Barrrrrf

THE QUESTION THAT CHANGED MY LIFE, AND THEANSWER THAT CHANGED HIS

Suddenly, Walter stopped telling me tales of the farm. He took me in his arms, and staring into my eyes, he said words that took my breath away.
"Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh."
These words were the first words Adam said to Eve (Genesis 2:23). The first words spoken from a man to his wife. Essentially saying, God has made you to be a part of me and me to be a part of you.
Walter continued...
"Blair, I have loved you. I love you. And I will love you the rest of my life."
Tears welled in my eyes, as I watched Walter get down on one knee. It was as if time stood still when I heard his next words:
"Blair Ann Johnson, Will you marry me?"

Via Jezebel.

OK, OK

I should probably update y'all, huh? Truth be told, there still hasn't been a lot of action on the ol' planning front, although Kyle did have his first wedding-related nightmare three weeks ago (and I had one a few days before that). While I now have twice dreamed about totally forgetting to plan for my wedding until someone reminds me the day of, in his dream, we had, like a week. Still, stressful, no? What didn't help was watching Wedding SOS over the weekend -- have any of you seen this show? Basically, the premise that couples with wedding days fast approaching call on the help of this famed (uh, "famed") British wedding planner who whips them into shape and provides them three "wishes" -- favors that she'll do for them. The first episode we saw was the most panic-inducing. A lesbian couple in their 40s were getting married, but three days before their wedding ceremony, they had nothing -- NOTHING! -- done. I mean, I understand procrastination (boy, do I ever), but that's just nuts! The second couple made me feel like punching. This time, it was three weeks before the wedding, but nothing was done (uh, except they'd ordered wedding invites with the wrong date and time). There were two kickers: The bride was a professional event planner (!!) and her husband-to-be was on a three-month vacation, but had used the time not to plan, but to take naps. My blood pressure skyrocketed just watching these folks, and Kyle looked like he was gonna pass out.

Anyway, so with that sort of thing in mind, two weeks ago, we spent a recent Saturday looking up the cost to rent a tent -- the venue insists that we get one, given the size of the crowd (we're looking at having about 150 folks) and trying to figure out if we should rent a party bus to transport people to the park, since there is only metered parking or parking garages nearby. We didn't come up with anything conclusive on any of the fronts, although we do have one lead -- my stepmother said the hotel my stepsis had for her wedding had its own shuttle that people could use for free ... so I think we're going to check that out, because, DAMN, one of those party bus things costs, like, $1,000. Ouch.

In other news, I finally -- FINALLY! -- sent my sister a little present and a request that she be my bridesmaid/maid of honor (although she might not actually know that she'll be the only one -- I'm not sure if my mom told her or not). Anyway, I gussied up the request with one of these "paper" dresses, which is actually the last crafty thing I've done lately, sigh. I wish I'd have taken a picture of the daggone thing before I sent it out, but maybe I can get her to send me one.
As to the wedding invites, well ... we know what we're going to do for our save-the-date (I'll post a preview image up here soon), and I have sort of an idea of what to do for our invites, although I have yet to run it by Kyle, so we'll see ... anyway, luckily for us, we have several friends who are graphic designers/work for major printers, so I think we're gonna try and use their resources because, man, this shit is expensive. Over the weekend, I joined a few other people in helping Colleen and Mike put together their invites. Man, even with six of us working on it (and with Mike as the accomplished designer of said invites and the rest of us as fairly talented crafty folks) it took a looong time to finish. So, yeah, I've gotta be prepared for that. Must not go crazy with the DIY-ness.

As to colors, the plan as it stands is to have sort of a toned-down grass green, (not super-bright) yellow and brown be the dominating theme. There are lots of wildflowers along the river, so natural summery colors like that should work out really nicely, I think, and Kyle was a fan because they're not super-girly. Thanks to the wildflowers I probably won't go too crazy in including flowers as part of the centerpieces, either -- I like flowers, but they're not the end-all for me, so I'm thinking that our centerpieces will be more, like, candles and such, with a few flowers scattered in there. We'll see.

