Timetable change

Nearly a year has gone by since Christian and I last sat down and said, “Ok, when is this going to happen?” We thought a year would be plenty of time. July 2008? That’s like ten years from now. We’ll be saving up lots of dough, I’ll get the planning going (at some point) and things will just fall into place. No problem. Easy peasy.

And then 12 months turned into 9 months, and 9 months dwindled down to 2 and we woke up one day thinking, “How IS this all going to fall into place?”

My ambition and enthusiasm never ceases to amaze me. Somehow it made sense to me back in August of 2007 that I could plan this wedding while embarking on senior year chemical engineering courses. I also convinced myself that since my fiance was starting a new job by then, he would have loads saved up in time for the new year. And lastly, something persuaded me into thinking that his family would be able to help us financially. That alone may have been one of the biggest mistakes in this.

So without further explanation, the date has been moved back to May-ish 2009. We still dream of getting married at the location we found in Homestead, Florida and hopefully it will be when the gardens are blooming. (We were told that was during the summer.) Hopefully, this extra year of planning will allow us to really get past the debt from recent graduation and relocation. I’ll start my job in August, my fiance will continue his throughout this whole time and we’ll just have to be patient.

As for the trip to France, it’s still on. Tickets have been paid for and it’s too late to turn around now. It’s become more of a graduation last hoorah and less of a bachelorette trip. (Fine by me.) But expect a few changes here and there around this blog. With a new perspective on this major event in my life should come a new look to the overall feel and functionality of this site. Thanks for sticking around for the ride this past year. Here’s to the upcoming (better) 12 months.

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Bachelorette trip to France

Mulling it over, it became clear last month that I need to do something other than the typical bacholerette party. I’ve never been interested in seeing a stripper (male or female) and I’ve never been out at the bars in Miami to say that I know where we’ll head. Add to this the fact that it’s only one night that usually ends sloppy (from what movies and Bridezilla show me) and there is no doubt about it. I would prefer to take a trip instead… to Paris.

The original destination for this trip was Los Angeles, California. That was mostly due to how I was celebrity-crazy after meeting BJ Novak from The Office. What can I say? I was happy he won the Dundee Award for sexiest employee. Two of my bridesmaids and I concocted this plan to hit up Hollywood and take pictures with as many celebs as we could. If celebrity gossip blogs are any indication, we could get pictures with just about anyone and everyone so long as we hang around. That plan fizzled out after we thoroughly thought it out and noticed that it’s pretty expensive to spend a few days in LA. We may as well spend the money on a trip to Europe. Great idea!

So we opened up Google maps, closed our eyes and pointed to a random destination. The rest is history. (Or at least that’s the more dramatic, adventurous, if-money-was-no-object-I-would-do-it way.)

Actually, what we really did involve Google maps, but then we also opened up about 25 browser windows connected to numerous travel sites that offered deals and discounts. We compared costs of spending a few days in Spain versus those same days in Italy versus those same days in France. If there’s anything that our senior design course has taught it’s that you can just b.s. your way through anything cost comparison is key. After hours of weighing pros and cons of each destination, we went with Paris, France. Maybe it’s because none of us have been there before or because we really like French wines, but this does seem to be the perfect place to visit before we graduate. And that’s the other part to this trip.

Turns out one of my bridesmaids will not be attending my wedding since her family has travel plans during the month of July. Normally, it could be worked out, but they plan to travel through North Korea and those kinds of visits are really difficult to plan out. Add to that the cost of a round-trip plane ticket from Seoul, South Korea to Miami, Florida and it’s looking like we better do something together now before we part ways. So this trip is more than a bachelorette  party. It’s also our celebration that, despite all odds, we made it to graduation. We kicked some butt and took some names. We rolled with the punches and made it out alive from the underbelly of Olin Hall.

If anyone has any advice as to where to go in Paris, stuff we shouldn’t leave without checking out, food we should try (or avoid), or anything else, please let me know. Like I said above, none of us have been to Paris. It’s going to be quite the experience and we’re up for doing as much as we can in the span of 3 days.

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Wedding Song

As this event begins to take shape, I find myself moving from the large tasks on the to-do list to the finer details. We have a venue, I have a dress and we have a few people who are committed to paying for the catering, cake and maybe even open bar. With only 3 months now, the focus shifts to things like flowers, favors and music. That music piece seems mostly figured out since I hope to save money by hiring a DJ instead of a band. But what will my wedding song be? I have no idea.

I had forgotten there was such a thing until a classmate asked me about it. She finds weddings very important and the song that you dance to as a married couple carries significant weight with her. I guess I can see that. Nearly all the romantic comedies dealing with weddings make a big deal about this song. In “The Wedding Planner” J.Lo pointed out how Fran’s wedding was doomed from the moment she chose teal as the color for the bridesmaid dresses and Olivia Newton John’s “I Honestly Love You.” Ok, so maybe this is the only movie I can remember so clearly, but I’m sure other rom-coms have married couples who fight about the wedding song and oh-my-gosh how could you not remember what our wedding song was? It’s similar to the usual fight seen in movies of the couples who make a big fuss about “their song”, you know, that day they met and sparks flew and they kissed and fell in love. Bad example coming up, but it’s the only one I can think of: Adam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale in the movie “Click” showed how important that song was. He practically saved his marriage by recalling it!

Not to get all sappy, or show the full extent of my useless pop culture knowledge, but I think I should devote time to choosing this song before we end up dancing to the Macarena as newlyweds in front of nearly 100 guests. I know I don’t want something too slow or cryptic either. I want something that says, “we’re married and this song speaks our joy.” Even though it hasn’t been approved by the groom, I like Jack Johnson’s music. In particular, I like “We’re Better Together.” Does it sound wedding appropriate? Maybe not, but it does have the message I would like to convey and it sounds kinda summery, which guess what season contains July?

Anyway, my choice in a song is limited by my musical taste and lack of time to listen through entire rows of artists at the music store. Have you any suggestions on a romantic song that’s danceable? I’m not looking to waltz or do the foxtrot, just the typical high school slow dance. That is, unless we can cram in a full week’s worth of swing dance lessons before the big day. But then it would look like we’re performing in a dance competition being judged for our style, rhythm and on-stage chemistry. Scratch that. I’m keeping it simple.

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