.wedding recap 1: .the week prior.

Well… let me rewind to the month prior. March 27th was my East Coast shower. It was fabulous. My mom hosted it at her house and about 15 of our relatives attended. They are mostly my aunts and moms cousins, but they’ve all been married for 33+ years, so to hear their advice was priceless.

The day after, my dad and I loaded up his truck and hit the road for Vegas, 2,496 miles and 41 hours later…. Here we were.

It was the first time that our dogs were together in over two years. They were the reason we met, so it was great to have them together.

With three and a half weeks to go until the wedding, we had to finish packing our house and move. Yes, the sale on our home that we owned went through and we were told to be out by April 30th. Uhhh… so we chose to move on April 3rd. My dad was here and was a priceless piece to this move. He was gung-ho for it… I would have been too if I lived in the same house for almost 40 years. However, both Flo and I knew what we were about to experience. We were moving from a single story to a two-story home…. The new crib is fabulous and we have a huge yard and the home is perfect for entertaining. That is great for me because almost everything we registered for is an entertaining piece.

So the first two and a half weeks of April were spent packing, unpacking, fixing up things, running wedding errands and trying to show my dad a good time in Vegas. We took him to Mix 94.1’s “Pet-A-Palooza” and ran into some good friends with their dogs… we even made the evening news! ;)

We took him to the “Vegas Dozen” party at Saks Fifth Avenue… we ate all of the Manchego cheese. And drank. A lot. It was fun. No photos were taking at this event.

And then on the 17th, we picked my mom, sister and niece up from the airport. This, to us, truly kicked off wedding week, since this was the start of the guests arriving! My uncle and the best man arrived on Monday. Tuesday we hosted a “Ster is cooking BBQ” and entertained in our new home for the first time. We had some of Flo’s BFFs over, the Zillaz and my family. It was just a sign of the good times to come. I loved every second of it.

Wednesday started the Bachelor activities… Flo rented a Fantasy Suite at The Palms hotel... I worked… and packed. It looks like the guys had an amazing time… who couldn’t?

Thursday was my bachelorette party. We reserved a cabana at the JW Marriott Pool and had plans to sit out in the sun and have some fun. It rained and was 56 degrees. In Las Vegas. In April. What are the chances? The weather didn’t dampen our fun; they moved us to a suite, we ate, we drank and we talked. What more can one bride want? My Zillaz treated me to a wonderful Vichy scrub, which I do not recommend after drinking. It was hard to not want to pass out in all of the heat and steam… but it made my skin ready for the spray tan. Three of the Zillaz and I got in-room spray tans for the wedding. Getting it two days before the wedding allowed us enough time to let it set, wash it off, etc. Well, I looked dirty in our Thursday meet and greet photos… oh well. I didn’t have to wear makeup or a bra, both of which I quite enjoyed.

Thursday also came with one heckuva tired groom, but his tiredness was no match for my blazing bridal stress. Actually, I wasn’t overly stressed once we got to the hotel and got settled. But his tiredness was no match for my to-do list. We had invited our out of town guests over for a little “meet and greet” party. Our party didn’t consist of much food, just some homemade chocolate sauce from Budelia’s Chocolate… I ordered six jars. They were delivered to one of Flo’s co-workers who was kind enough to bring them to me, except she didn’t know that we ordered six jars and she brought one. We made it work. Ironically, my dad’s friend sent us an Edible Arrangements fruit basket and it worked out perfectly. We served that, pretzels, the jar of sauce and tons of beer, wine, water and soda. It was actually quite fun.

Friday…. The day that I had set aside for Flo and me to relax and enjoy. We woke up, munched on whatever stash of food that we had in our room. Wait, Flo ran off to go do something... because I remember calling him and telling him that we needed to head to the spa at a certain time. Bridal Brain, it affected me. We had a spa appointment at noon for a couples massage. I had also booked a manicure and pedicure. When I checked in for the appointment, the mani and pedi wasn’t scheduled. It was my first “bridezilla” moment because in my head, I knew that my snaggle toe nails were in no condition to walk down any aisle without being groomed or painted. This is where the JW highly impressed me. It was a Friday, they were busy and booked. The spa hostess with the mostest told us to go and have our massages and that they would take care of it. So we did. It was 50 minutes of pure bliss; it was THE best massage that I had ever received. When we were finished, my mani and pedi were scheduled. Not just for me, but for Flo too. Wow.

