Oh NOW I Feel Like a Bride: My First Wedding Horror Story

[Auspicious]

Yikes!

Planning is on hiatus for the holidays, but it's going well. The major stuff is chosen and booked, and now we're down to the thousand little details. I'm pretty sure we're on track (at least according to all those wedding checklists the bridal industry is always shoving at you) but I think it'll keep me busy from January to May.

I'm hoping we'll choose our rings over Christmas break (and I'll get my engagement ring fixed--the stone suddenly came loose ; it's still held in the setting, but it's spinning around in there like a little dial) and FH is going to reserve his tux. Hmmm, maybe planning isn't so much on hiatus.

Oh, and we still have to book the honeymoon--I guess that counts as a big thing yet to be done! I'm almost certain we're going to San Francisco/Napa/Sonoma/something like that. We have to look into it more carefully before deciding exactly, but it must include the Golden Gate Bridge, some shockingly large redwoods, some awesome Pacific Ocean views, and at least one winery. We'll only have a week, though. I'll be asking for specific advice from y'all later since I'm sure several people here have probably been to the area.

[migirl]

I'm almost certain we're going to San Francisco/Napa/Sonoma/something like that.

That's precisely what we did for our honeymoon and we **L*O*V*E*D** it. DH still talks about how it was one of his favorite trips and one of his favorite places to visit. We spent 3-4 days in the city of San Francisco, did a 1-day trip to Napa, and then 2 days in Carmel. You should definitely look into a B&B in Carmel, we had a fantastic time there, it's a great little town. We stayed at The Sandpiper Inn overlooking the Pacific, we could literally hear the waves crashing on the shore... Ahhhhhh...

[Auspicious]

I'm glad to hear that! We thought about doing the more traditional beach-centric/resort honeymoon, but ultimately I think this is more us (although we did love Hawaii). There's almost a weird . . . pressure, though, that a real honeymoon has to involve scuba diving and drinks with umbrellas. I'm glad to hear that someone didn't do that and is glad when they look back on their choice.

Julie, that sounds like a wonderful honeymoon! I definitely agree that a B&B in Carmel would be really romantic. It's soooo beautiful there. Also, if you like wine tasting, you might want to do 2 days in the Napa area (perfect for romantic picnics). There are a lot of great restaurants up there too.

[Amiens]

I love all of your details! It looks like it will be quite the day. I agree the picture has to go, hopefully you will be able to get it taken care of one way or another.

As far as the honeymoon, we felt this undue pressure to go to Hawaii, but we resisted and we went to Zion's and Bryce National Parks in southern UT. We absolutely loved it- one of the best trips we have taken. Matt still felt like he should take me to Hawaii, so for our 2nd anniversary we went and spent time on Oahu and the Big Island. I lived on Oahu as a child, so I was able to show Matt the non-touristy spots; and the best part of all- we spent a couple of nights at the Kilauea Military Camp at Volcanoes National Park.

Anyway, enjoy your honeymoon, and don't worry about where you are going, just worry about relaxing.

Crystal

[SuzySunshine]

Julie,
If you want winery recommendations let me know - we definitely have some favorites.
Good luck!

[BonBon]

Time for an update! Things still coming together well? It will be here before you know it.

Any updates on Walter, btw? :|

[Auspicious]

My mom is supposed to talk to the lady about Walter today, actually, so hopefully that's being taken care of already.

I feel kind of bad having my mom take care of this, since normally I'm an adult and take care of my own dirty work and everything. But in this case I'd like to not only get the room de-Waltered, but get the room de-Waltered without really hard feelings on my part, since this is the space wherein I'm supposed say my wedding vows and I'd like to have only good (or at least neutral) feelings about it. I'll have to play the heavy on my mom's behalf sometime in the future when she needs me to.

Also, people keep offering up shower ideas that I've already politely vetoed several times. You want to throw us a shower after the wedding? No thank you. You want the shower to have a crazy "theme"? Oh, that's not necessary. You want to offer us the use of your house so we can throw a shower for ourselves there? Thanks anyway. I'm running out of polite ways to say no!

90% of stuff seems to be falling exactly into place, though, so really I can't complain. Right now we're trying to decide what to have engraved in our rings. FH wants something in Latin, if anyone has any suggestions.

[Auspicious]

Yay, my mom just called me at work to tell me she went to the museum and the woman spotted her coming and before my mom even opened her mouth the woman said, "We have a drape!"

They've come up with a white cloth on a rod that they can hang in front of the picture that the lady got from a photographer or something. As I suspected, I wasn't the only bride who considered this an issue. In fact, it turns out there's another small wedding in the room the morning of my wedding, so the room will already be set up and there won't be a rush. Whew, that's a load off my mind. My mom says, "I didn't even have to wrestle her to the ground."

Julie,

So glad the Walter issue is taken care of.

As for ring inscriptions, the best one I have heard is "put me back on." Seriously, I always think something personal to the two of you is really sweet.

We had a shower after our wedding, and it was honestly one of the best. Not only were we more relaxed, but we got to share pictures and memories of the wedding. It is kind of nice to have something to look forward to after the big day is over.

[SuzySunshine]

Julie,
So glad to hear things are falling into place!

:family:

I'm glad to hear they have a drape, and that everything seems to be happening smoothly.

As for the engraving ideas, I've heard a few cool ideas. Friends of mine have 'I found love' on hers, 'and love was you' on his. Also with that same idea 'give me a thousand kisses' and then 'and a thousand more'. My mom has 'and then it began to rain', a reference to their first date. I agree, something that is sentimental to the two of you is perfect, no matter what it is.

[DCJenn]

We can't have anything engraved on our rings- they're an open weave (a bad move for peopel who are constantly washing hands- as we both do!)

But my parents have B 12/21/63 S and S 12/21/63 B On theirs. B is Mom, S is Dad.

Jenn

I'm so glad you have Walter taken care of, Julie! What a relief!!

On my ring I have "Loyalty..." and DH has "...Trust & Love" on his. We chose those words because in our vows it said those are the three foundations of a marriage and as long as those three foundations stay intact, the marriage will thrive.

[BonBon]

Julie, YAY! I am so glad to hear that they came to their senses re: Walter. Nothing against Walter, but he really didn't need to be above your heads.

We got a few shower offers too, and I tried politely declining but it didn't work. Fortunately the showers were intimate affairs with no "theme". Even though I/we were uncomfortable being on the receiving end of all these gifts, we ended up really enjoying ourselves. If these are people you are relatively close with, what the heck, maybe you should let them. (unless it's a really awful themed one) Hey, how else are you going to build up that silver collection?