A lot has happened on the wedding front in the past few weeks—our invitations went out last Monday and we already have several RSVPs (most of them have been “yes”). And a few gifts have already arrived (thanks guys!). Also, our wedding rings are in and I have my first dress fitting next week!

But even with all of these developments, my to-do list is actually not that long right now. Here’s a peek at my list for this week (good thing I’ve got a long weekend!):

1) Finish and print ceremony programs

2) Finish packet for out-of-town guests with itinerary, directions, etc.

3) Send our DJ a list of songs we want played at the reception

4) Attend dress fitting (and remember everything I need to bring—jewelry, undergarments, tiara, etc.)

5) Hit Sephora for some new makeup for the wedding

It’s crazy to me that it’s actually crunch-time now. This summer absolutely flew by!

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone!

The whole time I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve thought it would be cute to have Justin, my fiancé, write a post. Then I had the idea of “interviewing” him, asking him questions to find out his point of view. Listen in on our conversation (which we had while watching the Olympics, of course):

EH: What’s been the toughest thing for you about planning the wedding?
JT: Staying involved in things I’m typically not interested in—flowers and ribbons, for example. I want to be involved but sometimes it’s hard because you take the reins and do the things you‘re good at, like planning and organization.

EH: That’s true. Next question: The wedding is in Indiana—you and your family are from New York City. How do you feel about this?
JT: It’s going to be hard because a lot of people in my family won’t be able to be there. It’s something that I have to deal with. It’s either we do it here and you don’t get to see your family or we do it there and I don’t get to see my family.

EH: Right. We discussed that a lot—it was a tough decisison. So I feel like grooms always seem to have one or two things they really care about (the bar, the food, etc.). What has been most important to you?
JT: The honeymoon. We get to go to great places—just the two of us—and relax with one another.

EH: Yep, Paris and Italy here we come. You’ve told me you’re anxious about so many people watching you during the ceremony and reception. Why?
JT: I’m nervous about doing something embarrassing in front of a lot of people, like fumbling my words or tripping over my feet. I’m not a good dancer so I’m worried about making an idiot out of myself on dance floor.

EH: You’ll be fine! How do you think you’ll stay calm before the ceremony?
JT: I’ll probably joke around with my friends.

EH: They’ll definitely make you laugh. What are you most excited about as far as the wedding?
JT: Getting married to you!

EH: Awwww! How do you feel now that the wedding is only two months away?
JT: It’s stressful. There’s a lot of stuff to do around house, stuff to do for the wedding and everyday stuff like work. It’s tough for a guy because planning a wedding is not a guy thing. I feel responsible for taking care of things like making sure the budget is OK, making sure our flights are booked, logistical stuff like that. I also worry about other people getting there. I want to make sure I’m not burdening people. I want people to have a good time. It’s been a year of preparation and I’m just anxious for it to happen. I’m just ready for it to be here.

And I couldn’t agree more! We are so ready to walk down the aisle, and we’ll get to do just that in 58 days.

On Monday, I had a phone call with our officiant to talk about how our ceremony will go. It’s going to be pretty quick, I think (which is fine with us!)…here’s the order of events:

Seating of my Grandfather and the Mothers

Justin, his groomsmen, and our officiant go up to the altar

Bridesmaids, then flower girl and ring bearer come down the aisle

My Dad escorts me down the aisle

Our officiant gives a welcome and Statement of Intentions (meaning he’ll ask Justin “Do you take this woman?” then he’ll ask me “Do you take this man?” and we say “I Do!”)

Justin’s mother, Angela, will do a reading

Our officiant will read from First Corinithians (this is the “Love is patient…Love is kind” passage) and give a short message concerning marriage, touching on topics like love, commitment and forgiveness

Exchange of vows

Short prayer/blessing

My friend Lori will do a reading (we’ve been close since 2nd grade!)

Exchange of rings

Pronouncement of marriage and introduction to the audience

Recessional

And then we’re done! After a few group pictures, we’ll head into the cocktail hour, do a receiving line (hopefully) and then be introduced into the reception. Then we’ll eat dinner and have a blast with our guests. I’m getting so excited!

As the wedding gets closer (we’ve got about 2 ½ months to go!), we’ve been starting to think more about the logistics of the day—what time I’ll start getting ready, what time we’ll begin photos, what time dinner will be served, etc. We’ve also started to think about the best way to greet all of our guests. We could have as many as 200 people to greet (although that number will probably be closer to 150).

I want to have a receiving line—I think it will be the most efficient way to say hello to each of our guests and thank them for coming. I know that a lot of couples skip the line and instead make sure they go to each table and talk to everyone, but I feel like that will be hard to do.

But because we’re doing pictures after the ceremony while the guests are at the cocktail hour, my wedding planner isn’t sure we’ll have enough time after the pictures to line up and greet everyone. However, I think if our wedding photographer can get the photos done in 45 minutes (she said she probably could), that will give us 15 minutes to go to the cocktail hour, have a drink and line up with our parents right inside the reception hall. Then, we’ll receive guests as they file into the room.

Justin thinks it’s a little weird to greet everyone and then get introduced to the crowd at the reception right after that, but I think it will be fine. Anyone have any thoughts on whether to have a receiving line or not?

Although I’m now happy about the month I’m having my wedding—October—I never envisioned having a fall wedding. I always just assumed I’d get married in the summer. I love warm weather, laying out by the pool and hanging out with family and friends at backyard barbecues (well, I did this when I lived in Indiana—can’t really do that in New York City). I thought I’d have an outdoor affair in a lush, warm setting.

But the timing didn’t work out that way. We got engaged in September and we figured we’d need at least a year to plan, so a summer wedding was out of the question. However, we’re still going to try to make my outdoor wedding dream come true. Our ceremony is scheduled to take place in a woodsy Outdoor Grotto (see picture below—up by the statue is where I’ll start making my way down the aisle, which will be sprinkled with rose petals to cover the ugly concrete) right outside the reception building (called the Providence Center) on the St. Mary-of-the-Woods College campus. But October weather in Indiana can be unpredictable—it could be 40 degrees and rainy/cold or 70 degrees and sunny. If the weather is bad, we’ll have the ceremony inside the Providence Center in the O’Shaughnessy Dining Room, a large room with beautiful white pillars and stained-glass windows. In this case, our wedding coordinator and her staff will take the ceremony decorations down while everyone is mingling during the cocktail hour and then set up the reception décor. The prospect of having to do that makes me a little nervous, but they’ve done it many times before and they’re great, so it should be fine.

 On a completely different note, I had the LASIK procedure last Friday, and despite a little initial discomfort, it went well! I can see!