Napkin Treatment. What?

Sometimes a long engagement is not a good thing. If I was planning my wedding in only 7 months, I think that I would have to concentrate on the big things like where is the reception, and what dress am I going to wear. With a long engagement, you have the luxury, or the torment, to think about things like Napkin Treatment.

The name brings to mind botox and wart removal, and when I read the tab for napkin treatment, I opened it out of curiousity. At this point, I did not think that my napkins needed to be treated.

http://galleries.weddingchannel.com/odb/themes/weddingchannel/detailView.aspx?id=31620&type=19&WC%20Galleries=Flowers+And+Decor&WC%20Flowers%20And%20Decor=Menus+And+Napkin+Treatments&pageindex=1

http://galleries.weddingchannel.com/odb/themes/weddingchannel/detailView.aspx?id=28870&type=19&WC%20Galleries=Flowers+And+Decor&WC%20Flowers%20And%20Decor=Menus+And+Napkin+Treatments&pageindex=3

http://galleries.weddingchannel.com/odb/themes/weddingchannel/detailView.aspx?id=31630&type=19&WC%20Galleries=Flowers+And+Decor&WC%20Flowers%20And%20Decor=Menus+And+Napkin+Treatments&pageindex=1

http://galleries.weddingchannel.com/odb/themes/weddingchannel/detailView.aspx?id=31624&type=19&WC%20Galleries=Flowers+And+Decor&WC%20Flowers%20And%20Decor=Menus+And+Napkin+Treatments&pageindex=1

This last one is the most common napkin arrangement I've seen. I worked in a restaurant that had many wedding receptions, and this is how we did them. Its easy and takes very little time. Most of the servers would have made a pffftt sound if they'd been told to fold the napkins, tie a bow around them and then stick a flower under the bow.

But I kind of like the second one. How silly is that? Do my napkins really need treatment? I don't think so. Will I be thinking about it? Yes.

Nature Freaks disguised as City Slickers

I couldn't sleep last night. Like REALLY couldn't sleep. I work a mix of days and overnight shifts, so my sleeping pattern is usually pretty wacked. Its not unusual for me to get up at 4 pm, go to my parents and debate whether I'd like a can of coke or a cocktail like everyone else. Mmmm...coke for breakfast. Anyways, I was trying in vain to sleep because I worked in the morning, but I pretty much laid in bed for 4 hrs thinking about the wedding.

I thought some more about the bridesmaid dresses because I am still stuck on them. I even got up and checked out the Nordstrom's website, which had some pretty fantastic deals I must say. Not exactly practical for bridesmaid dresses because each dress was only available in a certain (mostly smaller) size, but if you are only having one lady standing up for you, check it out.

I also thought about the table numbers. I didn't really want to just have boring black numbers. I toyed with the idea of taking a picture of L and I using our bodies to make each number. To begin, I tried to touch my toes, yelped and fell over. This idea was entertained only briefly.

I wanted something that was meaningful to L and I, and could add decoration to the table. And I wanted it to be fun.

I think that we are going to name our tables after campgrounds that we have been to. L and I love to camp. We haven't done much of it lately because I've been in school, but as soon as our days off actually start to coincide, we're going to break out the hippie van and tent and motor off into the sunset. We've actually had some big moments and fun times together camping:

1.St Ambrose - we were on a day trip to the beach when L realized that he wanted to ask me to marry him

2. Tangle Creek - Its not really a camp ground or beach (or a creek for that matter) but we were on a camping trip when we saw this waterfall on the side of the highway. This is were L proposed. How romantic can you get, huh?

3.Riding Mountain National Park - we ended up camping in this very secluded, quiet campsite that was right on the lake. The only downside was the the lake had yucky leeches in it so I couldn't swim in it. Here is L manfully opening a can of soup. The grass ends and there is a 4 foot cliff, then the water.

