Six Weeks 'Till the Wedding

I went home a couple weeks ago to attend a bridal shower thrown for me. It was hosted at my younger sister's house and was planned by my mom and a very good friend. My friend spoiled me by including goat cheese (which I love) in almost every dish. She further spoiled me by making these great fruit cup thingys that she invented and I adore. The mimosa's provided by my mom were just the icing on the cake.
That afternoon I got to see my old Bible study leader, a very good family friend, and almost all of my close friends that live in CA. I had a complete blast. Some of them hadn't met each other before so they finally got to put faces to names. We completely took over my little sister's house for hours just sitting around being chatter boxes. It was great just sitting back and relaxing and knowing everyone was having fun.
This past weekend was a bridal shower thrown for me by my fiancé’s aunt and cousin. They blew me away. We played a game where you guessed which spice was in the cute balls of tissue and one where you had to remember all the things on the tray. I also got to meet more of my fiancé’s relatives including his maternal grandmother. She looks so much like my paternal grandmother its almost creepy. Mostly that's because my paternal grandmother passed away 10 years ago. So seeing her out of the corner of my eye made me jump a couple times.
That aside it was a fantastic way to get to know my future in-laws. My fiancé comes from a very close knit group and they all welcomed me with open arms. The theme was kitchen and every one that attended brought recipes. I was amazed by how many of his family gave me cherished family recipes. His paternal grandmother even made me a hand embroidered apron. We all laughed and made jokes and wowed over the great food that was served.
After wards my future MIL drove all the gifts to the apartment my fiancé is living in. I got to show off the place to my mom, my friend, and my future MIL. The couch we bought was in place and all the moving boxes hidden in his car. The place is on the small side but just big enough for two. We've even managed to find a way to create a study nook which is good considering we'll both be full time students in the fall.
While my mom was here we managed to find this gorgeous silk dress for her to wear to my wedding. It shows off her great curves and my friend kept joking about how thrilled my dad is going to be when he sees her in it. Also, we managed to get a better idea of how to make the chapel decorations. The decorations for the reception are almost completely decided and will mostly be white and burgundy tulips.
Speaking of decorations, AnotherDan has taken over building the cross we need to decorate the chapel. AnotherDan is my future FIL's best friend. (Since my future FIL's name is Dan his best friend was given the nickname AnotherDan). The cross went from simple to made of cherry wood with a dark cherry stain and fluting running along both lengths of wood. I can't wait to see the finished project.
All in all I think the wedding plans are coming together. The honeymoon is planned and honestly I'm looking forward to sleeping. School is crazy and has taken over most of my life. I'm enjoying it still and I'm making wonderful friends in the program. It is a challenge to find time to plan, to enjoy being a bride, and most importantly to find time to focus on my fiancé. I'm looking forward to being out of school this summer so I can enjoy being a newlywed.

22 Weeks To Go

I get married in 22 weeks. This is exciting and surreal at the same time. I have some stuff done. Dress, photographer, location. I still need to complete the music list, pick a song to walk down the isle to, meet with caterer, cake test, get list of formal photos wanted to photographer, pick decorations, pick card stock... The list just seems to be getting longer.
We have done some fun stuff. We began our registry this weekend. Spent 3 hrs or so looking at china patterns. Still haven't picked a formal one. I did get to register for a bunch of cooking stuff I've been drooling over for ages. That part was fun. Kept holding up stuff to my fiance and saying "I want this". He'd smile and point the scanner at it and not really ask what it was. I keep teasing him that I'm only marrying him to get new kitchen stuff. As long as it means he gets to eat yummy food he doesn't seem to care.
He only really wanted a couple things. Like root beer mugs. He registered for a box of four, then decided when we left the store we needed more. His argument is that we need to have back ups so that the root beer mugs are always frosty. I don't see this as something to worry about, and so far more of them haven't magically appeared on the registry.
Most of the time I keep wondering how I'm going to get stuff done next quarter. I don't really have a choice. I have to find a way to do more wedding stuff during school. Winter quarter ends two weeks before my wedding, and I'm not going to be able to cram it all in then. Fortunately my sweetie is helpful so we'll figure it out.
If I schedule things right I may even be able to get sleep next quarter.

Lots of sparles

Lauren, Abby, Mel, Jess and Amy are all currently engaged. They got engaged in that order. Including myself that is six weddings next year. Lauren's is currently in competition with Abby's for most elaborate. Lauren is Texan (and her mom fills the stereotype) and so far has the largest guest list. Abby is engaged to my fiance's roommate and he's not too big on extravagant which is why my money is on Lauren. Mel wants a very simple out door wedding. Jess wants that as well, but in Mexico.
Amy will have two ceremonies. The first will be a civil ceremony once the fiance visa (he is Canadian) is processed. Turns out you only have 90 days once its processed to get hitched. Tricky part is that there is no way to know how long the process will take (she's hoping for less than six months). So they plan to head down to the court house once they are legally able to and then do a separate wedding later.
Its kinda funny to compare notes with them and see what they are planning. See who thinks what is normal that others think is over the top. Its also funny to see what our fiances care about. Mine is till trying to get an R2D2 cake that is remote controlled and rolls around the reception. I think I'm still winning the odd request contest. The idea is cute but I keep picturing all of our guests with frosting on their legs. That and I picture the groom and my nephews arguing over who's turn it is. To get his mind off of it a friend suggested we get the bat mobile as a get away car. Oh, and she found a guy who rents one here in Seattle. Guess what my fiance now wants?
He makes me laugh, and as school is fast approaching I'm more and more grateful for it. I've actually gotten to spend quality time with my fiance over the last couple weeks. I envy the other brides in that. Once school starts I go back to only getting to see my sweetie on nights I don't have class, a study group, or overtime at work. I've been spoiled in getting to see him almost every night of the week for the past couple weeks. Being away from him stinks, and I'm looking forward to the day that I get to go home to him.

There goes my tummy

We have a location and a date! A beautiful chapel and a hall on the same location. Best part is that both are free. They are at my fiance's alma mater so the only fees associated are the basic clean up and such fees. Even better it has a great catering service that we may be able to afford.
A close and incredibly talented friend is the photographer. We've picked colors and have ideas on flower arrangements. We even have a lead on a place for my family to stay without bankrupting them.
We have a chunk done and still its overwhelming. I've been kinda pushing it to the back of my head, but its starting to get to me. The weird thing is I have tons of help so I shouldn't be stressed. Plus, its seven months away. We have time and big things are worked out. Except my stomach is in knots and its not a happy feeling.
My poor fiance wants to fix it and its sweet. I just have a bad history of taking any and all stress out on my stomach. The up shot is that I get foot massages. Can't knock that.