Up, down, and around.

Up, down, and around.

Oh heyyy...

What's up y'all? Things have been pretty crazy around here. I have been teaching an undergraduate Political Science class, going to law school full time, tending to future hubz, and trying to plan a wedding at the same time. Turns out, its not easy to do all of this at once, much less blog about it.

Blech.

Anyways, we've accomplished the following in the last few weeks:

1. Perfect tiny white church with a gorgeous view, booked.
2. Reception venue with a gorgeous view, booked.
3. Hotel block, booked.
4. Transportation, booked.
5. Multiple purchases from Zappo's ("But I'm buying shoes for the WEDDING!")
6. Save the dates have been designed (by moi) and printed
7. Scheduled our wedding luncheon tasting.

We've made good progress on the following:

1. Got quotes on wedding insurance (our church "strongly" suggested slash demanded)
2. Contacted several photographers. Should be ready to sign a contract in a few weeks.
3. Started taste-testing some wines for our reception.

Things I've started thinking about in earnest:

1. Cakes. Got a good lead on a tasty, inexpensive bakery, but perhaps cupcakes? Hmm...
2. Hiring a day-of coordinator. A little bit of a splurge, but worth it, I think.
3. Hair and make-up artist.
4. Invitations! (Argh, I can't find anything I like!)
5. DIY craft projects (escort card board, sign-in poster, favors, church decorations)
6. Flowers (bouquets, centerpieces, pew decorations, etc.)
7. Out-of-town guest bags.

Things that bum me out:

1. Wedding dresses! Thought I wanted a really simple dress, but turns out the ones that are the most flattering are rather intricate. Currently, I'm devastated because I fell in love with a dress that is WAYYYY out of my price range. Sigh. Must keep looking to see if I can find a lower-priced alternative.

2. We are having a small, semi-elope-y kind of wedding with just our families and a few close friends. However, not knowing how many of our extended family members will come, or which of our friends want to bring dates keeps me up at night. Because its a slightly destination-y wedding for us (meaning its not in our hometowns, nor in D.C., where we used to live), some days I feel like we're going to have 5 people show up, and then on other days, I feel like more people will come than will fit in our tiny little church.

3. Finding a pastor to marry us. My parents speak very little English, so I have had my heart set on a bilingual pastor to marry us. But its hard to find someone who is perfectly fluent in both languages. The only person I could think of was my youth pastor from high school, but he had already been asked to officiate a wedding just a month before we'd asked! Sigh. Back to the drawing board to find a Korean-speaking pastor...

4. Trying to find a reasonably priced videographer. With both sets of grandparents too elderly to travel to our wedding, Mike and I were hoping to share our wedding day with our grandparents through video footage. While it would be easy enough to buy a camcorder and stick it in someone's hand, we wanted to get something more professional made for our grandparents. We're both the eldest grandchildren and Mike and I both love our grandparents to death, so it seemed like a great idea....Until we got quotes from local videographers. Holy crap! Its as expensive as hiring a photographer! Hopefully we can find someone in the next few months who can work with our budget.

5. Body image issues. Relates to the wedding dress I guess. Sometimes I struggle with self-confidence and self-worth issues when it comes to getting stuff for the wedding. Photographers, dresses, shoes, hair, make-up - all of this stuff costs money. A LOT of money. And there is a small voice inside me that says its absolutely ridiculous for me to spend this much money when I'm not a size 4. "What's the point of getting something nice? You're just going to look fat anyway. You might as well save yourself the money and go with something cheaper," the little voice snickers. I felt like this especially when I was sitting at the bridal salon wearing a very, very pricey dress. "Really? You really want to spend that much money when you look like that?" The natural instinct is to crash diet these last 5 months before my wedding, but I know better. I have to tell myself that my family, my friends, and future hubz love me and will be happy for me as long as I'm happy about the way I look and feel. And if that means a $200 dress or a $2000 dress, it wont matter. So take that evil voice!

Did you guys deal with any of this stuff? What did you do? Any advice would be appreciated!

Sigh. Must go to bed. Early class.