Nesting Spoons: Happy Six Months

Six months ago today, we were doing this ... And this ... I love Big Spoon and I'm so happy to be his wife.

Lost Our Caterer

I know things are going to go wrong, but when they do ... it feels just awful.

Today. I was informed that my caterer has been let go from her job at a popular local Nashville restaurant. This is a big blow considering we were getting a very good deal and were weeks away from finalizing the menu and signing a contract. The crazy thing is, the establishment didn't even contact me to let me know! I found out from our mutual friend and emailed my former caterer immediately. She is a friend and I feel terrible that she has lost her job.

So, we're back to the drawing board on this one. Fortunately, our engagement is long and its better for this to have happened now than later. Big Spoon and I are going to talk strategy tonight.

 Nashville blogger brides, whom do you recommend?

The Dress - Part 2

Elegance Bridal Gala was held in Mt. Juliet on August 13. It was my first bridal show (the big ones scare me) and I was invited as one of Ashley's (of Ashley's Bride Guide) Fab Five VIP brides.

I arrived early with my friend, JT. We went into the Cherished Memories Bridal and Formal room/booth first to look at the pretty dresses. All the dresses were lovely, but one caught my eye immediately. I told JT that it looked like a cross between the Pronovias and the Allure I liked at The White Room.

Throughout the night, I kept going into the room to look at this dress and before leaving for a quick bite before the fashion show, I asked the store owner about it. I found out that it is a little known brand called "Ella" out of Australia and it was $$$. Ouch. Not super ouch, just ouch.

I scheduled two appointments with them - once to try it on with my Mom and for their trunk show in September, at which I would purchase the dress for 15% off and order it closer to our wedding date.

And then, I put it on. And I loved it even more. Great! I was super excited about this dress, even though it was a bit more than I had budgeted for. It is a combination of all the things I loved about the others, but definitely more "me" than the one Mom & Dad liked.

And then, I got a hair up my arse today to check the bridal events on Ashley's Bride Guide. Thank goodness she is on top of everything in Nashville! The store is CLOSING.

CLOSING!?!

O-M-G. I called them immediately and they confirmed this, but they still have my sample and she has put my name on it. Not really sure if that's insurance, but its all I've got. The sample *almost* fit and the dress is a lace up, so I think even if I buy the sample, I'm in the clear.

Big gulp. Stay tuned for the next installment of "If the Dress Fits".

Trimming the Fat and Other Stress

As the months roll by and 10/10/2010 becomes more of a reality than a distant date on the calendar, I have become increasingly obsessed with the budget. I like to think that I am a practical, frugal and sane bride. Big Spoon and I certainly have a handle on our finances and both feel that spending an outrageous amount of money on one day is foolish - for us. We sat down and listed our priorities, compromised and set a budget.

I knew things would come up, I just didn't anticipate how soon.

The wedding dress I have found is a bit more than I wanted to spend, which means the difference that would have paid for undergarments, shoes, accessories ... is now going into the cost of the dress. My parents want to pay for it, but my Dad was laid off from his job and I can't in good conscience let them pay more than a fixed amount.

The venue we are renting provides chairs and tables. That means we provide the linens, and even though I have busted my butt researching prices and contracts, weighing the pros and cons of making them or buying them, we still (at this point) only anticipate affording the table linen - no chair covers. The chairs are ugly, in my opinion, and they bother me. I think this is something I will eventually get over - a minor detail that is not going to majorly effect our wedding day - but that doesn't keep me from fantasizing about them now.

I decided in the beginning that I am perfectly capable of planning this wedding and then handing the reigns over to a friend or day-of-coordinator. What I didn't anticipate is HOW MUCH day-of-coordinators cost! Holy moses! I've asked a dear friend of mine (who is also doing our flowers) to assist and I hope it works out for us. I feel confident that she will do a fine job, I just worry that perhaps she'll need a helper.

