Resolving

Over the years, I've come up with a few New Year's resolutions. They were typical lasts-three-days resolutions that I pretended to forget should anybody ask past New Year's Day. Last NYE, however, I made a resolution I thought I could keep. It was to keep it up with my dieting/exercising, and since January 1, 2012 I've knocked off another 40+ pounds, so I'll chalk that one up as a success.

This year, my resolution is simple. And do-able. My New Year's resolution for 2013 is....to get married and have a blast doing it!

When we settled on a date around Christmas 2010, I described the wedding date as "summer 2013." When we put down a deposit on the venue, thus declaring an actual date, our wedding day turned into "the July after next." This fall, it became "next summer." And now that we're on the brink of 2013 I can finally say we're getting married THIS YEAR! Or THIS SUMMER! Or IN JULY without any caveats! As you can tell, I'm pretty excited.

In other news, remember how the bridesmaids are choosing their own dress from a selection of three? Without coordinating, the dresses will be equally distributed across the bridal party! I wanted everyone to choose a dress they liked and felt comfortable in, but the mathematician in me is pretty psyched that each dress will get its presence. Now the decision that remains: if I line them up so dress types alternate will it look too contrived?

Why I would never have a winter wedding in Maine

According to plans, Vader and I would be having our engagement pictures taken right now up at his parents' house. However, this is our view:

Wintry, yes. Conducive to driving, no.

When we heard a nor'easter was heading for Maine today we rescheduled with our wonderfully flexible photographer for Saturday in the Old Port. The change was nothing more than a slight nuisance...but imagine our wedding was planned for today?! Seriously, why do people plan winter weddings in Maine?

In addition to a week loaded with relaxation, spending time with family, and sweet treats we have managed to accomplish two major wedding tasks. Task #1: obtain wedding rings! Vader's giant special order ring came in, and we picked up both bands with no trouble on our way to Maine. We even worked with the same saleslady as our not-so-fortunate time before, but the experience was easy and quick this time. We (and our cat wandering around the chilly car) were very appreciative of our speedy getaway. 

Task #2: Try on wedding dress! It fits! And looking great in it will keep me motivated to stick to the fitness plan that got me feeling good in it in the first place!

There are also some impending behind-the-scenes milestones coming up as well. They sound pretty boring from a blog perspective, but I assure you-we are quite thrilled to check them off!

Task-to-soon-be-accomplished #1: Have all the damn addresses! Who would have known that tracking down a few wanderers would take so long...

(by far the most exciting) Task-to-soon-be-accomplished #2: Hit wedding savings goal! A few months ago we sat down and determined a number that would allow us to have our part of the wedding paid for. By the end of January we will hit that number and finally be able to start saving for after the wedding. We are both very relieved to hit this point and to start building a cushion for whatever the future holds!

Now we're done, right?

It's been pretty busy around here with Christmas preparations, but  the save-the-dates are out and we hear many people have received them by now. So, without further ado, here they are!

As you can see from my fridge in the background, they are magnets, which got two very different responses. For some, it was "cool, a magnet!" For others, it was "huh, another magnet save the date." Either way we don't care, because they are hard to lose and people should be able to remember the date! Plus, I like the chalkboards. I think they may work their way into some wedding decor or photos...

After they were addressed and dropped in the mailbox, Vader exclaimed "So now we're done with wedding stuff for a few months, right?" I openly laughed in his face, and them promptly did not do a single thing for the wedding until writing this blog post. Since we are having our engagement pictures done a week from tomorrow, we had best get to coordinating outfits*!

*It's a good thing we wanted the save the dates in black and white, as Vader was wearing a bright primary colors checked shirt and I was wearing a green striped shirt. Ugh. We are shooting for less patterned next week.

Invitee breakdown

Since our save-the-dates are now all beautifully stamped, addressed, and ready to go I thought I would break down our guest list in some traditional and some not-so-traditional ways. Without further ado... 

Yes, it says Massholes. Having recently changed my residency, I choose to own the term.  Is there a better nickname for those of us in the Commonwealth?

For the single folks who have been wondering...

Could just as easily be titled "Number of couples whose wedding inspiration we have stolen and will be featured at our wedding."

In order from left to right: Family, Friends, Family Friends

Who knows that many guys named Tony?

On the left, our best-travelled-to-be save the date. On the right, the laziest.

Looking forward to chucking them all in the mailbox tomorrow!

