Before You Kiss Me You Should Know

Last night I had my first wedding-related stress dream.

I know I haven't been talking about the big nuptials much on here, but planning's going well. We have outfits, we have rings, we have a venue and a date, we have a band and a plan for homemade invitations that just might work. But now we're starting to get into the stuff that really freaks me out: Catering, and party vendors.

I should love the catering part of the planning - what do we love more than food? But the markup just makes me insane. As soon as I hear the word "caterer," I think of bland, reheated food that probably came from a restaurant supply store, yet somehow still costs more than my car. On the flipside, the only other thing I can imagine is super-fancy, super local food that only special people get to eat, and again, definitely costs more than my car (I'm picking on him, but he's a good, new-in-2006 ride). I'm suspicious of caterers, and I'm in complete doubt that we can feed our guests anything they'd actually want to eat.

And then there are the purveyors of tables, chairs, plates, glasses and the like. We've already all-but decided to BUY the sliverware from Ikea, because it's less expensive than renting. Seriously. Less expensive to buy 150 place settings than to rent them for a couple hours. It's baffling. And I'm scared.

I should share, Cam's totally taking the lead in both those areas because he knows how irrational I am about it. And he feels about jewelers like I feel about caterers, and I found us a place to get our wedding bands that he loved, so I believe it could happen with caterers (though not with party rentals. Come on.).

Still, I'm clearly agitated. Last night I dreamed that two hours before the wedding, I realized I'd completely forgotten to get a hair appointment. I freaked out, frantically called one place that couldn't fit me in, then spent what felt like eons trying to wrestle the number for Fantastic Sam's (what? I have NEVER been to a Fantastic Sam's. And do they do updos, really?) out of my phone. I kept trying to Google it, and hitting the wrong keys, then trying the voice recognition and it wouldn't work at all. It was silly, but you know how it goes - in the dream, incredibly stressful.

Let's hope the catering experience goes a bit more smoothly.

More On Weddings

Two weekends ago, I saw another fabulous couple get hitched and ride off into the sunset together. It was pretty flipping amazing. Every wedding is unique, of course, but this one was special for a couple of reasons. For one, it was held at my aunt's house, where she married my uncle just about 5 years ago. That was an almost inexpressibly great event - she found the love of her life when she was more than 50, and she and her husband are so blissfully perfect for one another, then and now, that it's an inspiring story for everyone who's still hoping to find someone to love forever. So to have this more recent wedding echo that one set it up for greatness from the start. Secondly, the couple themselves, of course. They could not be more kind, more generous, more loving. My "new" cousin - a daughter from my "new" uncle's first marriage - and her now-husband only met my family about 2 years ago, and we all took to one another in an instant. And finally (of course there are a billion reasons the wedding was great - I haven't even mentioned the amazing Mexican food yet - but finally, for these purposes), the lovely couple is really dedicated to living consciously, and to that end, nearly everything was recyclable or compostable. Seriously - the day after the big event, the groom and about 5 of us helpers went through all the refuse from the weekend, and came away with just one small garbage bag of actual garbage. Incredible!

Now, a related complaint, sort-of. I'm going to a bridal shower for my boyfriend's sister on Saturday, and like many couples, she and her beloved are registered at Target. Have you ever gone to a Target to buy off a registry? I did, today, and it's stupid. I looked up the registry from home, made mental notes about a couple of items, found one, and took it to guest services so they could check it off. But they can't just look up the registry - you have to go to a kiosk and print out the entire thing so they can scan the barcode on the first page. This was a reasonable registry, 5 pages long. So I printed 5 pages... And so will every other guest who goes to Target to shop for them. There's no "print first page" option, and if there's a way to get the item checked off the registry without printing the whole thing, the employee I dealt with didn't know it. Ridiculous. Spending nearly two weeks in California made a definite live-with-less/be greener impression on me, and the thought of 50 guests each printing 5 pages... Times a billion weddings... Grr.