So, in my head all the time, I'm thinking about a) the things I can't have b) the things I shouldn't want but do c) or how to cut costs in other areas.

Is this sort of thing normal?

The Devil Is In the Details

This week, my brain has been racing on a daily basis, round and round the wedding planning racetrack. I'm beginning to confuse myself because I can't concentrate on one thing at a time. Linen rental, no invitations ... no wait, table runners ...oooh, flowers - NO! linen rental ... ebay? ...

All day, every day and it is getting quite tiring. So, I'm writing down (or typing down) my goals for this weekend:

1) Shop for and possibly find my wedding dress Saturday. 2) Organize (completely) my wedding planning binder.

If there is time for anything else, awesome. I just hope I can stay focused on the organization part.

A Picture's Worth ...

I've been wondering today how anonymous we should stay on our blog and for how long? This is an outlet for us to share our experiences with others, especially friends and family. I really want to post engagement photos because we are so proud and pleased with them. Wonder what Big Spoon thinks about this? What do you think, blog world?

Outside the Box

I am finding more every day that planning our wedding together is bringing us closer as a couple. Big Spoon has been very patient with me as I wane back and forth on the "details", knowing that I will find a creative solution that pleases us both. We do well with the big things - from our decision to not have a traditional wedding cake to choosing our photographer. I'm also finding that if I keep an open mind, Big Spoon has great suggestions and keeps me grounded.

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to go wedding dress shopping with my mom, my MOH (who is also my little sister) and one of my best friends. Although dress shopping wasn't exactly what I had anticipated (as one person described it "it's like shopping for a bathing suit!"), it yielded a fun "girls day out" as well as the inspiration for our color palette.

Upon returning home, I discovered that Big Spoon had started laundry and organizing the office. Being in a relationship with him is easily the most rewarding and joyful experience I've ever had: we work as a team, talk through our problems and allow each other personal "space" - to have a girls day shopping, to work late or have friends over on short notice.

Oh yeah, here's our color palette: black, white, ivory, champagne, silver. Its super neutral and will allow me to detail the event without fear of mis-matching a color, simplify things like linens and bridesmaid's dresses, as well as open up possibilities of flower colors.

Happily Ever After

Big Spoon brought up "marriage" this weekend; what it means to each of us and what we expect. However, the conversation got way off base because I had been bottling up some personal worries and frustrations. We never finished our conversation about marriage simply because I had neglected - in our day to day life - to address these issues.

I sometimes find it easy to get wrapped up in planning and its good to have these reminders of the importance of our growth as a couple; reminders that keeping communication open is one of the keys to a successful relationship.

It's very early in our planning process and I hope that going forward, I can remember to just take time to talk, whether it be about how each of us are feeling, our careers, the wedding or anything. Simply put, it's important that we express our feelings - both good and bad.

Making things work by taking a step back

Over the weekend, Little Spoon's brother was scheduled to come back to be in his friend's wedding on Saturday and then to meet us that night in preparation for flying out to school the next morning. There was just one problem: We didn't know when he was going to be coming back in town, and we had plans to go to Little Spoon's friend's Fourth of July party. En route to the party, we got a text message from her brother asking where he should meet us!

After some frantic back and forth between him, Little Spoon, and their younger sister, we finally hatched a plan to make sure he wouldn't have to be alone for the Fourth while still ensuring that Little Spoon would get to be with her friend. I offered to drive up and meet her brother off the highway and get some chairs for us to sit in back at home while Little Spoon could stay at the party. I pulled into the parking lot of the agreed-upon place perhaps 30 seconds before the van containing her brother came up, so the timing ended up working out nicely. After the party, we came back to the house, watched some Robot Chicken, and got some good sleep before Little Spoon took him to the airport the next day.

The moral of the story for me was that given a bit of time to think about things, we can handle problems before us well. However, if we insist on rushing into something without thinking it through, more problems will likely arise. Taking a breath to think and strategize together is a good thing.