4. Grand Beach - many a drunken work party was had at Grand Beach. Mayhem. Madness. Dancing in your underwear. Skinny dipping. Breakfast wine. Need I say more.

5. Steeprock - I used to camp there as a kid for months at a time. My family camped in a converted school bus, but the big kids on the block had a converted Greyhound bus. If I had to pick a favorite time and place it would be Steeprock circa 1990.

6. Duck Mountain Provincial Park - we camped there in the hippy van with sister in law C. We went hiking and walked around a beaver dam. It was kinda a trippy because the lake water was at eye level. Very cool.

7. White Hawk Lake - where we like to think we were almost eaten by bears, not our wild imaginations

We will put a couple of picture of us in these locations on the table car and a brief explanation of why it is one of our favorite nature places.

Old School Bling

I know that I complain a lot about the tartan thing, but there are some kinda cool things about the plaid invasion. L is an awesome guy and I want him to feel all special on his wedding day. Guys have it rough in this department, though. For us girls there are so many things that make us feel like our wedding day is like no other. We wear dresses that make us feel like princesses or femme fatales or supermodels. We accessorize with veils, pearls, earings, bracelets, tiaras and flashy shoes. We get glammed up with makeup and fancy updos.

Our guys? Most men I know WERE jazzed up about their suit. But everything else? Most of their ties and cufflinks were chosen to match the color scheme of the bridesmaids. There is no male version of the veil, pearls or tiara. Their shoes are actually kind of ugly, but that's okay as long as they are shiny. The worry about cutting themselves while shaving while we sit back and have someone else tend to our face. And most guys have pretty short hair, so their wedding hair is, well, short.

I shouldn't complain about this kilt business because it would be like L telling me that my wedding dress is ugly. If L told me that I couldn't wear the wedding dress I wanted because it was too long and interfered with the 'feel' he envisioned for the wedding, I'd tell him to stuff it. So here is me being supportive of my tartan loving L.

Here are the cool things about being a scotty groom:

1. The kilt pin - the most popular design is a pin that is shaped like a mini sword. There are some really nice designs out there (like the thistle-the manly man's flower) It adds a bit of flash and keeps the family from knowing the answer to the question you know they'll ask (what are you wearing under your kilt)

2. Clan Crest Cufflinks - a chance for him to have accessories that are fully his own-not a part of the bridal color pattern. Each clan comes with its own motto and crest. Some can even be incorporated into the wedding itself. L's clan's motto means 'without end' and I plan on telling him that not only do I take his name, I take it to heart because I beleive that our love is without end.

And just so that you don't die of lovey-dovey overload, I'll add that my clan motto is 'with a strong hand'. It makes us sound like we run around slapping people around (I assure you, this is not the case). His clan motto was the obvious choice.

3. The Sgian Dubh (pronounced skin do-remember that my info comes from a scotty enthusiast, not expert. )The sgian dubh is basically dagger that the groom carries in his sock. What guy can resist carrying a dagger around?

I passed my national exam!! I can now x-ray to my hearts content...that is if the doctor askes for one!

What does this have to do with my wedding, you ask?

Well, during the exam when I should have been concentrating on grids and scatter radiation, I was thinking about what would happen if I failed:

1. I'd lose my job that I temporarily held during the month between clinical and the exam

2. Without said job I would find it very hard to pay the $700 sitting fee for the rewrite

3. My wedding would have to be downsized due to the lack of funds

4. My honeymoon would be cancelled

So...the wedding planning can go ahead, and honeymoon here we come!!

I'm vain about my hair. There I said it. If I coax it enough, I can make it look pretty nice, if I do say so myself. The flip side to that is that it can look pretty terrible. My hair is actually a lot like a two year old. If I pay enough attention to it, it will behave nicely. If I touch it fuss with it too much it become spoiled and will ran wildly about my head.

I have a stylist that I trust without a doubt. She has saved me from many a hair disaster:

1. It may not be obvious in this picture, but my hair is greeny. It was supposed to be a blondish color. I got it done the day before the wedding, and I was in denial about how bad it was until I stepped into the sun.