I Love A Wedding

It's a good thing, since I've got quite a few to attend this year! This weekend's going to be standout no matter what goes down at the next ones, though. One of my very best friends got married to a great guy, and I'm so excited for them to build a long future together. The newlyweds are off to Europe tomorrow, and I wish them a great trip! Here are a few of the things I won't soon forget about their nuptials and celebration.

1. There is a video of me twisting - from behind, with Cam, in my Lilly Pulitzer bridesmaid's dress - posted to Facebook. And I don't hate it - rather, I find it hilarious. My posture is tragic, as usual, though.
2. Wedding bands can actually be good! Bravo, "The New Monopoly." Bravo. I never thought I'd hear a band cover OutKast, "Scotty Doesn't Know," and Chubby Checker. And so much more. I'm not sure I've ever danced that much at a wedding!
3. The bride wrote a poem for the groom, which her cousin read at the ceremony. And it didn't suck, not even a little bit.
4. Sea Scallops rolled in shredded phyllo, fried crisp, and served on a bed of wilted spinach, lump crab and proscuitto ham. And Choptank Sweets. And carrot cake. And grade one tuna tartare with sushi rice, seaweed salad, pickled ginger and wasabi vinaigrette. Thank you so much for renting out the best restaurant in town!
5. Dancing with Cam. He's somewhat reluctant, generally, unless the music is old country or bluegrass. But every time a girlfriend grabbed my hand and hauled me back to the dancefloor, he was right behind me. And we had so much fun!

Next wedding is about 3 weeks away, my fabulous new cousin and her beloved are tying the knot in California and I can't wait. Let me back up and explain "new cousin." My aunt, my mom's only sister, got married for the first time when she was about 50, to an amazing man who has 4 daughters from his previous marriage. They all seem really nice, but one in particular is at a similar age and place in her life to my sister and me, and she and her fiancee couldn't have meshed more easily with my family if they tried. They're the coolest. Should be a very different event - much less preppy, much more granola, but equally lovely.

magic

ever since i returned from vacation (flickr photos soon, i promise!), i've been having the best time hanging out with friends i missed while i was gone. the past two weekends have been standout - last weekend i had psmee and her lovely love over for dinner, and it was one of those evenings that isn't special because of some amazing meal, or delicious gossip, or the announcement of good news (though there was some of that!)... it was just special for the intimate feel, the relaxing pace, and the quality guests. the meal was good, all thanks to TJ's - a variety of olives, followed by marinated pork loin on the grill, new potatoes with butter and parsley, salad in a bag with gorgonzola, spinach, and cranberries - but not at all difficult, and easy to make while chatting. it was just one of those nights that leaves you loving your friends even more than before.

this weekend was a total lovefest too, from start to finish. ernie got married, and all our high school friends made up the bridal party. friday night was the rehearsal dinner, a classy dress-up affair with mouthwatering food (i had rockfish over crab risotto, with lumps of crab... gorgeous) that made me wish my dress wasn't so tight. it was so fun to hang out with my girls, all dressed up - haven't done that since prom! - and meet their boyfriends, and see them all meeting one another. saturday was wedding day, which started with manicures and BLT's with my sister and her bf (well, just the BLT for him), followed by helping ernie into her wedding dress (an inexplicably joyful thing that made me almost hyper with anticipation), and then witnessing she and her betrothed exchanging vows. the reception was a ball of dancing and drinking and laughing and love. and sunday may have been the best day of all. after cam brought us all breakfast, my sister, her bf, cam, and i went to my best friend's house to visit her, her husband, and little evan. being a part of this family and this little guy's life is the most special thing, and he's so round and beautiful right now i never wanted to put him down. then the four of us had lunch and were joined for fishing and a swim by five more wonderful friends - quite a group! sister's bf launched plans to surprise the newly-27 twins with a birthday party, so he and my sister and i snuck around preparing tacos and cupcakes for everyone. it defies description... these are the events as they transpired, but i'm not nearly elegant enough a writer to get at the feeling, the warm, relaxed mood that pervaded the day. it was perfect.