Two days to go!

And I'm so very very excited!!

Today we put together the components for the centerpieces on the 28th. 

When its completed, it's going to look great! I wish I had some darker pink gravel but I've run out of time to actually paint it myself!

Big enough to hold down the tablecloths in a park where it may be Iowa-windy, simple enough to not be too much work! 

Hurricane vases: rented from Celebrations Party Store

idea : also borrowed and edited from Celebrations! 

gravel: aquarium gravel from PETCO. 

Crystal dazzlers, spray paint for some of the gravel and the candles: hobby lobby. 

Meta 1

I just realised why there are so few blog-as-I-go-through wedding planning projects up.  

Why its so much easier to draw from experience and write in second person after, than first person during.  

First of all, there is no time. Sure, you could punch out a short post a day - and to be honest with you, I have. But with short posts, making sure they are sweet and honest is hard. Unless you avoid all internal dialogue and keep to the peppy yay! posts. 

With short posts, you have to worry about whom you are going to offend amongst your guests by saying something awkwardly. 

Unlike regular blogs, your friends and family are far more likely to keep hurt feelings to themselves. After all, it's your wedding. So that's damage you can't communicate about and fix.  

And here's the kicker: every single person is always convinced that every single statement is about them. (No, really. We have both a self-centered bias and an egocentricity bias. Consider this excellent old article from NYT.) It's usually not. It's usually about me.  :P [see what I did there? ;) ]

Especially the whiny negative statements. So... Vent in private and keep the excitement public? And possibly give a false idea of just how much stress it all is? Or transparency?

Because believe you me, there is no shortage of exciting news!  

No, really. 4:30am bedtimes

So this is how my regular day goes: 

I wake up at 7:30, hit snooze a couple times. And then really wake up about 8:15. I grouchily seek tea or dash out the front door after some basic grooming like a scalded cat.   

After a day focused on my thesis (with vendor calls in between), I am sometimes lucky enough to get a couple hours or a lunch with my most awesome fiancé. Who, by the way is an active participant in th planning process. Biggest task? Keep me sane and away from Vegas. 

We joke that Vegas is in his living room (where the marriage license is), and Nevada is a short drive away and has a conveniently placed courthouse (it's a town less than an hour away). 

Both of us would regret that, but when you sweat the small stuff, it's very satisfying to imagine flushing the whole experience. 

After that short mental interlude, we go right back into planning our glorious hybrid •Indian+American wedding.  

(Note the dot, not the feather). 

Then I totter home and start wedding planning or job hunting, and before I know it, it's 4:15am. 

And I tell myself I'll accomplish one last thing. 

The next morning, I push snooze at 7:30, and grumble. I'm not a morning person.  

the registry debate

Gift #1 Please come

For us, your presence at our wedding would more more than gift enough. We do not need anything more than for you to show up, have fun, and make this a memorable occasion for us all.

We mean this.

Registry

We do understand that some of you just read that, and thought, 'yes, but I can'd do that!' 

Well, here's the thing: Michael and I expect to move multiple times over the next couple of years. As such, we are downsizing our possessions, and looking to not acquire new ones, especially large ones. At the same time, we want to respect your generosity in wanting to help us set up a household. 

We are currently working on how to make this work.

Ideas

One idea is to put down gift cards at the stores we intend to shop at when we do set up a household. One thing that would be necessary is a no-expiry or an expiry that's over three years. Another thing is to have a range of options and why those options are a good idea. 

Another is a honeymoon fund (someday we are going to Iceland. But 'it is not this day!').  And perhaps there's a way to have people contribute to that sort of thing? I'd have to look it up. I know people have ways to let friends and family contribute to wedding expenses, the idea should be portable.

A third is just to remove the registry link entirely and deal with white elephants as they show up. After all, Michael is holding out for two goats and three chickens. Might as well swap those out for an elephant or twelve. 

So here's hoping. And if you have ideas, I'd love to hear them!