Just over 100 days....

There is just over 100 days until my wedding and there is still a lot to get done.  Dresses need to be altered, decor needs to be purchased/rented/DIYed,  the attire for the men still needs to be picked out and purchased or rented, flowers need to be ordered, hotel rooms need to be blocked off and this is just the list of things that I can think of.  I'm sure there is a lot I'm forgetting. Which reminds me,  I also need to add getting the marriage license to my list (but that can wait until September).  I also need to finalize the must play and don't play lists for the DJ.

I'm still debating a few different things.  Do I want to make my own floral arrangements and bouquets or should I have a florist make the bouquets?  If I do them myself will I have time? Can they be stored properly? Will they look nice?  If I have them made, can I afford it? Who will pick them up?  Is delivery extra and where would I have things delivered?  There are plenty of alternatives to fresh flowers, but I know that I want my bouquet to be fresh, real flowers.  I love hydrangeas, orchids, peonies, roses, calla lilies, camellias, mums and many other flowers that I don't know the names of (like the green flower/plant in the photo at right.)

 I'm still searching for decor for the reception that will look pretty and follow the guidelines of the venue.  I can't have open flames, or put anything on the walls or ceiling so I'm kinda stuck for ideas.   There are things that I see in pictures that I love and then I can't figure out how to make it work in my space with my budget.

As far as attire is concerned,  the groom and the other men need complete outfits.  So far I have a tie for the groom and nothing else.  My dress is in for alterations.  We started with the hem, next will be the bustle and buttons.  I still need to make a final decision about the beading on my dress and the accessories that I will wear.  My MOHs have different dresses in the same fabric that fit them each nicely.  I don't know if they need alterations or not, if they do I hope they start on them soon.

I'm hoping to get both the moms and other important guests to wear the same color so that they complement the bridal party in photographs.

My wedding colors seem to have grown a little to (shades's by David's Bridal) Jade, Peacock, Ivory, Silver and Black.  It is a beautiful color combination.
   

Bridal Shower Games

PURSE BINGO

Each guest holds her purse in front of her while someone reads a list of items that might be found inside. Whoever pulls the item out of her purse first wins a prize. The list begins with common things such as lipstick, but gets rowdier when unusual objects are announced, from a sewing kit to a toothbrush.

SAFETY PINS

Each guest is given a safety pin upon her arrival that affixes to her clothing. If she mentions a predetermined word, such as "wedding" or the groom's name, another guest (whoever is quickest) can take her safety pin. The guest who winds up with the most safety pins wins.

MARRIAGE RECIPE

Give everyone recipe cards and ask them to write down a creative recipe for a good marriage. Then have the bride read them aloud and try to guess who wrote what.

CELEBRITY

As each guest arrives, stick the name of a celebrity on his/her back so that they can look at everyone else's tag but are unable to see their own. Each guest needs to figure out who they are by asking yes or no questions to others.

THE DATING GAME

Before the shower, ask the bride a list of questions about herself and the groom (i.e., "When was your first kiss?"), making sure that she keeps her answers a secret. At the shower, give everyone a list of the questions and let them fill out what they think the answers are. The couple will sit on chairs in front of everyone and the groom answers each question, "Dating Game" style. Whoever gets the most answers right wins a prize.

Use the ribbons and bows from the gifts to make a "bouquet" that the bride can carry down the aisle at the wedding rehearsal. Simply make a small hole in a paper plate and pull the ribbon and bows through. Leave enough slack on the bottom so the bride can grasp the bouquet. If there's enough ribbon and bows left over after making the first bouquet, make another one for the bachelorette party, where the bride can get some practice on throwing her bouquet if she plans on having a bouquet toss.

seating charts

  

Who makes the rules for seating charts and why do they have to be sooooo complicated.  I figured that I would conquer something that should be simple and not very time consuming.  It is proving to be more difficult than I thought.  Part of me says that you are all adults and can seat yourselves, the other part of says I don't want chaos so I should just tell people where to sit.  While looking at the seating chart it seems like there is no way to not upset someone.  Either all the tables will be filled up with family or families will be split. I have this vision in my mind of how I want the tables to be setup and that doesn't seem like a possibility with the seating and who will want to sit with whom.  I can't fit everyone that I need to at the same table and if I put some of them at the other table they will be offended.  Why does everyone have to have such a big family?   I love both of the seating arrangements pictured below but I don't have nearly that much space.  Along with the task of seating I am working on decor for the reception.  I can't have candles everywhere because we can't have open flames, I can't afford to have flowers everywhere so really what can I use?  Balloons? tissue paper flowers?  I can't hang things on the walls (which also limits what I can do).  I'm really stuck at this point and have no clue where to begin.  Now I understand why people hire wedding planners.

  

132 days to go!

So summer is approaching, which means time to get all of my final wedding plans completed.  My goal for summer is to complete the seating chart, place cards, menus/programs, and pretty much anything wedding related including the Bridal Shower and Bachelorette party.

Some of this would be easier to do if I had help from other people who I felt were there to support me.  I don't think I will be able to keep my goal of stressfree wedding planning as I have been more stressed that I would like.  Recently I spoke my mind and now I doubt that I have a support system at all.   I am getting some help from a few people but I don't want to open up completely to them and feel like a burden.  One thing I am looking forward to is a joint bachelor/bachelorette party.

I'm still trying to figure out how to have everything I want and keep within my budget.  I want beautiful flowers and the wedding on my dreams.  I want to relax and just enjoy myself.  I want to have someone else finish out the planning so that I can be wowed by what is happening on my actual wedding day.  I want a day that is elegantly simple, maybe a little understated but you don't notice anything truly missing. Right now the dreams I have for my wedding day are soooo far from reality.  I would love to have a ton of flowers and a day that felt really romantic.  If I lived somewhere else I would try to get married in a garden and have a tented reception with fabric draped walls, soft lighting, long tabled with floral and candle center places, Family style dining and all night dancing.  A girl can dream... if it was a fairy tale it'd all come true with a wish (believe me, I've tried, it ain't gonna happen).

There is still so much to do: alterations, BMs dresses, flowers, Music, paying off vendors, food tasting, everything for the reception and anything else that I forgot to think about.