2. I can't even remember what prompted this orange disaster, but a disaster it was.

It was at this point that I came that I returned to my stylist. The only reason why I left was that I was in school and therefore broke. I turned to a cheaper hairdresser and then a box of dye. For those of you out there telling yourself that dying your hair can't be THAT hard, let me tell you, it is. Sure, I saved money with my box of dye initially, but then I had to pay my stylist to fix it.

I promised her I would never let another hairdresser touch my hair again. And she worked her magic:

Don't look at the scraggly ends (I need a trim) The color is perfect, no hint of green or orange in site.

I have pretty much chosen not to wear a veil. Not because I don't like them. I just would rather have awesome hair than an awesome veil. I plan to put some yellow orchids in my hair instead. I have to remind myself that less is sometimes more. Orchids and a veil and hairpins and a tiara would look a tad bit over done, don't you think? So after repeating 'less is more', 'less is more' I went with the flowers because what other day do you get to wear flowers in your hair? I guess the same could be said for the veil and the tiara, but the veil gets yanked on whenever people hug you and well, I'd feel silly even saying tiara. I tell L quite often that i'm not a princess. It may just be the word tiara that makes me feel silly because I saw this beautiful, ahem, head piece...

The Bane of my wedding existance 2

Another problem I am having with the bridesmaid dresses is the length. Before the wedding planning began I always said that I would have bridesmaid dresses that were cocktail length. Now I'm not so sure. I'm afraid that cocktail dresses with kilts will look funny.

Kilts can look manly. I'm am aware that a kilt is not a skirt. But won't it look like one if the ladies and the gents have fabric hanging to their knee? I'm probably over thinking things a little. Okay, a lot. Its just that its hard to find pictures of wedding parties that contain kilts so that I can get an idea of what it would look like. Most wedding kilt pictures have just the groomsmen.

I think we are going to go with floor length. Its the safe bet. Here is one dress that I came upon last night that I like:

http://www.alfredangeloca.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=54933601-1453-4ae6-a212-a5a2aa863b49&categoryID=053f22f3-72d9-4a6d-af34-392c45fe8c96&pg=0

I think it is quite elegant, and (I'm 90% sure) the color would go well with the hunter green/brown kilt. If you read my last blog, you'll remember that I was going to go with brown because it is the safe bet. I know, I know, I am the queen of indecisiveland.

Another reason why the bridesmaid dresses stress me out is that I want the girls to be happy with what they are wearing. The contenders for bridesmaid dresses are on the low end of the price scale, but I still feel bad asking them to buy a dress that they will only wear once. I'd hate to have them spend all that money and feel like crap. At the very least, they should feel like they are strutting their hotness.

My poor future sister in law C has gone bridesmaid shopping with me 4 times and I'm going to ask her to go again with me at least one more time. Thank you C!

The Bane of my wedding existance

What aspect of wedding planning leaves me awake at night? Bridesmaid dresses. They are driving me freaking nuts. At this point I'm ready to throw my hands in the air and say 'I QUIT'. No more thinking about colors, and fabric, and length. I'm this close to saying suprise me. Pick whatever dress you want.

Let me tell you what the source of all of my wedding related problems (this makes me sound like I've got therapist related problems, but this is not the case). Let me rephrase. The source of my wedding angst is:

THE TARTAN.

I understand L's love of the tartan. While I do not own a kilt (and likely never will), I do have a family tartan and I think its quite nice. I know that my family crest reads 'with a strong hand' which makes us sound like we smack people around a lot, but I assure you, this is not the case.

That said, the tartan is the bane of my existance. Chosing a bridesmaid dress is difficult because there are many things to consider: color, length, fabric, style and bridesmaid general shape. The tartan complicates things even more.

Let me show you L's family tartan.

