Thankful

I’m utterly baffled now that I’m here, preparing for The Big Day.

I think I’m missing something. I’ve seen brides before me, and they all seemed so frazzled and incredibly busy. I’m wondering if I’m doing anything wrong, because I can’t for the life of me figure out what I’m supposed to be busy with. “You’re the most relaxed bride I’ve ever seen,” commented one girl. It was somewhat flattering, but it also made me a little nervous—am I supposed to be doing something?

But every time I go through my list of to-dos, there really isn’t much to be done—at least nothing that requires me to put my life aside. This is due in large part to the friends who have made wedding preps so much easier. Thanks to my dear friends, I don’t really have to worry about:

Photography. Ocs and At are gifting me with their services. That alone is enough to make me feel incredibly lucky! And since Pat’s going to be my back-up photog, I told At that he could play around. I think he might even do lomo! How cool is that?

Invitations. Bless Carl for agreeing to take on my invitation design despite the mountain of work and rackets that he has! I am all for having a very simple invitation, and have asked him not to put too much effort into it (as Carl is wont to do, perfectionist that he is!). His reply: “But it’s your wedding invitation!”

Flowers. As G’s gift to me, he’s doing my entourage’s flowers! He says all I’ll have to pay for are my ninangs’ and the mommies’ corsages. So sweet! And since I am not particular when it comes to flowers, and am so open to doing things differently, he and the boss have hatched a plan to make me the Gayest Bouquet Ever, complete with a peacock feather or two! I trust G’s taste completely so I know I’m not going to get anything garish. And I am surely going to get something one-of-a-kind!

Gown. Let’s just say I got a really good price courtesy of my Wedding Committee member, Tatamaps (who also happens to be the Martha Stewart Weddings editor). I think I didn’t agonize over the dress because once I found a design that I really loved, I stopped looking. There are always, always going to be other options—it’s all about making a choice and sticking to it. I guess it’s a lot like getting married. Haha.

Makeup. Former Marie Claire beauty editor (and the other member of my two-person Wedding Committee) Marie is doing my makeup. She’s done it a number of times before for events, and each time, I felt gorgeous!

Coordination. My caterer’s advice: Get a coordinator, even if it’s just on the day. I talked to Addie a couple of months ago and she is game to do it, so that is one less thing to think about. I think I might have to remind her about it though!

Everything else is just kind of falling into place. We’ve got our entourage and our priest, and a potential quartet. The church is beautiful (despite its slightly humorous name), and the venue is something we instantly liked. The caterer gave us a good price, and because I’ve seen her stylish setups, I know I don’t have to worry about ending up with a gaudy centerpiece. No need to get a separate florist! I have a videographer in mind, but we also have a couple of other options—I’ve spoken with a couple of film grads, and am so intrigued by what they’ve proposed so far. Pretty different from other packages I’ve seen, and for a really, really good price. Like I told one of them, “I’d rather give this gig to an up-and-comer with a different perspective, than to a run-of-the-mill videographer!” I also know what kind of giveaways I want—and, well, I think that’s a big key to getting things done: knowing what you want.

I’ll admit that I do think about the wedding every single day. Kind of hard not to when people are constantly asking me how the preps are going. But even without the questions, I do daydream about The Big Day—mostly about walking down that aisle, and seeing my husband-to-be smiling at me. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it, so I’ve really got to talk to Marie about waterproof makeup!