We’ve been busy wrapping up final details, making payments, and finishing up last minute details. I spent a good 2-3 hours last night working on the programs, and that was just for the design/layout. Now I’m holding my breath that they a) arrive on time and b) look as nice as I hope they do.

Here’s a preview:

We also decided to donate to Animal Friends instead of doing favours, so tomorrow I have to go pick up the cards that they’ve so kindly printed for me. Each one of our guests will have one at their place setting.

With everything going on this week, I was hoping to take the few days leading up to the wedding to relax but that’s not looking very likely. Chris’ family starts arriving Tuesday night, and then I think the other out of town gifts will start trickling in shortly after that.

Everyone keeps asking me if I’m getting excited-to be honest, I’m scared to DEATH! I don’t know why I’m so nervous, but I am. If this is how I am days before the wedding what am I going to be like the day of?

I can’t wait for the honeymoon so we have nearly 2 weeks to just relax and have fun.

The whole point of this is to keep everyone informed on our lives and the wedding plans and we both fail horribly. Mainly me, because Chris isn’t a blogger by nature so I can’t fault the guy too much. Plus when you’re a guy I highly doubt you want to blog about your wedding.

So some life updates since the last post:

• -We left Chicago and moved to Pittsburgh March 6th.
• -Chris now works at the Shadyside Apple store
• -Chris bought a car. He said we were “going to share it” but I’ve never even come close to the driver’s seat yet.
• -We are in the process of buying a house!! I’ll be updating about that over on my blog though ASAP

Wedding updates:

• I think I have all the floral details nailed down. Our florist is a family friend who runs Floral Magic.
• We picked out our wedding cake!! This was one of the most important things for me so the cake had to be amazing. We went to 2 different bakeries and we decided on Bethel Bakery. We chose an almond batter with a seedless raspberry filling for the wedding cake and for Chris’ groom cake he chose an orange batter with a chocolate mousse filling.
• My mom finally started shopping for her dress. She found a lovely sapphire coloured dress at David’s Bridal but she’s a commitment-phobe so she insisted on looking elsewhere before purchasing the dress.*sigh*
• We’re in the process of finalizing proofs of the invitations and response cards. I’m so excited, they’re going to look fabulous. We’re also thinking of getting “Thank You” cards that match the little birds in the upper right hand corner because they’re so darling.
• We’ve been tossing ideas around for my bridal shower (which I don’t know how I’m responsible for making the decisions on this stuff-isn’t it supposed to be my bridesmaids?) and my bachelorette party. My friend Christina suggested a really great idea that we might have to look into.
• I’m probably the only fiancée in the world who is encouraging my future husband to have a stripper at his bachelor party. Mainly because I think it would be hilarious to hear stories about it later.
• I reserved a block of rooms at the Marriott for $82/night! Score!

I think that’s about it. We’re about 5 months & some change away from the big day and I feel like we have so much done, but there’s still so much to do. I have a feeling the house stuff will distract us from the wedding plans for a while, but with a closing date of June 14th that’s just around the corner too.

Anyway, so remember how I announced we picked our photographer about a month or so ago?

Well it just so happens that Michael proposed to his girlfriend on Monday and she said YES!! So, CONGRATULATIONS to you both!

(Don’t you just love that weddings make people so giddy?? Especially me, the queen of all crankiness)

Now a quick update:

Lately I’ve been having unnerving dreams about the wedding. Is this normal? One time the tuxes were all wrong; another time I had no shoes. Once it was a cake that looked like it belonged on Cake Wrecks (I assure you this IS a disaster). Most recently? I dreamt we were unable to get married because we had not completed our required marriage preparation things. It’s been nagging at me since Sunday, so today I finally got around to calling the priest to set up what (I think) is the last step. So next Wednesday Chris and I are going to take the FOCCUS test. Thankfully it’s not a test we can fail, so it’s not like they won’t allow us to get married unless we score above a certain percent. It’s not really even a test per se, it’s more of a profiling tool to outline your strengths and challenges within your relationship.

I’ll admit, I’m not exactly looking forward to answering a 200-question exam but if it’s anything like Pre Cana I’m sure I’ll end up being pleasantly surprised.

Plus this way I can go back to obsessing over the flowers, invitations, and all that other fun stuff. Hooray!

PS. How come no one tells you planning a wedding is like a second full time job?! I feel LIED to, people!!

That underbelly are shows about weddings.  Dress Shows, Ceremony Shows, Bride shows, the list goes on and on, and almost every day there is a new one.