While at the spa, I bumped into the fabulous, amazing Andeen of Hair By Andeen. She would be spending the nite with the Zillaz to get us ready for the wedding, but she took some time to enjoy the spa, the sun, the pool and get some much, way deserved R&R. She looked so fabulous. Every day she inspires me to become a better person.



And then…we head into the rehearsal….

.the bad and the ugly.

Ok, yes, I am a blogging slacker… I get it. Let’s hope that this makes up for my slacking. As of today, we are 101 days away and it can’t get here quickly enough. I know that we should enjoy this special time, I won’t be a fiancé again and I won’t plan my wedding own wedding again (vow renewal, anyone?!?) but it is sucking the life out of me. For serious.

Lately, I am feeling defeated. This is the ugly side of wedding planning that I will share with you. Of all the blogs I read, this subject hasn’t come up often, but I am not the only bride who wants to just quit, go to the courthouse and get it done. If we didn’t already pay half of our event to our venue, that would be an option.

Planning a wedding could seriously be its own job and that is why there are wedding planners- it is their job. How many weddings a year do they plan? That is their fulltime job. Me? I have a full time job and am planning a wedding, so it is becoming a bit much.

While most of the details are worked out, there are logistics to handle. So… I will go ahead and post all of the things that aren’t going right, at this point.

1. The dress. I haven’t tried it on in months. SO it may fit. I haven’t lost any weight since it arrived, months ago. I’ve been working out like a fiend, which I am loving. (More on my workouts another time)
2. I need undergarments and furnishings for this dress that I am praying fits.
3. My shower, while I am VERY appreciative that anyone invests any amount of time or money into me, it has become chaotic. My sister is trying to plan it from 2,500 miles away. I have two Zillaz here who want to step in and help more. Maybe my sis wants to be a good sis and plan it all. But we ran into some snafu’s…
4. The invites weren’t done in time. So with 4 weeks until the shower, they weren’t approved or even created. I am not sure what happened and don’t want to know.
5. My wedding invites are going out now and I don’t want to crowd the mail box with a shower invite and a wedding invite. Nothing screams “GIFT” more than two invites in one day.
6. One Zilla replied to an email and CC’d me on it. It was the email with all of the shower details and a gift idea that the girls thought of for me. So of course, I read it…. I could have NOT read it. But I now I know everything.
7. Bachelorette party. A-Zilla has offered to help plan this since she is on modified bed rest. This is a GREAT thing…but then I feel badly when the cost of anything comes up. But it is part of being in a wedding; these are things that need to be paid for and not by the bride, right? I will have a stash of cash anyway.
8. My list keeps growing
9. One of the mothers still doesn’t have a dress. And when I offered to go shopping with her, she said that it was too early. Now she wants to go next month and I am slammed with work, wedding planning and staying healthy.
10. My health. In case you didn’t know, I am a Type 1 diabetic who has been doing a decent job of maintaining good blood sugar numbers. The wedding hasn’t been stressing me out too much. Well that is starting to change. My numbers are fluctuating all over the place. The other nite, I woke up with an extreme low. So even with the working out, the healthy eating, it is my life right now that is taking me all over the numbers map.

I’ve asked Mr. Nearlywed to help keep me as stress-free as possible over the next three months. Stress free and weddings don’t normally fit in the same sentence but we can see how it works out.

Ok, there ya have it. Weddings seem like fun, but they can be insane. And there is a piece of my insanity that I’ve shared with you.

.2009 my best year yet.

When the countdown to 2009 began, it was like every other countdown 10…9…8… and then the clock struck midnight and the New Year started out normal and that lasted for about 18 seconds. Just enough time for a hug and a kiss to my boyfriend and my parents, who were there with us. And then, my boyfriend gave me a letter to read. While reading this letter, he was trying to gauge how far along I was so that he can time his proposal correctly. Yes, it was the moment I had been waiting 50 weeks for, the moment when he finally proposed. I say finally because when you know that someone is your lobster, it feels like forever until they ask you to share your life with them.