We think we've got the food thing hammered down, too. Of all places, Katzinger's seems to be the most within our budget, and seemed to have the best veggie options (Kyle will be trying out their chicken offerings for the omnivores). So, we're looking to kick it buffet style, sans servers, but with some good eats. Yay. As to the wedding cake ... I dunno, I'm still leaning toward wedding cupcakes, actually. We've also discussed having a family friend (who made her own cake when she got hitched) make a cake, or asking people to bring sweets, potluck-style. So that is TBD.

No dress yet, either. I'm still looking at something short, like just below my knees, and it will probably end up being a bridesmaid dress in white/gray/cream. Here's some favorites so far:

From Max Studio (sigh, if this was in white, I would snap it up, and I'm still tempted ...)
From Anthropologie (Would big boobs work with this? Would I look preggers? I dunno)
From Simple Dress (Although I sort of love this color)

Oh, but I'm pretty sure on the shoes. I can't get these out of my head, as they're pretty much everything I could ask for -- simple, cute, comfy looking, non-leather, not mind-blowingly expensive -- yay!

OK, folks so now that you've seen what I'm sort of aiming for, if you see anything that might fit the bill, please send it my way!

I still haven't watched Bridezillas yet

Yep, it's been two months, and those last two eps of Bridezillas are still sitting unwatched on my DVR right now. Happily there has been some movement on wedding stuff in other respects.

Last weekend, I dragged Kyle and my mom to to the Columbus Bride expo. They were there for the cake samples (oh, and Kyle was really excited when he discovered the meatballs and barbeque, too), while I was there to figure out just how much this whole getting married business was going to cost us, to try and see if I could find any pretty dresses, vegetarian friendly caterers and inexpensive group transportation to our reception site, since the parking situation there pretty much blows. Oh, and I wanted to get there in time for the fashion show that would surely torture Kyle.

For the most part, it was a bit of a bust. The veggie options are there, catering-wise, but they are slim, and I haven't found any standout caterers. There was only one transportation company represented, and given the cost of renting a bus through them, it is almost as cheap just to pay for everyone to park in a nearby garage. Which is not that cheap. So, yeah, we still have to figure that one out. [Oh, crap, and I just saw that the freaking Buckeyes are playing at home on our wedding day. I should get on making our transport and housing reservations ASAP. Damn stupid college town.] Mostly, Kyle and my mom wandered down through the aisles of the convention, snatching up samples of cake, while I spent a goodly portion of my time ducking and covering myself from the various jewelry, stationary, honeymoon and condominium sales people making their pitches while simultaneously doing my best to attempt to avoid any sort of contact with the dead-eyed, tux-wearing deejays who slowly shook their hips to the one-hit wonders blasting from their respective booths.

The fashion show proved to be all I thought it would be -- and more, as it lasted nearly two hours, torturing not just Kyle, but me and my mom, too. Still, it was fairly entertaining, at least for the first 60 minutes. The emcee wore a dress that had the sartorial splendor of a disco ball, and the spectacle included dry ice, faux snow and fake trees, not to mention lei-wearing models and a backdrop of oversized, tiki-style heads. Good times. My favorite -- I mean, "favorite" -- dress was this one, which looked to me as if it was made of crumpled pink foil. [See above.] I must find one in my size.

Anyhoodle, the expo was, at the very least, good at giving me a sense of how much services we need to get -- food, photography, drinks, etc. -- cost around here. They are, as I sadly expected, decidedly un-unexpensive. But it did help cement our decision on who we want as our wedding photographer. She is awesome, but in my ever-present fear of jinxing my plans, I will retrain from linking to her until we sign our contract. But still: YAYEE!!

So, we have that nearly done and so much more to come. I'll keep ya posted.

I bought a binder

There you have it -- an update!!

No seriously, all apologies to Mandy, Kara and The Baby Jeebus, but there hasn't been much on the ol' wedding front, other than my purchase of a wedding-planning banner. Hell, I still have two unwatched episodes of Bridezillas sitting on my DVR right now.

