The Ceremony

As on top of things as I feel like I have been throughout this wedding planning process...there is one little item that I feel like I haven't paid much attention to: the actual wedding ceremony.  Just a minor detail...as it turns out, this isn't just a fun party we are throwing, there is actually a point!

This conclusion became glaringly obvious to me after Matt and my visit to Simon Estes Amphitheater for Valentines Day.  Up until that point, it seemed only natural that the ceremony would go flawlessly, why should I worry about it?  So as I'm tromping through the snow toward the stage, Matt brings up the interesting point that there are no stairs on the front of the stage.  Good to know, otherwise I would have had to make a human pyramid out of the groomsman to get myself up there!  (I don't exactly have a 5 foot vertical, especially in a wedding dress.)  Next issue - curved, intersecting sidewalks.  Pretty, yes.  Conducive to walking town the aisle...not so much.

The beautiful but slightly inconvenient sidewalks

I decided I needed the help of an expert, so I emailed the wedding coordinator at the adjacent Embassy Suites asking for her input.  Out of the goodness of her heart (because she's not getting my business due to scheduling conflicts) Hailey was kind enough to give me the run down on how weddings typically go.  These are not insurmountable obstacles, we'll figure it out.  I do think I'm going to ask her if she has any upcoming weddings scheduled that I could watch from afar to see how they do things.  I'm not above being a creepy wedding crasher.

So now that my attention is turned to the ceremony, I'm feeling better about the fact that this wedding will be organized and hopefully flawless.  We'll see!

The Honeymoon Debate

Since we got engaged, Matt and I have been constantly answering the question "where are you going for your honeymoon?" with a shrug.  We know this: beach, warm, sunny, lots of activities.  I hate laying on the beach (if I am anywhere near water, I need to be in it) and Matt goes crazy with nothing to do.  After gathering and sorting through an overwhelming pile of materials, we have decided on Jamaica.  Done.  So yesterday we decided to sit down and book the trip.  Easy, right?

...Wrong.  You would think booking an all inclusive, adults only resort would be a piece of cake.  Little did we know that every brochure we looked at would seem like the perfect place to go, and that there would be 75,000 different resort options!  I'm pretty sure we need to take about 7 honeymoons because I want to go to every single place!

I would like to go right now, please!

We are now in the debate of Sandals vs. Couples.  Both similar...both with multiple locations, both with lots to do.  It seems that Sandals has slightly nicer rooms, but Couples has more included in the way of excursions.  How are we ever going to make this decision?

The other debate is how long to be gone.  I've heard from several of my recently married friends that they got tired of sitting on the beach after about 5 days.  We are thinking about Tuesday - Monday.

Reader feedback time!  Where did you go on your honeymoon?  How long is too long?  Sandals vs. Couples?

Settling down

I think that my overzealous planning has caused me to now be in a bit of a lull!  I'm sure there should be things that I am forgetting about...worrying about...overanalyzing.  At the moment, however, I'm at peace with the wedding planning and taking a much needed hiatus.  (For maybe a week until all the things I'm forgetting about come crashing down.)

Next items on the agenda once I resume planning:  accessories, flowers, shoes, centerpieces.  I'm not ashamed to admit, these are not my strong areas.  Consequently, I'm avoiding them for as long as possible.  Be prepared to give me feedback once I inevitably have to start stressing about them!

Packing up

The downside to getting things done early is that lately I've found myself with very little planning left to do!  We have been busy lately moving some of the furniture and other things that I don't use regularly over to Matt's house in preparation for my house going on the market.  The biggest excitement has been moving my cats to Matt's house so that I can get things cleaned and ready (and not have them in it when they start to show my house next week).  The cats are getting used to their new environment, Matt is getting used to having them around, and my house is feeling emptier and lonelier. 

In other news, for Valentine's Day we celebrated by ice skating at an outdoor rink that is a couple of blocks away from where we are getting married, so I talked Matt into trudging through the snow to take a look at the amphitheater.  I hadn't been there since getting engaged, so it was interesting to see it from a realistic perspective.  We have some logistics to think through, but I'm excited!  Less than 5 months!

Here are some photos from ice skating and a nighttime view of Simon Estes Amphitheater from our walk.  It kind of made me wish we were getting married at night since it is so pretty lit up!