Current RSVP count: 81 yes. 41 no.

And after looking through the invite list, we anticipate having about 125 guests. That’s significantly fewer than the 175 guests we originally thought we’d have. While I hate that a lot of people can’t make it, I’m also sort of relieved that the wedding will be a little more intimate.

When we started wedding-planning, I don’t think we realized how important the guest count was going to be. Now we see that it determines how much food the venue will need to make, how many tables we’ll have (which dictates how many centerpieces and chair covers we’ll need), how many escort cards, table cards, favors and programs we need to make, and so on. It’s tough not knowing how many of these things we’ll need—for example, we made 150 programs just in case we needed that many.

The RSVPs are due October 4, so we should know for sure how many people we’ll have in just nine days (although I do anticipate having to call several people to get their answer!).

With only a month to go (I can’t believe I’m saying that), Justin and I have been very busy with wedding stuff. We’ve picked up our wedding rings and have been working on compiling our wedding ceremony programs!

We’ve actually been working on the programs for a while. We decided to make them ourselves to save printing costs. Way back when we first got engaged, I spent a lot of time browsing other brides’ profiles on theknot.com and I liked one bride’s program design. So I borrowed it and started customizing it to our needs. I filled in our wedding party’s names and just recently, I plugged in the order of our ceremony and the names of the readings.

Finding the right paper for the program was a little tough. At first, we were going to print a photo of us on the front of the program, but we couldn’t find pretty paper that worked with a photo. For example, we had ivory pearlized paper, but the photo didn’t print well on it. We looked fuzzy. So I decided to try to find paper that was pretty enough to stand alone as a cover (without a photo or words). I wanted a teal to match my wedding colors or an interesting-looking ivory (the color of my dress). I went to Staples, Office Max and Jam, a store here in New York City, but didn’t find anything that would really work. Then I went to Paper Presentation (also in NYC). They have SO many choices, and a lot of great stuff. I found several options, including a recycled ivory (with those little flecks in it), an almost-foil-looking silver and translucent, vellum-looking paper. I bought samples of those and brought them home to show Justin. We decided the coolest option was the ivory translucent with a photo printed on the first page, so it’s a sort of shadowy effect (you can sort of see a photo of us through the translucent paper). I’ll post a photo of the program soon—once they’re finally done!

Last weekend, my wonderful bridesmaid Meredith threw me a surprise shower and bachelorette party. All of my NYC girlfriends were able to make it, and we had a blast. Meredith had just moved into a new apartment, and I thought I was just going over there to see it and hang out for a few hours. But when I arrived, all of my friends were there. Meredith had made some of my favorite Indiana food (she even got the recipes from my mom!) and decorated her apartment. She even had a chair decorated with “Bride to Be” paraphernalia for me. We played a shower game, ate some yummy food and I opened presents (thanks girls!). Then, they told me it was time to change into something to go out. So I found a shirt in Mer’s closet to wear, touched up my makeup and we were off to a bar in the city called Mason Dixie. This was a great pick–they had mac and cheese, beer and a mechanical bull(!). Needless to say, we had a good time.

This weekend will be full of fun too–Justin and I are flying my dad into New York for two Yankees games (his favorite team!). We had thought for a long time about getting my mom and dad each a nice present to thank them for hosting our wedding, and decided that rather giving them a material gift, we’d get them “experience” gifts. We’re bringing my dad to New York, and next year, my mom and I are going to England (I’ll pay some of her expenses). They deserve these trips for all the hard work, finances and love they’ve put into the wedding.

Have a great weekend, all!

So I had my first wedding dress fitting yesterday and wow–what an experience! I didn’t expect it to be so stressful. I got there a bit late (darn NJ Transit bus) and so felt rushed. The woman brought the dress out and luckily, I still loved it! I got into the dress and an attendant started lacing up the corset. It was a bit tight. After some undergarment adjusting, I felt better and she laced me all the way up. My bridesmaid Meredith started helping me get my jewelry out and I put it on. We realized that the tiara/headband I had bought months ago is just too silver-y and bling-y to go with my creamy ivory wedding dress (too bad it was not-returnable!). It was just overpowering. Same with the rhinestone necklace I ordered online. It competed too much with the very detailed neckline of the dress’s bodice (luckily I can return the necklace!).

So after I was all in the dress and had my shoes on so they could do the hemming, another attendant showed me what my French bustle would look like. It was really pretty!

Then it came time to pick out a veil. I tried several on, and with the length of my train (it’s long), I decided on a cathedral with rhinestones scattered throughout (not too many, just enough to give the train some sparkle). It turns out the veil comes as a set with an elbow-length blusher (but the two veils will be on different combs so I don’t have to wear both if I don’t want to).

Finally, the seamstress came in and put pins in for alterations. After a brief misunderstanding (she thought I wanted a regular bustle when I wanted a French), we were done and I got out of my (beautiful) dress. I go back for my second fitting on Sept. 29–I hope the dress fits correctly after the alterations and that I still like the veil!