Three Months to Go

No excuses this time. I've just been extremely busy. The last couple of months were a whirlwind of projects at work, wedding preparation, and the occasional fun excursion. Kate and I managed to get out of our "funk" that kept us from getting anything done before. We had decided that we would concentrate all our efforts on getting a single aspect of the wedding ready and maybe we could ride the momentum of that accomplishment on to other tasks. Well, guess what...it worked! I think this update will have to be a rapid-fire list of things Kate and I have accomplished in the last couple months:

1. For any gent getting married, I recommend the book The Clueless Groom's Guide. It's a book my mother sent me to help me figure out what I needed to worry about with the wedding. It's hilarious! And between the jokes is some really helpful advice. Thanks, Mom!

2. Photographer: We've decided on Rimrock Photography. This was a recommendation by our supervisor at FCPL. A photographer was worrysome for us because we didn't really need one for very long...an hour or so tops. Most studios had packages that started at 4 hours of time! But Mr Lynch impressed with his balance of professionalism and relaxed attitude. Also, he'll give us a reduced package of roughly 1 1/2 hours of time. We figure we'd sneak in the professional and formal shots after the ceremony but before the reception...give everyone a chance the mingle and chat. We shouldn't need anything formal for the reception; EVERYBODY will have a camera there! We were so glad when this was arranged.

3. Catering: We went with our first choice, Lopiano's. We kept bouncing back and forth about other places we should at least check into...but truth be told, we were dead-set on Lopiano's from the very beginning. We had a little bit of adventure because I misunderstood the directions from the fellow I talked to on the phone. We ended up going to the wrong meeting location...but the staff reworked their schedules and one of the owners ending up meeting with us instead. Gotta love that flexibility! Dinner will be a buffet style affair so folks should bring their appetites!

4. Rings: We have our wedding bands! Kate chose a locally owned and operated jeweler called Golden Images. These guys did work for Kate's family several times in the past. The guy that we talked to (Joseph) was extremely helpful and friendly. Good price on the rings too. He even gave us the name of an engraver in town that can do the initials and date work that we want on the insides of our bands. Now I just need to get used to wearing the ring. :-)

5. Tuxedos: I actually just took care of this today. Bill and I went down to Mr Neat's Formalwear in the mall and selected our ensembles. We'll be going back in sometime in September for the actual fittings (just in case our sizes and shapes change in the next couple months). It was quick and painless; I took notes of what I liked from their website and came in knowing what I wanted. :-)

6. Honeymoon: Kate ordered tickets through Amtrak and they've already arrived. It turned out that just ordering everything online ourselves was easier and cheaper than trying to find a travel agent to do it for us. Kate's already arranged for our hotel in Boston and we looking at a place called Adam's Inn for our week in Washington, DC. On our way out, we get to stop in Chicago for a night (hopefully we'll get to see my old friend Rob and Chantel). While in Boston, we'll look up another couple of friends, Heidi (and her husband Kim) and Kelly. Originally, we were going to leave the day after the wedding...but it turned out that if we left on Tuesday instead of Monday, our tickets would be a couple hundred bucks cheaper. Eh, why the heck not? This gives us a chance to return tuxedos and check in with folks as they leave town.

7. Flowers: Kate has ordered flowers through the Palmer House. She's always loved their arrangements. Since the church would rather not have us put plants and flowers all over the chapel, we're restricted to flowers for people involved instead. We don't really need them for table settings at the reception because Kate has another notion. So we need bouquets for Kate and Dana, boutonnieres for me, Bill, my dad, and Kate's dad, and corsages for Kate's mom and sisters, my mom and sister, and Tammy (who's helping out with guest book and dress fitting). All in all, it comes out pretty reasonable.

8. Hair: Kate tried out here planned hairstyle for the wedding recently and loved it. It's basically a weave thing like a net up on top with the rest of her hair hanging loose but curly. I love it and she got lots of compliments on it. I have a couple of pictures she took herself but I'd better ask permission before posting them. ;-)

9. Gift Registry: Pretty much done! We put in our registry at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Sears. We couldn't find everything we wanted or needed at just one store so we figured we divvy it up. We just put the last of our things on the Sears list last night. We also have a "backup" list in case (Heaven forbid!) everything gets bought before everyone has gotten us gifts! :-)

10. Hotels: Kate reserved a block of rooms at the local Comfort Suites. Now, if folks call directly to the hotel and say they're with the O'Connell-Merrell wedding, they'll get in with the discounted rate. That info we'll send with the invitations.

11. Invitations: Getting started! We just printed out the invites on vellum yesterday at Office Max. Kate's started calligraphing the envelopes and making good time (when she has a chance to sit down with them). Our co-workers still plan on helping us out with the invites as their wedding gift to us and we're going to take them up on it. Hopefully, we'll be able to work on them and send them out by late August or early September.

Whew! We're making all kinds of happy progress...and all without more than a little bit of stress. We have occasionally had to chant our mantra: "The wedding is just a day. It's the marriage that's for life." Hey, it helps.

All right, time to continue to make this Fourth of July weekend a productive one. I still need to post an entry talking about the things that Kate and I learned in our marriage prep classes but I guess that'll have to wait until the next update. I'll try to be good and not wait another 2-3 months before posting! :-)

Just over three months left in my single life. How about that? :-)