Roller Coaster Week!

This week has been nothing short of insanity. Actually, the past few weeks have been in wedding world. Let's re-cap, shall we?

Highs: Our Save-the-Dates are just about finished, thanks to the lovely Kyle Rebolledo and her super sweet skillz!

Lows: We had to part ways with our wedding planner. Mixed feelings about that.

3 weeks ago or so we looked at the calendar and said to ourselves "Hey, self. You've had this planner for about 6 months now. Has she actually done anything?" The answer, sadly, was no. In 6 months I had found our centerpieces, purchased a sample and tested it out and everything. Priced out said centerpieces. Finalized dress accessories. Picked out bridesmaids dresses. Completed a detailed budget. Finalized STD cards. Looked into photographers and DJ's. Finalized an officiant. And still...NO VENUE!

When we got engaged, we knew 25 months would be a long time but that it would sneak up on us pretty quickly. Now we're halfway through our engagement time period (14 months left) and we don't have too much to show for it. You would think the thing we're spending 50% of our budget on would be at least 50% ready to go at this point. Afterall, we chose to have a long engagement so that we could enjoy ourselves and plan far in advance. I won't go into details, because frankly that doesn't do anyone any good. The short version is simply it had gotten to a point with our planner where we didn't trust her judgment or taste level nor did we find her to be working on the same time table as we were. It was sad to lose our deposit (albeit only $250) but if I have to choose between $250 or being a wicked mess the entire week leading up to my wedding and stressing and not knowing what was going on or if anything was going on at all...I'll take it.

I needed another conversation with myself. "Self," I said, "what the hell have you been doing for the past 3 years? Didn't you plan weddings for rich important demanding people? Why can't you give yourself the same dedication you gave to them? You clearly know what you're doing!"

So. I did. Er. I am. :-)

I must say though, Steve has been probably the most awesome anti-fiance ever! He has sent out requests for quotes, is finalizing plans for the cake, is sticking to our budget, is saving what we should be saving (as am I), knows exactly how many people and what we are looking for, and has just been an overall champ. I feel bad for brides who say their FH's didn't help or weren't engaged in the planning process because it really saves a lot of stress and time to know that your partner really does have your back and is just as excited about this special day as you are.

Now we are weighing the pros and cons of 4 different locations, are ready to sign the contract for the photographer (YAY STEPHEN GOSLING!) and are just waiting on a quote from the cake lady!

14 months to go.

421 days.

It seems like a long time. But it'll go by fast and I can't wait :-)

oh and here are the centerpieces! :-)