What day is it?

Monday:
Bride brain. I walk into a room and forget what I came in for. Frequently. My mind is ping-ponging from one thought to another. Five minutes later I snap to. This foreign behavior is unsettling. Must make more to-do's. Focus. One thing at a time. Breathe.

Scrambling to get our house ready for my family who's staying here until the hotel block starts. So much to do. My mind is racing thinking about everything that remains between now and Saturday morning...

Thank goodness Mr. PaC and I are both off from work today. We spent a few hours at the mall purchasing parent gifts, buying bulk items from Costco for the OOT bags and doing as much as we can in advance.

Tuesday:
I want to put my phone and email on Do Not Disturb. And simply chill between now and the big day. We've busted our butts to earn this week of nothing to do. It's been pretty quiet since the 30 day mark. (Hel-lo Mexico trip!)

But the chaos is descending. My mom, sister and aunt arrived today in between my dentist appointment and our last dance lesson. Suddenly, I'm activities coordinator for everyone while trying to tie up all these loose ends, stay cool (OMG it's so hot) and remember to eat.

Everyone wants to help. We've been asked variants of this question more times than we heard "When's the big day?" or "What are your colors?" but there's nothing left to do. Mr. PaC and I have done it all in our luxurious 19 months. If I'm being completely honest, I'm happiest when working quietly by myself or alongside Mr. PaC. We're often on the same wavelength so projects don't need a lot of explaining or discussion. So relieved there are no projects remaining. I don't see how I'd have the time or energy to complete them without a moment to myself.

Oh, eat.

Wednesday:
It's lovely having my family stay in our little house, but I need some space. To give them a place to sleep, the "wedding room" has been emptied of its boxes (now in the kitchen) and OOT bags (tucked into corners of the living room). I still need to pack for the honeymoon, which will have to wait until I get our guest bedroom back.

A quick check of the forecast made my tummy flip-flop: thunderstorm? Reading further: scattered thunderstorms, 30%. Phew.

I travel with a posse now. We're so big we need a minivan. Yeh, that's how I roll. (My car's AC crapped out last Friday [the first hot day] and I don't have time to get it recharged.) My sister drives the minivan while I provide directions. We drove all over today. Airport pick-ups, hotel drop-offs, hotel pick-ups and caravaning to Mr. PaC's dad's house for a welcome dinner. It's like herding cats.

Oh, and my dad is super sick and weak. Oh, eat.

Thursday (today):
For a few weeks now I've said how surreal this whole experience is. It doesn't feel like something huge is coming. Certainly not a party for 85 people. But this morning, the knot of nervous energy in my tummy says otherwise. Mr. PaC was up super early this morning; he's anxious too. His mom arrives soon with the last goodies for the OOT bags. Today is an errand day. Where's my list?

It's a little after 11am and my cell rang for the first time. Not too bad. It's Mom reporting in. Dad is not doing better. His coughing kept her awake for most of the night. My sister, sharing their room, miraculously (ahem, 4 drinks at hotel bar) slept through the disturbance. They want to visit Terrain @ Styers and wineries. I encourage them to go without me. It's better for everyone's sanity.

Hive, so glad we could catch up -- even if it's been me doing all the talking today! It's been a whirlwind of a week. We still have two more days to go. I now understand why newlyweds sleep the first two days of their honeymoon. Hoping to pop back in once or twice more before the big day.

(Oh, eat.)

Dancing Myself Into A Corner

Hive, I need your help! With a week to go before the wedding, I haven’t picked a father-daughter dance song. Well... that’s not entirely true. The two songs I picked were shot down by Daddy PaC. And we haven’t come up with anything suitable since then.

Some helpful background information:

I'm so proud of my dad.

