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08/31/2009
toppers
toppers
   
5 days
Tired, anxious and excited
What an emotional rollercoaster I've been on! I was so stressed out last week, but it seems like things are now under control. Bridesmaid is taking care of her own stuff again, so I'm actively not worrying about it :) She pulled off a fun stagette on Saturday too!

I've been getting some jitters and nerves, feeling a little overwhelmed and intimidated by this big life change. I think most of that is due to being overly anxious about the in-laws arriving and having all the parents meeting for the first time, and going from being just us to a whole bunch of people constantly around, etc.

But really... I'm getting married this week! I'm gonna be a Mrs! And I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together :)

The Best Man arrived yesterday... I just have a day and a half of work left... it's all starting!

I'm already so so tired though... almost fell asleep waiting for the lady to do my eyebrow waxing during my lunch break...
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08/27/2009
stress
stress
   
Single Digits!
9 Days, Bridesmaid Stress
Update:

Yay she answered the phone this time! I didn't get into the dress issue, but instead asked if we could do dinner or something on Saturday before the stagette. That should give us some time to catch up and hopefully resolve things/figure out if there's a bigger issue.

Still nervous about all of this, but at least we have somewhere to start from :)


Okay... I tried to call my BM with the dress disaster (see post below) on Monday but she didn't answer or return my voicemail message. Emailed again on Wednesday to get a more detailed status of the dress and no response to that yet either. (And any attempts to find out how life is going for her, etc have been unsuccessful as well).

I also asked in the email about the stagette on Saturday that she was so insistant on planning (and then was complaining about having to contact the other people..). So far I know that I need to be ready at 6:30pm with walking shoes... no idea if there are dinner plans, if I need to drive to meet somewhere, if people are meeting at my place or if I'm being picked up.... or if this is even on anymore!

And now I'm starting to feel actually guilty that I didn't freak out more at the beginning and take control over her dress alterations. :-/

Guess I'll wait to try call again tomorrow evening so that I'm not hounding her.

Everything else has been going wonderfully though... this weekend the Best Man arrives in town and next Wednesday all of the family and wedding party arrive. Just 4.5 days of work left including today. Yay!
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08/25/2009
question
question
dress (but in hunter green)
questiondress (but in hunter green)
   
Ask a Question
How would you handle this?
If a bridesmaid doesn't have her dress on the wedding day, it's simple, she sits out as a regular guest. But what if she has her dress but it doesn't fit or it's altered or covered up with other clothing to the point where it looks weird or way off from the others? And isn't the matron or maid of honor?

My bridesmaids all gave input on the dress that we ordered. They all loved it and said it would be something they could wear again. It came in in May and since it was from my hometown I brought the dress to my local bridesmaid already in May. She tried it on immediately and we were disappointed to find that it was too small. We talked it over and figured a lace-up back instead of zipper would probably fix it, and she was simply going to get her mom to do the work (with her saying how good her mom is). Sucks, but most of the dresses needed work of some sort. Overall we loved how it looked and I was really happy at how cute it looked, even small, on her.

Fast forward to this past Saturday. I get a frantic call from her how they've been working on the dress and it's not working too well and it's loose under the arms, and sits a little off, etc etc with every statement and tone making it sound like she's expecting something of me or blaming me for this.

My wedding is next week. She's had this dress for 3 months knowing it needed work.

I listened to her calmly and asked her if there was anything I could do or if she needed my opinion on anything. As if there's anything I can do about it NOW? If it had been even a month ago I might have been able to rush order a bigger size... but there's no way I can do that in 10 days!

Monday she then emails me and rants about how awful the dress is and it was never meant for her and she's never doing this again and that she refuses to spend any more time or money on it.

I suggest that she maybe can go to the seamstress I found and that I'd help pay for it. I also suggest that maybe she could just wear a little sweater or shrug over it if it's not fitting perfectly. She responds that if her mom can't fix it, no one can and that a shrug won't work but a coat will.

A coat? Huh? I sent one last note attempting to be sweet and kind and concerned (which I am) since she really doesn't sound like herself... but I'm now I'm paranoid. What exactly is she going to be attempting to wear? What do I do when she's here freaking out over a wrinkle in her dress on my wedding day? I want to have a happy, fun day for everyone, not one filled with negativity.
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08/11/2009
gifts
gifts
   
Bridal Shower
Surprise!
Not a surprise bridal shower.. but an unexpected one! I was feeling kind of down that I wasn't going to get a church wedding shower simply because I'm in a different city than my family and usually they're initiated by family members (even though it's a church community event). I felt kind of forgotten and left out. Not about the gifts, but about the thought behind it.

BUT...

I just got off the phone with a young woman from church asking what days I'm free to have a bridal shower!!! I am sooo surprised about this, and extremely grateful and excited and happy.

It's not about the gifts, but honestly this will be a nice boost to us too as we're struggling to get through this time of FH not being able to work.

I feel so blessed!
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08/07/2009
favor3
favor3
   
FH
doing the rest of the wedding prep!
Well, since my FH is at home all day (not allowed to work - immigration stuff)... he's taking on the few remaining menial wedding prep tasks! I think it's so cute :)

He spent four hours the other day trimming photos and placing them in the frames for our favours. He'll also be folding our ceremony programs and making some extra chocolate flowers along with getting our apartments ready for the invasion of guests.

