Bouquets & Rice: Week 16 - Odds & Ends

Well, today is a big day...it's the bride's shower! Another milestone on the way to the wedding. The bride is very excited, so excited that she decided at 10:45 last night that she needed to color her hair for the big day. I went to bed with the same hair color.
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The bride picked out ribbon for the bouquets the other day and after 22 minutes of standing in the middle of the ribbon aisle, in front of hundreds and hundreds of spools of ribbon, discussing the subtle difference between "fern" and "olive" she finally picked a ribbon color.

It was cream.
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The happy couple received their first wedding gift this week. And this is the groom's special gift-opening teeth-technique...

True story...this gift was from a couple of our oldest and dearest friends...and the husband is a dentist.

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Last night as I was falling asleep the thought popped into my head that Christmas is a mere 50 or so days away. Then a few weeks later is the wedding.

I got up and washed a load of clothes. And then I colored my hair.

Hey There!

We're less than 3 months away from the big day. The bride's shower is soon. I have nothing to wear. We don't have enough cream colored flowers.

And I think I may have ordered 1500 monogrammed matchbooks instead of 150.

Just a few things that crossed my mind this afternoon.

Things are starting to pick up again after a few weeks of quiet. We are back into our routine of ordering, shopping, choosing and fussing. Discussions about the color of the invitations, bubbles or birdseed, and groom's cakes have been occurring in between deliveries from Ted (Ted is our UPS guy. We've grown very close, so close in fact that the father of the bride and I have considered putting him in our will)

Lots of important decisions have been made in the last month also...things like...

Favors or no favors? (hence the matchbooks...but it wasn't an easy decision, it took 3 people and a day and a half to figure out how to order them)

Serve cocoa along with coffee? (just coffee)

Cream ribbon or green ribbon for the bouquets? (ummm, I forget)

Ziti or elbow macaroni? (ziti, the groom's Italian, I'd never hear the end of it)

All these important decisions plus a-bazillion more have be made the past month and I'll be filling you in on all the details. Lucky you! So stay tuned...

Sure Hope There's Not A Quiz

One of my best friends is headed into the final stretch as her daughter is getting married in just a couple of weeks. She's been very gracious to share with me some of what she has experienced, and as she and I have been talking these last few months, I've been taking mental notes.

And to be honest, I think I've misplaced them.

Now I can admit that sometimes, as we like to say in the South, I'm not the sharpest stick in the woodshed. I have been known to do stuff like...

Ask the kiddos repeatedly to explain a movie plot on the ride home from the theater ("Inception" about did me in...and don't ask me to explain "Back to the Future", we'd be here for days).

Driving around the block a couple of times to find an house I've been too before. The day before.

Go into the grocery store to shop, forget something...and the list is in my hand the whole time.

But this is different. Something new. And I like to call it "theweddingplanningisturningmybraintomush-itis". The symptoms are

.......

Sorry, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, the wedding brain mush. Anyway, I figure the only cure must come after the wedding is all said and done with. When everything is back to normal and I can start thinking about things like, "How exactly did Leonardo end up in that guy's dream anyway?"

The Father Of The Bride

It's the father of the bride's birthday today so in his honor, I wanted a post all about him. And the wedding plans. And how the two (the father of the bride and the wedding plans) have managed to co-exist these past few months with little to no conflict.

He is the Switzerland of wedding planning.

The father of the bride has smartly stayed along the sidelines during the planning of the happy couple's wedding.  And no one in their right mind would blame him. I mean, who would want to be in the middle of a heated discussion about gold, green, glittery candles? Or heaven forbid, to be asked to be on the committee that decides if Italian Green Beans will make it onto the menu? He has wisely said, "no thanks, I'll pass!"

Now that's not to say he hasn't stepped in a few times to mediate a tense negotiation or to quell an uprising, such as the infamous would-be mutiny I had on my hands a few weeks ago (you can read all about that dark time here, at Ahoy Mateys).

The funny thing is, when we planned our wedding 26 or so years ago, he seemed to be a little more involved, especially since we paid for our wedding and were responsible for all the decisions.

He went with me to the florist to pick out the flowers. He went with me to the caterers to pick out the food. He went with me to the bakery to pick out the cake.

Then again I could be imagining it (young love will do that to you).

But one thing I am positive of today is my thankfulness and love for the father of the bride. He is the anchor of our family, leading us, guiding us, protecting us and most importantly, he lives his life for all to see as a true man of God, and as a follower and believer of Jesus Christ.

So on this day, as our family celebrates the father of the bride's birthday, and reflects on his mighty contribution to our family, the sidelines may be the wisest place to be...smart guy.

What'd You Get Me?

In thinking through all the little details that come with planning a wedding, one thing recently came to mind...gifts for the wedding party.

So I got online to see what brides and grooms are giving nowadays as gifts to the bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girls and so on...and what I found proves once and for all that yes, I live in a bubble.

And I like it in there.

Here's what the bride of today is giving her bridemaids...wonderful, heartfelt gifts like:

1. Pink monogrammed flasks
(you can get the matching cigar holder for just pennies more)
2. Wet bikini bags (the bag isn't wet, just the bikini)
3. Wedding Party Cup Cozy - keeps your drink from sweating all over your dress (and it's perfect if the flasks are back-ordered)

And let's not forget the guys, those lucky groomsmen may be on the receiving end of one of these goodies:

1. Personalized serving tray, in a zazzy zebra print (apparently groomsmen like their dinner served on a tray with their initials printed on it...in lime green...who'd a-thunk it?)
2. High Rollers Leather Dice Cup (dice are extra...and those poor low rollers, I guess they could always use the cup cozy)
3. And as not to be out-gifted by the ladies, a Leather Golf-themed flask (three tees included)

Yep, I would have to say that the pearl necklaces and tie clips the father of the bride and I gave to our wedding party are things of the past. And to think, my bridesmaids have had to carry their bathing suits in a regular bag all these years.

Bring It!

I've been in some kind of blog fog the last two weeks...we took some time off from planning the wedding to attend to the maid of honor's college move and some other family matters...and that time away has affected the ol' blog too.

Been trying to get back in the swing of things, but around here the atmosphere has felt similar to coming home from a great vacation and then having trouble getting back to "reality". My mind has been elsewhere...

But then the last couple of days, things have started clicking back into place. The bride mentioned a couple of things she wanted to pick up this weekend. A friend asked for some flowers for the bouquets. Another friend agreed to coordinate the wedding. We talked a little bit about suits for the guys.

And then last night I couldn't sleep.

Yep, the wedding plans are back on!

Ain't It Pretty?

Yes I thought these would look lovely around the handmade napkins the bride is making. Kinda going along with the natural, Tuscan theme the happy couple has decided on.

No?

Not even with prettier beads? Maybe glittery ones?

*sigh*

Well, it was worth a shot...one of these days the bride is going to say slip up and say "yes"...

That means the correct answer is A! And our winner is Michelle F.! Congrats!