Splitting Hairs, Take 2

My hair trial was a few weeks ago. Today's the first chance I've had to review the photos of the two styles we tried. Now that I'm looking at the pictures... uhmmm, I'm not really happy with either one. (Caveat: I'm my own worst critic. Throw in some lovely hormones mixed with under 12 days left until W-Day and you get a stomachful of knots.) The good news is I re-looked at my inspiration images and have isolated what needs to change. The bad news is I no longer trust my own opinion so I need to see it on me to know for sure. What I think would look good on me could be a disaster and there's only the morning of left to figure this out.

Both images via Style Me Pretty / Photo by Bliss Wedding Studio

Dance with Me?

I haz no dancing skillz. I'm a lefty with two left feet! Dancing is one of the few things that can turn this confident, outgoing bride into a reluctant wallflower. Confession: I've never really gone dancing. That whole part of young adulthood... I missed the memo. Merengue? Tried it while studying abroad in the Dominican Republic; never took, my hips don't move like that.

Do these diagrams confuse anyone else??
This whole "dancing thing" (because it is now a thing for me) was brought to the forefront quite recently as I watched our newly married friends kicking up their well-choreographed heels at their wedding in Mexico. As the night wore on, Mr. PaC joined the fray with some impromptu and hysterical moves. And where was I? Hiding behind the lens of my camera, capturing everyone else cutting loose.

Wedding and Taxes

Just when you think you have your budget under control, BAM! Something completely random smacks you upside your head.

It all started when Mr. PaC and I found our ideal honeymoon destination: Little Dix Bay. We had our hearts set on LDB, but it was a bit more than we planned on spending. And so we hemmed and hawed for weeks... re-working the budget, making compromises or cutbacks where we could. Finally, we reached a comfort level with the cost and gave ourselves permission to put the remaining third on a no-interest rewards card. Brilliant!

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No sooner than we booked the airfare (which had risen $150/pp because of fuel) and paid our deposit, a fat envelope arrived from the IRS.

The tiny print run that fell through the cracks

So here I am. All ready to print our invitation suite... *drums fingers on laptop* and none of the local printers have called me back. It's been three days and not a word. WTH, small businesses?

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Printer #1 gave a phone quote last week, but the number/size of the printed pieces has since changed and I need a revised quote (plus I'm not sure the original quote was 100% accurate because it was so cheap). Hoping to expedite the quote/proof process, I uploaded the final files and job specs. It's been three full days and nothing. The turnaround time for this job? A day or two. Like most businesses, they're closed on the weekend so an answer will have to wait until Monday.

99 Days

It's coming like a big freight train barreling toward us. Unstoppable. Gaining speed. And it's got all of our wedding guests on board. Oh crap.

(personal photo)

T.F.B.

Caution
Looking at budget spreadsheet may cause: stomach pains, dizziness due to hyperventilation, tightness in chest, stress headache, urge to curl into fetal position, whining, and possibly a hangover. The severity of your hangover will depend on the severity of previous evening's symptoms.

(I'm getting a lot of mileage out of these old family photos. [circa 1983])

Mexico, a go-go

Oh, Mexico
It sounds so sweet with the sun sinking low
Moon's so bright like to light up the night
Make everything all right


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The backstory: Mr. P's close friend (and the last roommate before I moved in), got engaged about a month before us in 2009. Due to the timing of our engagements, both couples were fated to the same planning timeline. However, I'm a planner so I pressed fast forward on my to do list. First time on the to do list: venue, and consequently wedding date.

At the same time, the friend and his fiance (N&D) decided on a destination wedding, location and time TBD. We were one of three 2011 weddings and need to pick a date ASAP. A few weeks later, our venue was secured and a date of 6/4/11 was set. Soon after, I heard N&D were considering St. Lucia. I knew we couldn't afford a St. Lucia trip the same year as our wedding (and honeymoon). We'd priced it out in 2007; for the same money, we could do 7 days in a high-end Mexican all-inclusive. (We went. We had a fantastic time.) So this is what I relayed to N&D.

Time isn't on my side

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - Einstein

Then why does it feel like these last 6 months are a pile of rapidly compressing marshmellows massing into one humongous, melting, out of control giant 'mellow. (Perhaps dessert is my next "to do"! Seriously, is there anything better than a homemade marshmellow dipped in dark chocolate?)

