the ADORABLE Beau Coup favors (BBQ sauce and chocolates!):

She really outdid herself.  My bridesmaids led the group in a couple of games: make as many words as you can from Simon’s and my names, and a wedding word scramble, and gave out prizes to the winners.  They also had an egg timer going while we opened presents, and whoever’s present we were opening when it dinged, got a prize!  So cute.

My aunt’s house is right on the water and made for many great photos, like this one:

We also practiced our wedding cake cutting!

We had a blast.  It was such a perfect day.

I just have to share my latest DIY projects, my wedding arch:

…and my old family wedding gowns:

 

 

The wedding arch is something I had been dreading, because I do NOT sew.  I finally buckled down and did it, pricking my finger about a dozen times.  But it’s done!  And I love it!  We will have to disassemble it for transport, but the cloth all stays attached thank goodness.

The wedding gowns idea I got from some bride on Twitter (I forget who, sorry or I’d give you credit!).  I have my mom’s gown from 1975 and my great aunt’s gown from around 1940.  I called Simon’s mom and she says she has her gown (but it can’t be found at the moment, which may be a problem).  Display them on mannequins at the reception, and voila! Instant conversation pieces.  I just recently got the idea to make some “displays” at the reception, as it IS in a museum!  I have old pics of Simon and I and our siblings, and our parents’ wedding pics:

Each will be accompanied by a little display of facts about the picture or gown.  I love how it ties into the venue; it’s the little touch I’ve been searching for to make our wedding unique!  Plus, my ever-present problem of how to entertain people with no dancing.  I’m also displaying the scrapbook I mentioned last week.  I think that’s enough at this point. I’m trying not to add any new projects, since the wedding is just over FIFTY days away! OMG!

Also, happy 3-year anniversary to my sweet, handsome, wonderful fiancé Simon!  I love you baby, this has been the best three years of my life!

What do I have left to do??? I know I'm missing something!

I'm desperately trying to check things off my list at this point. I needed to MAKE a list! My bridesmaid Beth suggested the one on The Knot, but I said it was too confusing because it includes so many things I'm not doing, like a florist, DJ, etc. Then Simon suggested I just check off the things I'm not doing so they go away. Duh. I did that and now have a very nice list. I have a secondary list of things I'm doing that aren't on there, like displays of the mothers' wedding gowns, pictures displayed at the wedding, bathroom baskets, scrapbook (see below). Slowly but surely I'm making the list smaller.

Like buying wedding rings! On Saturday, we rode Simon's motorcycle to the shop to pick mine up, then we both rode to the jewelry store. The one I had liked the last time was sold, but a similar one with 0.10 more carats for only $15 more was available. Twist my arm why dontcha? ;) So we bought it, and it was just big enough to be engraved inside. What we chose, which we've planned on for ages, is “I has you.” Why? Because we're so obsessed with LoLcats that that's how we say “I love you.” No joke. :) Also, my ring size has gone down from a 7 to a 6.5 since losing weight! Going to get my engagement ring re-sized when we pick up my wedding ring.

So of course I had to take care of Simon's, so I ordered his tungsten band online, and of course engraved with “I has you.” His will be here in 2 days. I love fast free shipping!

As you read last week, I bought a whole mess of stuff to go in the bathroom baskets. I also picked up some nylons, batteries, and safety pins. Then I filled and decorated them and I think they came out pretty nice!

Another thing off the list! Then my new veil arrived:

Yes, that's a super geeky shirt. Anywho, I needed a new veil since choosing a diamond white gown instead of pure white. Luckily they were cheap. I love Etsy!

I keep trying to think of new things to display at the wedding to keep people entertained and amused. I was going to make a scrapbook anyways, so I'm doing it before the wedding so people can look at it then. I started with the very first email he sent me in response to my personal ad on Craig's List. Oh the memories! I also have our engagement announcement, invitation, etc. Lots of memorabilia. Pics of our kitties, pics from our anniversaries, our new house, everything. Got a good chunk done on it. Can't wait to see the final product! It's in an adorable fairy tale themed book with “Once Upon a Time” on the front. It's so cute! I hope people enjoy it. :)

FREAK OUT

I'm getting married 2 months from tomorrow.  I am officially freaking out.  I have no idea if I have a comprehensive list of what I have left to do.  I could be forgetting something.  Will I even be able to do it all in time?  FREAKING.  OUT.

