Long time no blog

Apologies for the delay in blogging. Although I won't get into it too much here, my work situation has been exceptionally difficult lately, and has made it hard to focus on things like planning the wedding, coming up with creative recipes, or sprucing up the apartment.

Luckily, we're at a point at least with the wedding where we don't have any immediate to-do's on our list. I'm trying to take the week before Christmas to go back to Iowa, both to see my family and also to do things like meet with florists, go dress shopping with my girls, and actually sit down with my Matron o' H and Bridesmaid S to talk about things. Mr. C will join me at the end of the week to visit the venue, try some macaroons (instead of cake?), and also hopefully do our engagement photos.

The big exciting news right now is that my parents will be visiting for almost a week at the very beginning of November. I haven't seen them since April, which is way, way, way too long. I'm really excited. And, actually, while we'll spend most of the time just enjoying each others company, there are some wedding tasks as well.

First, I get to (finally) show my mom my dress. I actually thought I would call the salon where I bought it to see if they'd mind us coming in to try it on there. Since she wasn't with me when I bought it, maybe that's a way we can still get that experience.

Secondly, we're also looking for my mom's dress! I was browsing around on Pinterest awhile back and saw this beauty:

via Nordstrom

It is out of the box for my mom, but I think its still very pretty and looks comfortable. Plus the navy I think will go well with the dusty blue for the girls. I sent it to her, and she's ordering it. She'll have it sent to my apartment out here, so she can try it on while she's visiting.

And finally, this will be the first time my parents meet Mr. C's parents. We're really looking forward to that. I love his parents, and am so grateful for the support they've provided me already, and am so happy to be acquiring them as my own family. I'm really excited for them to meet each other, especially because we see a lot of similarities between my mom and Mr. C's dad. Should be fun to see them together in person!

Picture vs. Reality

For a long time, when I thought of what my wedding day would look like, the pictures in my head looked something like this:

via Bridal Guide

But, that would be a wedding all about me. And I don't want that! The whole point of this is Mr. C and I joining together, so the wedding needs to reflect that. The wedding that Mr. C and I are having is taking place here:

via Des Moines Register

What that means, then, is that I'm having to figure out how to transition the ideas that I had for the first picture into the reality for the second picture. And I'll be honest with you, I haven't figured it out. I've let it stress me out for WEEKS now.

Finally, last night, I realized that it was probably time to call in the professionals. This morning, I called the florist my family has used since forever. We didn't talk flowers, or centerpieces, or bouquets, but they are sending me some information.

Even more reassuring for me was the fact that they did a wedding for a couple who lived in Oregon, and who the florist never actually saw in person. We'll be going back home in December, and so we won't have to be that drastic, but knowing that they are comfortable with long distance correspondence is reassuring.

I'll have to talk with them about more specific flowers and centerpieces and all that before we book with them, of course, but I think I'd forgotten that there are people that do this for a living and was just sort of expecting myself to have to have all of the answers figured out. Thank goodness that's not the case!

Home

"And through this process, I realized that this is what marriage is. It’s making a home, where you are, no matter what the circumstances. It’s being home, whenever you’re with your partner. It’s not waiting for the one-days, and the might-bes, and mourning the could-have-beens. It’s being home. Now."

- Meg of APW fame