Damn them both.

I am so insanely tired of watching so many shows about weddings.  I am also completely done with shows about babies and celebrities, but thats another rant.  I just want to watch tv without having to think about dress designer or cake tiers or hall setups. I want my MTV cartoons back.

I just want to have my own wedding, without TLC or We trying to get all up in my planning business.

To start out with the less exciting stuff, the guys’ tuxes. And let me tell you, Chris was thrilled over the experience:

Can’t you just see the joy and excitement in his face? After a squabble, a bridezilla moment, and a hideous jacket a la Willy Wonka later, these are the ensembles we picked:

Chris' Tux

The Best Man's Tux

Groomsmen Tuxes

The one thing Chris & I did agree on were the shoes. Chris picked these for him and his guys to wear:

And now on to the fun girly stuff!

My maid of honor will be wearing this dress:

Maid of Honor Dress in Oasis

And my bridesmaids will be in this dress:

Bridesmaid dresses

and a peek at my veil:

and my shoes:

I <3 these Stuart Weitzman Pumps!!

So–Thoughts? Love it? Hate it?

Chris & I have selected our wedding photographer and I’m pleased to say we are working with Michael Williams of Michael Will Photography!

We didn’t spend much time shopping around for photographers, but one meeting with Michael was all it took for us to decide he was the photographer to shoot our wedding. We absolutely loved his style and we really think he will capture the spirit of our wedding perfectly.

He’s also going to be doing some engagement photos for us, so we can’t wait for that!

okay, not really. I didn’t think it would be horrible based on what others had told me, and I was actually looking forward to it. Chris, on the other hand, was skeptical. But I’ll have him post his own thoughts on the process.

So anyway, we had a super nice guy named Frank leading the group of about 36 couples. The morning started off with a quick prayer, and I was thinking to myself “uh oh, if this is going to be ultra religious Chris is going to freak”. I mean the poor guy can’t even make the sign of the cross. We started off with an exercise listing things about our past, who has influenced us, what were key events that shaped who we are today, etc. Then we had to list qualities we thought we had, and qualities we thought others thought we had. The whole point of the exercise was to share your answers with your partners and surprisingly I learned things about Chris right off the bat I didn’t already know. Then we did other exercises with the couples at our table, listing what we thought were the 3 most important ingredients to a marriage, aside from love. Each table shared their list to create a master list, and everyone had different thoughts and ideas.

The morning progressed talking about other similar topics, like balance of time together and with others and setting up boundaries. We wrapped up the morning by writing a letter to our future spouses to be exchanged and discussed over lunch. I was a bit nervous about this because even though I’m a blogger and have no problem putting myself out there for everyone to see and judge, it’s a bit scary when it comes to sharing those intimate thoughts with Chris. So we quickly read each others letters and then chowed down on Portillos. I had no desire to really discuss my letter with Chris over burgers and fries surrounded by tourists.

After lunch we reconvened to touch on topics ranging from finances, to children, to natural family planning and even (gasp) sex. We did a few more exercises with the group and individually and before we knew it, it was 4pm and the class was over.

So, what did I think of the whole process and what did I take away from it? I thought the day was very informational, interesting, and fun.We sat at a table with other couples in the same boat as us, the girls being the Catholics and the boys along for the ride. We were all getting married in different parts of the country, and came from different backgrounds, but we were all there to learn the same thing and go through the same process together. I really felt it made you take a step back and think beyond the wedding itself, and realize what exactly it means to be married. I wish everyone was required to take this class, I think so many marriages would benefit from it. The leader of the group was great, not too preachy.

So the next step is our FOCCUS test and based on today, I’m sure it will go smoothly. I’m really excited to finish another step on the road to marriage. 377 days and counting!!

I think this is something that should be required for everyone to take, because I thought I knew everything I could ever want to know, and today taught me a few more.

It really was not at all preachy, even though it was held at the church, and the book was called “A Marriage in the Lord” I think that kinda gave me a start at first, but I really enjoyed it.  I actually looked at the book after the class, and may look at it again before the wedding.

I think today also made me really realize that I was getting married.  Today was the day it really took hold, and I am really excited about it.

If only it wasn’t 12 months away.

I don’t really know what to expect from this, because about the only classes I’ve taken are book learnin’ classes.  To have someone tell me ideas for life is kinda strange for me.

As usual a trip to Wikipedia gave me a heads up on what to expect.  I have to admit, I’m pretty excited.  For this as well as for the date we picked, September 11th, 2010.