A Homemade Wedding You Say?

The first things I started to think about when I finally wrapped my head around the fact that after 7+ years of this relationship, we're actually getting married, was the kind of wedding I envisioned us throwing ourselves.  I knew that we'd be paying for it ourselves so budget was going to be a huge factor.  I knew we didn't want to have all the same things that accompany most cookie cutter events.  We want our day to be different and unique.  A perfect example of our very personalities that everyone will enjoy and remember for years to come.  What this ultimately means is that anything one could buy, someone else could buy.  Anything that we want to be unique from what anyone else could have, we'll have to alter with our own touches or make for ourselves completely.  And so we have ourselves a perfect little homemade wedding in the making.  

       This concept started with the ring.  Nate designed it himself and using a hand me down stone from his mom, had it made especially for me.  We'll do the same with the bands.  This is a good example of how some things can be still unique to us though we are unable to make them for ourselves as our skills do not, at this point in life, include metal work.
       We also plan to make the save the dates, invites, hand stamp the cocktail napkins, the center pieces, the groom and groomsman's boutonnieres, my head piece, favors, even the tables and seating!  I'm sure there is more that I've forgotten but essentially anything that one would take time creating or searching for the perfect item, we'll make specifically to our liking.  It's a lot of work, but we've got a bit of time and with a trusty planning binder and drawn out time line, we'll have no problem having everything done in time.  And if we don't then you'll have the pleasure of reading about the chaos right here!

       So please share with friends and other brides-to-be and you will all be sure to enjoy reading about all the excitements, failures and achievements of this homegrown handmade wedding of 2011. 

We've all gotta a little Bridezilla in us

February 11, 2010.  That's the day I realized it was impossible to save myself from becoming the next monster to walk the earth crushing buildings and single-handedly transferring a perfectly functioning human brain into a steady twitter like stream of wedding updates.  I have found myself staying up until the wee hours of morn searching for venues or, though I hate to admit it, setting up fake registries just in the hopes that we'll win a huge chunk of change to help pay for this said brain melting event.  I listen very carefully to every word of every song I hear and categorize it according to wedding friendly and to which part of the day it fits best.  I look at every color as it would look as a bridesmaid dress or ribbon for the centerpieces. 

I must stop!

I started this blog to help release some of the crazy ideas that buzz in and out of my consciousness.  To have a space to vent when I know I  really shouldn't bring up yet another conversation about tents or fonts for the cocktail napkins.  When I know the Hubs to Be can't take another single minute of my spurting off.

I got him a book and I got on his case right away about reading it and the one time he brought something up that he felt like sharing with me, I snapped at him for bringing up a concept I had already seen.  How would he know that what he was referring to is what laced the pages of the only two pages I read whole book before handing it over to him as if it were something he'd always wanted.  I'm a lunatic!  He'll never want to have anything to do with the planning if I act that way every time he tries to contribute.   Nor with me I dare say!

Honestly though, the concept he pointed out?  To have sacred wedding free zones.  This is something that not only shall I force myself to embrace, it will be the one thing that shall keep me sane.  I just know it....

Today was the first test.  We had our first date day in over a month and it was our first wedding free DAY.  A whole day!  I realize now that it must consist of certain hours and spaces.  A whole day is just too much, especially all at once.  I made it to 4pm or so.  We went out for a late lunch and the table we sat at had a chalkboard surface.  So we're drawing and having a nice quiet time and I break out a little sketch of a three tiered cake.  Nate "Time to go?" Yeah, that's my cue.  I make it all the way home and bam spend hours upon hours (into the next day even) doing what amounts to nothing.  I had to make up for all the wedding free hours I had endured!  I have to say, we did have a very nice time together today but it was quiet.

So that's my quest for this next 516 days.  To find solace in small pockets of time where wedding anything is banned.  I will eventually find how to get today's impossible feat to work for me.

So stay tuned for a year and a half of wedding tips, rants, raves and crazy talk.  Thanks for tuning in and until next time, this mud truckin Bridezilla is signing off.