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Yog-urt

I think that's what I'm going to feel after my first yoga class tonight.

That's me.
It's something I've wanted to start for over a year and just never found the right combination of motivation, time, and people. I'm not a Y or gym membership kinda girl. The whole gym thing intimidates me, which is odd considering how athletic I was in high school. But that was 10 years ago!

And the skies clear...

All morning long, it rained and I anxiously watched the clock. Once noon rolled around, we had a decision to make. Would the rain hold off for our Brandywine Creek State Park shoot? Or would we be forced to reschedule if none of the Plan B's panned out?

Just as I was ready to leave the office for the make-up appointment, my phone rang. It was Mr. P. And he had good news. Really good news. I squealed (quietly) and left in an excited flurry with a stupid grin on my face. The rain didn't stop. In fact, it poured on the hour drive to and from the make-up appointment. But it didn't matter - I was so thrilled it was all working out.

(I heart this shot.)
My car practically came to a screeching halt outside the house with 10 minutes to spare. After a quick change of clothes, inhaling some nachos and maybe half a Captain 'n Ginger, we grabbed the props and rain gear and were out the door.

It's raining, it's pouring

After spending two hours last night auditioning engagement shoot outfits (very full and semi-drunk – not recommended), it was all for naught – it looks we’ll be rained out. If you recall, we chose Brandywine Creek State Park to showcase the fall color peaking thisveryminute. All the locations were outside: fields of grasses, a meandering stone wall and sweeping views of the rolling countryside. I had even planned framing for certain photos and props.

I knew the weather wasn’t guaranteed. The only explanation I can offer is that I stuck my head in the sand and pretended bad weather wouldn’t foul our plans. So now with a 50% chance of thunderstorms, a chance we're not willing to take, so we’re exploring other (inside) options. Big pouty face. It’s my fault. I’m a planner who failed to plan.

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It all works out

So... I got an email from my bridal consultant that basically said the information we were given a few days prior was wrong. Wrong as in the dress BM R picked out doesn't come in yellow. She apologized (wasn't her fault) and suggested I come in again to look at the other options.

I shouldn't have picked up the iPhone while on vacation. Blah.

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Shop til you drop

My family arrived for their much-anticipated vacation to tropical, sunny... no wait, they came to Delaware to spend their well-deserved vacation week with me! The last week of June was hot. Like heat index pushing 100 degrees, melt your face hot. We spent three days in a row in air-conditioned shopping bliss (King of Prussia, the flagship Anthropologie in Rittenhouse Square & Christiana Mall); ideal for the ladies, not so ideal for Dad and Mr. P.


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The non-stop shop-a-thon included knocking a few items off the wedding to-do list. Our first wedding stop was bridesmaid dress shopping at the Ardmore (read: upscale) Priscilla of Boston. BM R and I had the advantage of previewing gowns so we came prepared with a list since it worked well before. We were not missing any good ones due to sensory overload! (Ooooo, foreshadowing.)

Paper bag breathin'

Oh, I have plenty of time. The wedding's about 9 months away.

Umm, I'm not sure where my brain wandered off to because 234 days / 30 days is NOT 9 months. It is in fact 7.8 months! Commence paper bag breathing. Further proof I am not good at math.

I know what's next: lists, checklists and brainstorming bubbles!

Oh noz!

My stomach is in knots with sympathetic worry for our friends marrying on the beach this Saturday. Hoping the storm skims over our coastline, if it stays on its current course.

TD16: You are NOT allowed to stall out over Delaware or otherwise create problems.

Snotorious B.I.G.

There was an abundance of snow this winter. Need a refresher?

Timeline - 10 months out

I don't know whose bright idea (mine) it was to create a To Do Timeline late last night. Aren't these things supposed to give you inner peace? Mine has just increasing the crushing weight on my chest. Breathe... in through the nose, out through the mouth.

Ten months does NOT seem like enough time. Mr. P... ?