2009 was my best year, ever. It started off on a high note and is ending on a high note. The year didn’t kick off with resolutions of losing weight (at this point, I could have stood to gain back a lbs. actually); it didn’t kick off with a vow to travel or read more or to volunteer my time. It started off with me just being grateful to be alive and to be surrounded by so much love. Besides, when you have a wedding to plan, you life becomes all encompassed and you really don’t think about much else: wake up. Think about wedding colors. Eat breakfast. Think about wedding menu. Go to work. Sneak a few minute on line to browse photos. Drive home. Create your binder. You get the picture.

The year continued to go on the up and up….here, I share just a few highlights from the year:
January- started off great as you know. We then celebrated our birthdays with a weekend ski trip to Big Bear, CA. It was soooo much fun, if you missed it, then you really missed a grand old time. The weather was great, the wine was perfect, and the company was great. We had a blast and then followed up with my traditional birthday party at Caramel at Bellagio. That was the last year for the big birthday bash…. I am getting too old and am now too busy with life to focus on a big party. Although- they will probably resume in 2011. If you are wondering, Mr. Nearlywed celebrates his birthday on January 23 and me… I am the 24th. We are a few years and one day apart. It was January 22nd when I got the results back from my antibody test, confirming what we long knew: I am a Type 1 Diabetic. I was put on insulin that day and that was the last day of getting along with the scale. For the first few weeks, I was incessantly hungry. And it showed- within a month I had gained almost 10 lbs.

It was February 24th when we wrote out the first check for the wedding: we put a deposit on our venue that we later kicked to the curb. On that same February 24th, we had 14 months to go. It seemed like an eternity. We now have less than four months to go. Yes, it flies by.

In March, I had the pleasure of taking an icy cold, freezing trip back to NYC for my BFFs (A-Zilla) bridal shower and my sister’s baby shower. It was cold on the East Coast! Whew… but we still managed to trudge through NYC trying on bridal gowns. This is where my sister earned her Jackpot status—she was seven months pregnant and walked all over NYC and helped me to try on dresses. It was this time when I truly felt like there would never be the right dress for me. All of the dresses we liked were way more expensive than my budget would allow. In March, it also felt like A-Zilla’s wedding was still so far away. She is now married almost seven months and well…six-and-a-half months pregnant.

In April, most of the month is a blur, but we did manage to celebrate our “minus one” anniversary (marking the day when we will be married in one year). That was on the 24th and on the 28th we had our engagement photos. They turned out fabulous- I lurve them.

In May… The highlight of my year was getting engaged and then becoming an aunt. I will never forget the text, “Sue’s in labor. She thinks her water broke.” That text came from my dad. I was home alone and no one would answer their phones- my fiancé, my BFF, no one. I could barely contain my excitement and my desire to book a flight to New Jersey. But I waited through the nite with zero updates. So when I awoke at 5:30 am, I frantically called my dad. They were pulling up to my sister’s house and off to the hospital they were… within 90 minutes, no this is not a joke, my beautiful little angel was born. First baby. No drugs. Ninety minutes. Let’s all take a minute to hate on Ster. Ok, done. My angel was three weeks old before I got to meet her but holding her for the first time in unforgettable.

May turned into June, where I stayed for two weeks to enjoy my family and my niece. I also walked down the aisle for the first time in A-Zilla’s wedding. As soon as Trumpets Voluntary started, I looked at my dad who was in the back of the church and fought back the tears. All I could do was picture my own wedding and the emotion that went along with it. And I also was elated for my dear friend to marry the love of her life. Mr. Nearlywed and I also spent some time enjoying a little vacay time in NYC. We love NYC. Period, new line.

My wedding dress was also picked out and purchased in June. After my weight got back down and before it went back up. UGH! I actually bought a size bigger than the sample and still have issues with it…more on that.

This is also when The Nearlywed Report made its debut in Las Vegas Bride Magazine. It was my first published piece and let tell you…. I was (still am) so proud. I gave my parents an autographed copy. In case I ever hit it big.

August- the only highlight I can remember is working with the JW Marriott on moving our wedding. We spent most of the month crossing our fingers and biting our nails. We weren’t sure if we could swing the $$ but in the end it worked out.