Exciting Mail Day

Exciting Mail Item #1: Our save-the-dates were scheduled to arrive today according to UPS tracking system, and I was SO PUMPED to see how they came out! When I asked Vader for an update during my planning period, he told me they hadn't arrived. Boo.

Then, when I got home and he somehow convinced me to look at the fridge for awhile with him*, I noticed our rockin' magnet right on the front! I want our guests to enjoy the surprise, so I will wait to post them until I hear they are being opened, but here's what the box looks like:

Now all that remains between save-the-dates and our guests is the USPS. And my purchasing many stamps. And a hand cramp or two from writing all those addresses. But, I promise, you'll see them soon!

The box on top is full of beautiful colored, patterned paper for invitations from the same company. Luckily for my wallet, we already have invitation kits picked out and bought!

Exciting Mail Item #2: Christmas gifts we've ordered for people! Not at all wedding-related, but it's nice to feel like I'm on top of things. I also got Vader a form with ThinkGeek points that allows him to make Millenium Falcon-shaped ice cubes, which I believe will be premiered in a beer during football this evening.

Exciting Mail Item #3: My wedding dress! The saleslady called today and told me my dress came in, and since they are running a free shipping special it will soon be en route to Mom's house, just in time for Christmas dress-up time!

Remember that "to do" list from a few posts back? Order save-the-dates: check!


*I'm gullible. Once, in college, Bridesmaid Fairy Tale awesomely worked with Vader to surprise me in VT for Valentine's Day, and all it took for her to get me down to where he was meeting me was "Bridesmaid Cupcake wants to show us something, but she won't tell me what it is."

Honeymoons, or lack thereof

Before I launch into an explanation of our honeymoon plans, let's first review the literature on why people go on honeymoons. Trusted resources like Wikipedia, a random religious Google site, and a "answer my questions" web page of dubious credibility say that a honeymoon is for:

• Celebrating your marriage
• Getting to know each other as a couple
• Getting to know each other, period, in the case of an arranged marriage
• Visiting family abroad who couldn't come to the wedding
• Getting pregnant (the name "honeymoon" may be due to honey once being thought to increase fertility. Maybe it's all the botulism.)

Since Vader and I have known each other for thirteen years, and lived together for three and a half, there is very little new information about the other we expect to find out magically after the wedding. As a result, I think we can cross off the "getting to know each other" items from the list above. As our families haven't strayed too far to the ends of the Earth, most will be in attendance at the wedding, so we won't be making any lengthy voyages to visit foreign family members. Finally, while babies are in our future someday, not yet! 

That leaves celebrating our marriage as a honeymoon goal, and it's a darn good one. After the wedding we will take some time together to enjoy being married and to revel in the love from our friends and family.

A trip to enjoy our marriage and plan our lives, however, is not in the cards for the summer of 2013. While I will be on summer vacation from school, I hope to continue to work at least part time during the summer to generate income. Vader will be working, and we'll both take a week off before the wedding to spend time with our friends from all over the country in Maine and to coordinate last minute details. That time will likely be all that he can get off with pay, and we love the idea of our time spent together around the wedding filled with friends we rarely see all together.

Next July will also be the culmination of years' worth of planning and saving money, and the idea of adding another thing to plan and earmark the contents of the savings account for is not particularly appealing with the wedding date creeping closer. On July 14th of next summer I like the idea of sleeping for a couple of days, seeing our savings increase, and enjoying some quiet time. None of these will happen if we jet off on an adventure immediately! 

Our solution is a delayed honeymoon. We will go on a multi-day (or multi-week?) European adventure sometime during the summer of 2014 after enjoying our marriage quietly for a year. Not particularly beach-y folks, we knew we were interested in heading to Europe together, and I wanted to go to a place where I could use my quickly-fading French that neither of us had ever been before. Add our appreciation for beer and delicious, delicious waffles (here is how you make them) and our delayed honeymoon will be a trip to Belgium! I'll plan the details in my post-wedding-planning void, but right now I think it will be a mix of relaxation, exploration, and stuffing our faces around the country. If you have any Belgian travel advice, please feel free to send it along!

We aren't completely willing to give up some post-wedding togetherness luxury, and as such have booked a fancy night in a honeymoon suite at a boutique Portland hotel for the night of the wedding. After that we'll head back to Boston, enjoy each other's company for a year, and start planning our next adventure!