Here's my list:

decorate the ceremony arch
tie up the favors
decorate my shoes
take pictures of everything how I want it set up
food tasting Aug. 26
makeup trial Sept. 1
rehearsal dinner favors
one more piece of music for the ceremony
meet with the venue coordinator to go over day-of details
finish paying everyone
ask Jen to be my wedding day go-to person
finalize menu for rehearsal dinner
make bathroom baskets
make hair, skin, and nail appointments
find someone to do wedding day hair
set up moms' wedding dresses and info cards
set up pictures and info cards
order Simon's wedding ring
wrap parent and bridal party gifts
buy each other gifts
make scrapbook to display at reception

What am I forgetting?  Can I even do this all in time?  I hate that I'm waiting on stuff before I can finish other stuff.  I need my card box and favor box from Creative Custom Card Boxes before I can take final pictures of my set-up for the coordinator to use.  I need pictures and wedding gowns from the moms which I won't get till our shower next weekend.  I'm meeting with my bridesmaid Beth this week to tie up the favors, cuz I will lose my mind doing 100 of them alone.  ;)  I can't ask the hairdresser to do my day-of hair until we see her at Simon's hair appointment Saturday.  I can't put my mind to rest about the day-of schedule until we meet with the coordinator Aug. 26.

Speaking of which, my old coordinator is leaving the museum and her manager is taking over my wedding.  2 months before.  I AM SO PISSED.  I also lost my catering coordinator a while back and got a replacement, but at least that was plenty ahead of time.  I am SO worried that this lady will be more used to managing people than weddings and it'll be a disaster.  Very very very unhappy about this.

So yeah.  Anyone wanna try and calm me down?  Be my guest.

Bathrooms and Music

During a Twitter conversation with @msrib and @brokebride2be (I love my wedding weekend buddies!), I realized I had forgotten about bathroom baskets for the reception. Luckily @msrib found a handy list of items to include in one.  I considered getting it all at CVS, but they don’t exactly have the most extensive selection or best prices.  I browsed around drugstore.com and found pretty much everything I needed.  It adds up though! Here’s what I got from there:

Men:

Solos Shelf Shine Shoe Polish Cream

Ting Foot & Jock Itch, Antifungal Spray Powder

Speed Stick by Mennen Deodorant, Regular Scent, Travel Size

Women:

Revlon Nail Enamel - Clear

Stayfree Maxi Super Long with Wings, Heavy Protection, Pads

o.b. Pro Comfort Non-Applicator Tampons, Super Plus

Vidal Sassoon No Crimper Braided Elastics

Vidal Sassoon Bobbi Pins, Black

Lady Speed Stick by Mennen Antiperspirant & Deodorant, Powder Burst

Both:

Salon Grafix Professional Freezing Hair Spray Styling Mist, Mega Hold

Rite Aid Pink Bismuth, Regular Strength (Pepto Bismol)

Aleve All Day Strong Pain Reliever

Easy Care First Aid Kit

Kleenex White Pocket Tissue

Germ-X Hand Sanitizer

St. Ives Intensive Healing Hand Cream, Fragrance-Free

Tide To Go, Instant Stain Remover Pens

Evercare Magik Brush 2-Sided Lint Brush

Singer Sewing Kit With Polyester Thread

Q-tips Cotton Swabs, Antimicrobial

Visine Visine, Eye Drops, Advanced Redness Relief

Bausch & Lomb Biotrue Multipurpose Solution for Soft Contact Lenses

Sight Savers Eyewear Repair Kit

Revlon Emery Boards

Rite Aid Professional Grooming Deluxe Nail Clippers

Conair Brush Styling Essentials Super Comb

Preserve Mint Tea Trea Toothpicks

LISTERINE PocketPaks Breath Strips, Cool Mint

Ricola Herb Throat Drops, Natural Cherry-Honey

LifeSavers Candy, Pepomint

Butler Dental Floss, Fresh Mint

Then from Amazon.com I bought nylons for the women, and batteries for both (cameras, etc.).  I’ll be buying baskets from AC Moore, and it’s already cost me $200!  Jeesh.  I did buy a third of some of those things for my own wedding-day emergency kit, and we can keep and use whatever’s leftover, like toothpicks, mints, and whatnot.  Great idea, very convenient for guests, but NOT cheap.