September rolled around and we signed our contract with the JW Marriott. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.

As the year rolled on, so many more great things happened: I found out that A-Zilla is pregnant and expecting in late March, thus taking her out of the wedding, but this is much more fabu. I continued writing and discovered things like twitter and that people do enjoy my blogs and my writing!

As the year rolled on, I also continued to grow as a person and as a wife-to-be. While I didn’t try to start cooking, I did try to be more domestic and really enjoy the moments at home with my fiancé. It worked. Our house is still comfy and cozy and the quiet moments truly helped us to build a stronger bond and cherish our relationship. It is easy to get caught up in the grind of the wedding planning and the pressure of the planning. It is easy to forget about the goal of the day and that is to become a wife, not a princess (for me at least). I could see a difference in the depth of our relationship over the past year and few months.

Moving on…. In October, I interviewed for a position with Las Vegas Bride magazine to become their editor. I was offered and accepted the position. One step closer to my goal of being a writer. I love this job and I love the company! This year probably could not have been better. When December arrived, the holiday season was already flying by. Since I wasn’t at the mall this year, I didn’t get to enjoy the season as much, but that is OK- it helped to keep us from over spending. We pulled a Four Christmases and took off for the holiday weekend to our favorite get-a-way, Lake Las Vegas. It was glorious. Our last vacation as a single couple, the last vacation before we tie the knot. It was bittersweet. The next time we stay there will be as a mini-moon.

Christmas day didn’t pass us by without the wonderful news of becoming an Aunt and Uncle again! My sister in law is pregnant with a little boy and we can’t wait until he enters the world and we get to spoil the life out of him!

Life is good.

As 2010 knocks on my door, I am not trying to set more resolutions. I am not trying to become a super woman. I resolve to continue to be a good fiancé/wife, a good friend, a good daughter, sister, aunt. I resolve to surround my life with positivity and put myself, my husband (to be) and my health first. That will mean saying no once in a while and it will mean being tired because of hitting the gym so early, but in the end, it is my life and I love it.
So there ya have it folks…. 2009 was the best year yet and I can only hope that 2010 at least matches it but I have a feeling it will surpass it.

I wish you all a healthy year, a successful year and one that brings you all that yuo desire- without being greedy!

My wish for you all is good health, great happiness and much success- no matter what you set out to do, do it honestly and always be positive.

Cheers!

.where i've been part 2.

Ok- Where I have been, part 2…

What a few months it has been, as you already know.

During a shaky economy, nothing can be more wonderful than being slammed at work, right? Sure- if you aren’t planning a wedding, writing for four blogs and a magazine. My life in August-October flew by. At my Event Planning job, we were slammed with events, especially in the month of September. I find that on days when you are on your feet, physically and mentally, all day long it leaves you with zero motivation for your own life once you get home.
So you all know that in addition to this blog, I write for Tweet My Wedding (catch me every Monday), Weddzilla and Bridal Buds… I tired to give each new content, but it became too much and I slacked as evidenced by this blog. I still write my column, The Nearlywed Report for Las Vegas Bride and one day…. I just happened to stumble upon the publisher on the right day. A long story short, I am now the Editor-in-Chief of Las Vegas Bride and another fabulous publication, Dine Out Las Vegas.

Whew… so needless to say, I am no longer an event planner, but planning is in my veins and will never go away. Being in the wedding industry does not grant any additional time for my own wedding, as I am trying to put my heart and soul into this publication- for several reasons: my loyalty to the publisher, my loyalty to myself and my desire to spend the rest of my life at the mercy of a keyboard, writing.

If I thought that there was an extreme amount of wedding planning pressure when I was just an event planner, imagine the pressure of being the editor of a bridal mag and throwing a wedding. Can you say yikes with me?

I am so excited to be embarking on this career path, which is now in its fifth week and my first publication is at the printers and I await it with great excitement…mostly to see how many typos were missed, but hey, we all live and lean. I've been blessed with an amazing opportunity and am thankful for it each day.

So there you have it folks, my life has been flipped and turned upside down and right side up all within the five months leading up to the wedding. Maybe all of this change will turn into a wedding novel someday. Hey- if anyone wants to publish it, let me know. I’d be cool with that! (Yes, wouldn’t we all?!?)