Now that's a lot of color. How am I supposed to match the bridesmaid dresses to that? And there is NO way that the ladies are wearing it. Do you hear me? NO WAY. After much discussion, we decided to further compromise. While I still didn't love the idea of L and his boys wearing kilts, I could accept it with more grace when I pictured them wearing a different tartan.

So we picked a more sedate brown/hunter green tartan. It will be easy to match. The obvious choice is brown. I have a hard time telling if colors go well together. I usually have to ask the retail people if skirt that i'm buying goes with the shirt. So trying to find a color to match the red to was kind of a nightmare. Brown is brown. It will go. But that leaves the wedding party kind of dreary. Brown. Green and brown. And our wedding is mid-may, so in not-so-sunny Manitoba there may not be many leaves on the trees. Which leaves us with what color? You guessed it. Brown.

Sigh. I love color. My closet is full of yellow and orange. Will the girls look good in brown? Yes. Will they match the tartan? With out a doubt. Am I excited about them? No.

AWESOME engagement photos

L and I just got our pictures back from our engagement photo session , and we couldn't be happier! We actually look like normal people. No squint eye! No pained smile! And I'm pretty impressed with my makeup if I do say so myself. You can't even tell that I had a grand total of 9 hours sleep in two days or that I got ready in 45 minutes, when the bare minimum usually takes me an hour.

I am so happy that we went with our photographer! I have complete faith that our wedding photos will be spectacular. The wedding pictures were pretty much my biggest thing, so I am relieved that I don't need to worry about it anymore. I was concerned before because he doesn't charge as much as the top drawer photographers. I didn't want a bargain photographer at the expence of quality, but that is totally not the case.

I am also releived that my glasses didn't cause a problem. They usually slide down my nose so that the rims cut thru my eyes, get glare on the glass or cause shadows on my face, but this wasn't a problem. They actually looked good. I'm a long time glasses wearer, and I still don't like wearing them. I got an eye infection years ago that left me unable to wear contacts because my eyes don't tear properly, but I'm going to give it a try again. (fingers crossed) But if it doesn't work, at least I know that I will still look good, even with my glasses on. I was also concerned that my extreme paleness would be a problem (sometimes flashes make me look ghost-like) but it wasn't!

These are my three favorite pictures:

(Pictures taken by Joseph Keith) Thanks Joseph!!

Registering is Hard Work

After 4 separate trips to the mall, L and I have actually registered for something. This involved a pep talk, a mini arguement, a nose bleed and some Orange Julius. L and I are the most indecisive couple ever. A discussion about something as mundane as dinner usually goes like this:

L: What do you want for dinner?

Me: I don't know. What do you feel like?

L: I don't know. A pork chops?

Me: I don't really feel like pork chops. Shake and bake?

L: Okay.

Me: But if you want pork chops, I guess we could have them.

L: Hmmmm.....

So choosing something like dishes and cutlery that we will be using FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES, we pretty much become catatonic with indecision. Hence the 4 previous trips to the mall.

The registry field trips make me want to buy furniture. We saw some beautiful furniture that puts our 1960's (seriously) yellow flower print couch to shame. And a gorgeous full length oval mirror on a wooden stand. We registered for it, but at $350 we felt guilty even putting it on there. The registry people told us to put stuff in all price ranges, right? Nope. Still feeling guilty.

The mirror is from EQ3, and is just lovely. It would also enable me to see what my outfit looks on me all at once, without having to go all the way down the hall to look at myself in the apartment hall mirror. (Its weird and awkward when your 70 year old neighbor catches you trying on your fancy shmancy cocktail dress and stillettos at 1 in the afternoon on a tuesday.

This bed set was also from EQ3. I'd paint my entire apartment yellow if I could, so the small bit of yellow is perfect. I still get my yellow, and L is happy that the entire bedspread isn't an eye watering gold.

L had a great time using the registry gun. I think that was his favorite part of the whole day.