I’ve been putting off making my wedding playlist.  We own a TON of music between us and I knew I needed to go through everything to make sure I got a good mix of songs.  It took me two days (and a bottle of wine) but here it is:

All I Ask of You - The Phantom of the Opera

All You Need Is Love - The Beatles                           

Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson                              

Because You Loved Me - Celine Dion                     

Before Your Love - Kelly Clarkson                            

Beyond The Sea - Bobby Darin                  

Bubbly - Colbie Caillat                    

Butterfly - Mariah Carey                                              

Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles                              

Can't Help Falling In Love - Michael Bublé                             

Can You Feel the Love Tonight - The Lion King                    

Close Your Eyes - Juliana Hatfield                             

Come Away With Me - Norah Jones                       

Come On Over - Christina Aguilera                          

Commitment - LeAnn Rimes                      

Crazy For You - Madonna                            

Cruel To Be Kind - Letters To Cleo                            

Daydream Believer - Susan Boyle                            

Ever Ever After - Carrie Underwood       

Family - Dar Williams                      

Forever Love - Anna Nalick                         

From This Moment On - Shania Twain                   

Game On - The Guild                     

Get Out The Map - Indigo Girls                 

Girl in the Valley - The Secret Garden

Gorgeous - Idina Menzel                             

Head Over Feet - Alanis Morissette                        

A Heart Full Of Love - Les Misérables

Heaven - Bryan Adams                 

Hello,Young Lovers - The King And I

How Can I Keep From Singing? - Enya                    

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - James Taylor

I'd Rather Be in Love - Peter, Paul & Mary                            

I'm With You - Avril Lavigne                        

I'm Your Angel - Celine Dion/R. Kelly                      

I Could Not Ask For More - Sara Evans                   

I Don't Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith                            

I Knew I Loved You - Savage Garden                      

I Love You Always Forever - Donna Lewis                             

Ice Cream - Sarah McLachlan                     

In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel                        

Kiss Me - Sixpence None the Richer                       

Let Your Troubles Roll By - Carbon Leaf                 

The Longest Time - Billy Joel                       

Love Story - Taylor Swift                                              

Love Will Find A Way - Christina Aguilera                              

Medley: Tetris - Video Games Live                          

A Moment Like This - Kelly Clarkson                       

My Favorite Things - The Sound of Music                             

My Girl - The Temptations                                                          

Naturally - Selena Gomez                            

One Sweet Love - Sara Bareilles                                 

Penny's Song - Felicia Day           

The Power of Love - Celine Dion                              

Power Of Two - Indigo Girls                        

Put Your Head on My Shoulder - Michael Buble                

She's an Angel - They Might Be Giants                   

Slide - Goo Goo Dolls                     

Straight From The Heart - Bryan Adams                 

Sweet Surrender - Sarah McLachlan                       

Take Me As I Am - Jekyll & Hyde                                              

Tears in heaven - Eric Clapton                    

Thank You - Dido                             

That's How You Know - Amy Adams

This Kiss - Faith Hill                          

This Love - Maroon 5                     

A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton                       

Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper                

To You I Belong - B*Witched                      

Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden                      

Way Back Home - The Wreckers                                               

The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson                           

The Wedding - The Pirate Queen

What's Simple Is True - Jewel                    

Who's to Say - Vanessa Carlton                 

Wishing Heart - Lisa Loeb                             

With You - Pippin                            

You're Beautiful - James Blunt                   

You're Still The One - Shania Twain                          

You're Still You - Josh Groban                    

You And Me - The Cranberries                  

You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder

You Found Me - Kelly Clarkson                  

You Get Me - Michelle Branch                   

You Set Me Free - Michelle Branch                         

Your Sweet Voice - Matthew Sweet                       

2 Become 1 - Jewel                        

Yes, I know, what a crazy mix!  Old and new; Broadway, rock, pop, and country; fast and slow.  We’re not having dancing, this is just going to be playing in the background. Should be something for everyone in that mix!