At least there isn't much left, but having him take care of these things is awesome - it means we have more relaxation time in the evening to spend together and just be excited.

Which we both are.. I love hearing him count down the days.. and oohing and aahhing over our little details. I'm so glad he's as happy with it all as I am!

I think I must be spoiled to have such an involved FH!
fh helping, favors
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07/29/2009
class
class
   
Marriage Prep
First class
Well, FH and I met with our wonderful pastor last night for our first of four marriage prep sessions. It was great! This session was just like a Bible study on what is taught about marriage and the relationship between husband and wife.

After dealing with so much frustration the last few days, it was wonderful to remember how blessed we really are with each other!

And after that, I finally slept properly again :)

It's going to be a lot of hard work for awhile - especially on just my income and him not being allowed to work till next year.. but we're a team and will do what's necessary for our life together.
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07/28/2009
upset
upset
   
Bad News - FH was denied
Can't work till next year
Well, the lawyer called yesterday and FH's work permit extension was denied.

The good news is he doesn't have to leave the country and re-enter after all, we can apply for a restoration of status as a visitor (bye-bye to another $700ish).

The worst part is that means he won't be able to work again until early next year, after the permanent resident paperwork is processed after the wedding.

Could definitely be worse and we knew this was a possiblilty but it's still disappointing and still sucks.

Let's hope my company's stock keeps going up so I can exercise some options!
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07/27/2009
anxiety
anxiety
   
It's finally hitting
40 days
Okay.. I love my FH and we have been through a lot in the last two years, dealing with long distance... him coming to faith... as well as immigration stress.. we are an excellent team and he is a wonderful partner. We love and respect each other, laugh a lot and have the same vision for our future. We're homebodies who just enjoy being together and working on little things (cooking together is awesome!).

Our planning is almost complete - just a few minor things yet. The planning has not caused us to fight, in fact we have worked together on it all and it is the vision of both of us. We're excited to celebrate and throw this party for our family and friends.

But wow is the magnitude of it all is finally starting to hit! I couldn't sleep last night. I'm getting nervous thinking about walking to the front and saying my vows in front of everyone. I'm anxious about the fact that I've only barely met his family and have no idea what their roles will be in our future... or even if our future will end up taking me far away from the life I know.

I'm scared of the unknown.

I think we have worked so hard on everything that we haven't had a chance in awhile to just sit back and enjoy. This weekend is our 2nd anniversary from meeting/first date (after being online friends for 7ish years prior)... I think that'll be the perfect opportunity for some special us time :)

Time also to pray and trust and remember that God has brought us together and will guide us. What a comfort!
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07/22/2009
hair
hair
   
45 Days
Not much left to do!
Grr.. must find my camera cable to upload pictures..

I'm so happy that my progress has gone so well. Monday I had my dress fitting (should be able to pick it up next week already) and last night I had my hair and make-up trial (hair will be a style similar to the picture but framing my face more). I love the girl I've found for it! She's great. Calgary brides - check out Get Banged Salon Boutique!

I've started touching base with all my helpers/family/wedding party/etc.

My remaining to do list looks something like:

- make one more batch of chocolate daisies for back-ups for the centrepieces
- glue the ribbon on my reception programs
- order and fold the ceremony programs
- assemble table numbers
- pre-marriage class
- order food for receiving line and wedding day lunch
- finalize details with vendors
- clean clean clean my place
- get marriage licence
- finalize seating plan when RSVPs are in

All of that could be done in a single weekend! And I still have 6 weeks. Which is good, because I want lots of time for getting my place ready and organizing all the stuff into boxes for the church and hall.

Tonight we're taking the night off and having a mini date-night. Think we might order in and play our new Carcasonne game and just spend some quality time together.
calgary, hair, makeup, get banged salon, progress, 45 days, to do
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07/15/2009
reception program cover
reception program cover
   
Almost there!
Gotten a lot done
I haven't posted for a little while but things have sure been busy. My little sister is now married - it was a beautiful day - and the reality that it's now my turn is slowly setting in. Feels so weird, somehow! I still can't believe how different our styles are and yet how everything has gone so well for both of us.

I had my three days of wedding-prep madness and did accomplish most of what I wanted to. I put together my centrepieces and even took a picture to share with you all... but I can't find the cable to connect the camera to the computer. Hopefully I'll find it soon, otherwise find a memory card reader or something.

All of our wedding purchases are made now and now I'm working on the last bits of stationary. I printed out my programs for the reception (the cover is the picture) and will be putting them together this week, plus I've already got most of the place cards done.

All that's really left is printing and folding the ceremony programs, putting pictures in the frames for favors, assembling the table numbers, rent a vehicle, order some food and then communicating with everyone involved!!

I really can't wait and just wish it was closer already...

The wedding week plans are coming together too. The Best Man is coming out the previous weekend and everyone else seems to be arriving on the Wednesday. Perfect! Thursday will be a fun day meant to introduce all the family/wedding party and just hanging out, then Friday will be all the last bits of prep, decorating the church and rehearsal. It's going to be great!

Now just need to wait and see who all the FMIL ends up taking along...
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chessa05

4 years since wedding
"Charity"
"Dolan"
Sep 05, 2009
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Green
Simple but classy.
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