That said, it's nearly 1 a.m. Nov. 7, which means that the election day madness is nearly over, which means that I'm thisclose to being a regular human being with, like, a life and everything. So yeah, I should have some weddin' stuff for y'alls soon.

Yay.

Some updates

The Rash was not really The Rash (aka psorosis) -- it's poison ivy. Apparently, I'm allergic to it. Whoopsy.

Oh, and Kyle and I got the site we wanted for our wedding/reception. Yay! Now all the real planning (wherein we are sure to get into some knock-down-drag-out fights with each other, our families and others) can begin.

Anyhoodle, getting our grubby paws on the site was quite the adventure. Because I am a lazy, lazy, lazy lady, I will spare myself the retelling of the story and instead give y'all a sneak preview of the column I wrote for work about it. Here it goes:

In the off chance my mother hasn’t yet reached you with the news, here’s the scoop: I’m engaged.
With my pending nuptials has come the overwhelming flurry of wedding-related paraphernalia. Stacks of pastel-colored bridal magazines have taken root in our living room, while outside, our mailbox is teeming with glossy postcards advertising catering services and the like.
Apart from all that gear, my fiance, Kyle, and I have been struggling with that most vexing matter of all – questions about when and where we’re actually going to tie the knot.
Folks, I finally have an answer. But getting there was no easy task.
Here’s the thing: As much as I’ve tried, it’s difficult to avoid the hypnotic, color-coordinated influences of the WIC.
Wait? You don’t read bridal blogs every day? WIC is slang for the Wedding Industrial Complex, or those fine folks responsible for those shiny postcards nesting in my mailbox, as well as for helping jack up the average cost of the one-day event to a staggering $25,000.
But I digress.
For my big day, I’m not looking for a poufy dress, a sparkling tiara or – as depicted in a recent episode of my new favorite show, Bridezillas – a groom wearing a golden crown.
What I do want (and what those candy-colored magazines heartily endorse) is something unique. Something totally me.
Er, I mean, us. Totally us.
I found that at the North Bank Park. Nestled along the Scioto River, the park is new – it opened in 2005 – and has a modern, glass-enclosed pavilion with a commanding view of the city.
Did I mention there’s a fountain? And a tangle of wildflowers along the river? And (with the proper permitting) it’s OK to serve booze? Perfect.
One warm summer weekend, I took Kyle on a tour of the place, and he, too, was sold. It was time for us to reserve the site.
And that’s when the madness began. You see, under Columbus Recreation and Parks rules, a site can only be reserved as soon as a year before the date you plan to use it.
Still, I thought we’d be in the clear. After all, I am a unique snowflake, and no one else would think of this place for a wedding, right?
I couldn’t have been wronger.
I called the department just short of a year from our intended date. It was booked. What about a week before that? Booked, said the woman on the other end of the line. And the week before that? Also booked, she said.
It was time for some advance planning.This time, I looked further on the horizon, so I could make my reservation exactly 365 days in advance. The day before the appointed date, I again called the department offices to ferret out any details I might’ve missed. Thank goodness for that.
Although the department’s offices open at 7:30 a.m., I should expect a line of people waiting at the door beforehand, said the staffer I spoke to, before she gave a mirthless laugh. I shared the news with a coworker.
“You should get there at 3 a.m.,” was his advice.
And so that’s how Kyle and I ended up camped out on a concrete pad in front of the recreation and parks offices in the early hours of Thursday, Sept. 6. I brought provisions: some trashy reading, food and caffeinated beverages, card games, and then we sat. And sat. And sat some more, the chirp of crickets our only company.
Until, that is, until around 4:15 a.m., when a smartly dressed woman pulled into the parking lot and walked over to us. She smelled like flowery perfume. We reeked of bug spray and stale sweat.
When we discovered we were vying for the same spot, she was nicer than I would’ve likely been. A wan smile and a muted congratulations later, she climbed in her car and left.
That was the last competition we would have. Dawn broke, the department workers filtered their way in and then the doors were finally opened. A few friendly words with the staff, a handful of signatures and a swipe of the ol’ MasterCard later, and it was done: the date was set.
Pleading curiosity, one of the women working at the permits desk asked us what time we arrived. We told them, and I cringed, apologizing for our single-mindedness.
“Oh, that’s nothing,” said one of the staffers. “Last week, a couple came out here at 7 – at night.”
I guess for them, as it was for us, it was anything for love – and a lovely place to express it.

