Wedding stuff

L. and I are really making some progress on the details of our wedding. I had last week off as a reward for shipping our product, so I used the time to attend various appointments and do research for the last few things we need to take care of.

First up, L. and I met with our friend, A., the jewelry designer and figured out the design for our wedding rings. The wedding bands will be similar in style, even though L.'s will feature some green stones and mine will feature some purple stones (our favorite colors). I'm excited to see how they turn out. A. has done some really amazing work for both of us, so I know that his expertise will produce lovely wedding bands.

Next, we got our engagement photos taken. We chose to take them at the house, since we have a nice yard and it provided a nice backdrop for the pictures. We wore some of our swing-dance attire, so I think they will look great and will be very much "us."

My wedding dress arrived and I went to the bridal shop to try it on. I ordered it in a size down from what I was at when I ordered, and was sweating bullets that it wasn't going to fit since I didn't lose the last several pounds I originally wanted to lose. But, thankfully it did fit, and it fit like a glove. There are only a few alterations to make, and then it will be perfect. I took the opportunity to try on the bridal jewelry I'd been accumulating so that I could make a final decision about what looked best and take the rest back. I even did full wedding makeup that day - well, as close to wedding makeup as I can get by doing it myself. I will be getting a professional to do it the day of the wedding.

I met up with my mom and my wedding coordinator to get all of the decorations for the wedding and reception. We went out to the ceremony/reception location to meet with the facility assistant and do a check-in on the last things we needed to attend to in order to fulfull their requirements. We brought some of the decorations out, and did some planning about how we're going do everything. I'm quite pleased with the result. I really think people will enjoy it, because it's definitely not going to be a typical wedding. The main pieces will be there, but I think we're doing some really cool things and I can say that this place just has an incredible atmosphere.

We also met and booked our cake maker. She's a pastry chef who specializes in French cakes and pastries that she makes from scratch with as many organic and fair-trade ingredients as possible. She came highly recommended and was even featured in bridal magazines, but when we drove up to her house we wondered whether we'd found the right place. Let's just say that her house doesn't really scream well-organized, tidy, and professional food-handler. So, I was coming up with a Plan B in my head as we got out of the car. But, she proved me wrong. We rounded the corner and entered her kitchen, which was stacked with all kinds of professional equipment and was definitely clean. In the center of the kitchen, there was a table set with three place settings of china and crystal where we sat to taste all of her mousses, ganaches, compotes, cakes, and so on. She had containers of fruity items, nutty items, and chocolatey items, and she filled plates with various combinations of flavors to try. We spent over two hours with her, tasting all of her wonderful concoctions. At the end, I really couldn't decide what to pick. We're going to do a very small wedding cake for cutting, but a dessert buffet with various different cakes for people to try. So, she urged me to take several days to let everything settle, then look back at my list of favorite flavor combinations and let her know which ones we decide to go with. This appointment was like nothing else I've experienced. I'm so excited that we were able to get her for our wedding.

I also took care of the packaging for our favors and the paper for our programs. I'm still working out the final design for the programs, and it's proving more difficult than I originally thought. I really want to make sure that we include the words of our songs and readings somewhere in the program, but I don't want it to be cluttered, either. So, I'm trying to figure out a good solution to that.

L. and I took care of the banquet permit so that we can serve alcohol at the reception, and we went to the Snohomish County Courthouse to get our wedding license, which we took with us to our appointment with the pastor who is marrying us. The appointment went really well, and we were both set at ease by Pastor J.'s approach to religion and tolerance. Although he is a Lutheran pastor, he teaches graduate courses in comparative religion and is very accepting and inclusive of other faiths. This is very important to us, since we have a really mixed bag of religious beliefs in our families, and L. and I get really irritated with an overabundance of "God-talk." So, we worked out the flow of the ceremony and got an idea of how he'll approach everything.

Afterward, we started working on ideas for vows and readings. I'm really excited because a good friend agreed to do a reading for us. I just had to figure out what she was going to read. I knew we didn't want any bible passages or traditional readings. So, I started combing the Internet for some more unique ideas. I think we've found the perfect solution with some passages from a couple of books that really struck a chord with us.

We've also figured out the ceremony music, and I think we've got someone who will start and stop the CD at the right places during the ceremony. Overall, we've got a lot of help from family and a few close friends, so I'm really happy about that. Since we aren't having a wedding party, I wanted to include special people to us in the ceremony and reception.

And finally, L. got a suit. I think this was probably the most dreaded part of the whole process for L. - well that, and the expense of everything - but he really likes the one he got. When he put it on, it was like he was suddenly transformed into a "groom." And not only does he look amazing, but he also feels comfortable.

So, that's where we're at. I'm so thankful for that week off from work. It really enabled me to take care of a lot of things. Now we just have to get the beer, wine, and champagne for the reception, finish up paying balances on various services, and then get hitched! That last bit is the most important part, of course. All the rest is just going to be a kick-ass celebration!