Efffffff!!

Stressy. It may not be a word, technically, but it should be. I've already complained about my days upon days of bad dreams, so I'll skip that, at least for now. A holiday-shortened workweek means longer workdays and absent sources, which yeah, is totally stressful. And then psorosis has taken over again -- this time on my face. Stressy.


Ahem. Is it bad when I am repeating myself so early in this? I'll try to move on.



So, earlier this month (my, the weeks fly by) found Colleen and I in a wedding consultation with the ever-helpful Regan, who is pretty darn awesome. Regan distributed the stacks of magazines and books she'd accumulated during her own wedding planning and showed us her "wedding porn." (Lest you be confused, we're talking pictures of the big day, not anything that would be inappropriate to show in mixed company.) Can I say how amazing her wedding was? It was an old-fashioned circus-themed event, with bright banners, decorations, and even a homemade photobooth for the guests to take pictures of themselves. Regan's light pink wedding dress and her bridesmaids' outfits were both beautiful in and of themselves and a lovely expression of each individual's personality. The pricetag for the weddin' was impressive, too -- the whole kit 'n' caboodle, from the event itself, to the rings and the honeymoon was $5,000, which, wow, is still a chunk of change, but is *way* cheaper than, well, anything I've seen beyond the city hall or Vegas route. And more than that, it was clear that everyone there was having a great time, which I think should be the ultimate goal of such things.


So, thanks, lady, for being a great inspiration and a great sane voice in the madness that can be the world of weddings and such. I really appreciate it, and I hope (with your willingness, natch!) to get together again soon.



In other wedding-related news, Kyle and I traveled (with our friend Laura in tow) up to Vermont on the 17th, to see our friends Dave and Jess get hitched. It was a long -- long! -- drive, exacerbated by my desire to stop every few hours to take pictures, a visit to a thrift store, our decision to take a long dinner at a bar in Bennington, and by the crappy rain and fog we encountered toward the end of the drive, but late Friday, we arrived in Brattleboro. The next day, we made our way around the town (I forced Kyle to buy me a "I lovermont" t-shirt, which I have long lusted over), before it was time to set out for the School for International Training, where Dave and Jess had planned both their ceremony and reception.



Wow, it could not have been a more perfect spot.



Dave and Jess have both made social activism a significant part of their lives, for one, so the having it on the campus of such a neat place was pretty perfect. But just as importantly, the scenic setting was just perfect. The clouds had hung low and dark earlier in the day, but by the time the ceremony was to start, they had cleared, leaving a bright blue sky in their wake. With the lush green mountains serving as their backdrop, Dave and Jess proceeded to have a really thoughtful ceremony, with family members and friends reading passages that seemed to be really true to them both as individuals and as a couple.


Later, of course, was the reception -- which featured mini bottles of maple syrup and foil-wrapped chocolates in the shape of the state of Ohio, wine (too much wine, if you were me), dancing, an embarrasing argument with the fiance (again, this pertains to me only, as far as I know) which involved me snotting on my skirt, watching Dave as he found his new car covered with wrapping paper and other decorations (fortunately, Ritu was talked out of using condoms for the task), hanging out afterward in the tony Hampton Inn conference room, taking two baths in hopes they would forestall vomiting (again, this probably only pertains to me), finally giving up and throwing up, watching Coach on our crappy television, a brief sleep and then a long, long drive.


In other words, it was a pretty great time.

A new and improved me

So, you know that totally creepy website that's been making the rounds?

They do weddings, too.