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I woke up at 8:30 am. Before I did anything else–showered or ate my Raisin Bran, I was going to do a few things:
~Finish flower girl headdress/crown thingies
~Cut up the blue tulle for the reception
~Type up everyone’s ‘to-do’ lists.
~Glue together the elevated cake plates
~Fix the bows on my and Katie’s bouquets, and add ribbon to the boutonnieres
~Finish those damned luminaries (Mr. Blueberry’s doing it!)
Things I cannot *believe* I let wait this long, and are now taking my valuable time away from me. Guys: Don’t push off easy little projects until the last minute, it really isn’t worth it. But it’s gotta be done, and I don’t see anyone else clamoring for the job 
.
::Edit::
Shit. Just realized I forgot to buy the stuff for our day-of emergency kits. Who wants to run to Target for me?
::Edit Edit::
And the tulle for chair backs. And some wedding-appropriate wrapping paper. And two lighters. And bags for the flower girls’ gifts.
I admit, these past few hours I haven’t accomplished a whole lot…not that you can really see, anyway.
As soon as I finished my second batch of brownies, Dad came home and offered to take us to Strouds. If you’re not in KC, well, you’re missing out. Best fried chicken in town. Of course, since I have a gorgeous gown to fit into, I had broiled salmon. 
But everyone else seemed to enjoy the fried chicken!
As soon as we got back home, Mr. Blueberry and I dashed to Wal-Mart and picked up a couple last minute items: corkscrews/bottle openers for the self-serve bar, votives for the fireplace arrangement and tealights for the centerpieces.
When we got back to the house, I saw Julie’s car in the driveway. She had tights for three of the flower girls, and wanted my approval on outfits for her family to wear at the rehearsal dinner. She said I was the most laid-back bride she’d encountered…HA! Fooled her, didn’t I? 
I said I’d be busy today, and I wasn’t lying!
As soon as I left earlier, my aunt arrived. She finished the table runners for me, then cleaned up the kitchen.
I then baked a ’sample’ version of the groom’s cake, to make sure that the fudge recipe tasted OK and that the springform pan idea worked. It was also my first time using one of those cake decorating icing bags, and while I was just *trying* to drizzle thin lines of icing on top, it really came out looking a bit, well…see for yourself:
The error was, I forgot to close the top of the icing bag, so it just started glopping out the sides.
My wedding is the day after the day after tomorrow. How does that feel?
I’m sort of excited, and sort of nervous. But that’s not my overwhelming emotion. Neither, really, is anxiety. My biggest concern, at this point, is getting all my little projects done and organized so that the things I must delegate to others (pretty much everything on the big day) will be perfect. And this is definitely my biggest mental obstacle. I am *not* one for outsourcing. And if I could somehow manage to be the one setting up the buffet tables, tying bows on the seat backs and making sure the day runs smoothly, I would be. Alas, I can’t do anything but *trust* the wonderful people who I’ve hired and who just love me, to do things right while I float around in my big white dress. Read more…
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Saturday in the bridal shop, Mom and I browsed a bit more and came across a few things left to buy:
So when does it hit me that MY WEDDING IS IN FOUR DAYS?!?!?
When I’m watching Father of the Bride this morning and see Annie on her wedding day.
Did it hit me as we purchased all the alcohol and most of the food yesterday? When we picked up my dress from the shop? As I type up the “must take” list for our photographer? Nope.
It hits me as I watch the same movie I’ve been watching at *least* once a month for the past 16 years of my life 
I’m freaking getting married in four days!
Mr. Blueberry will be in town in about three hours, then I’m picking Jenna up to take her to my next dress fitting. Then I’m going to call Mandi and Katie and beg them to come over and help me finish up 90 bajillion projects. Eep!
I just screamed at the TV weatherman because he was standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF the forecast for Friday and would not frikkin’ move. That’s it, I’m cracked. I’m turning off the TV, I’m putting together my centerpieces, and I’m cracked.
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
The last of my DIYs from this last trip to KC: Flower girl baskets.
Materials:
4 wicker baskets from Michaels: $1.99 apiece, ~ $8.00 total
spray paint primer from Ace Hardware: $3.00
ivory spray paint from Ace Hardware: $3.00
1 bunch of flowers from Michaels: $4.99 on clearance for $1.00
1 spool of ribbon from Michaels: about $2.50, I think?
Total price: $17.50, or just over $4.00 per basket
I didn’t take any pictures of myself priming and spray painting the baskets, but I’m sure you all know what that looks like (the only notable thing is that since i neglected to bring any of my grody work clothes to KC, I ended up wearing a pair of Mr. Blueberry’s boxers and a XL blood drive t-shirt to paint in). 
Hmm, maybe that’s why I didn’t take any pictures! lol
What I did was remove sprigs from the bunch of flowers (since they’re silk, the sprigs just pop off). I bound two together with scraps of ivory ribbon left over from another project:
On Sunday afternoon we met with our harpist at her home across town. What was originally going to be a brief chat to determine what-pieces-when turned into a two hour talk about music and weddings in general. I’m *so* excited to be working with this woman; her philosophies and practices really align with ours and what we want for the wedding.
In addition to talking about the trials and tribulations of being stuck in the back of an orchestra (I’m a bassist, so I understood her plight!) and the merits of uber-traditional versus unusual pieces, we did manage to nail down all the music for the ceremony. Here’s what we’ve got:
Prelude (30 minutes as guests are seated):
Her repertoire includes harp renditions of many popular songs–everything from “Stairway to Heaven” to “Can’t Buy me Love”. It’ll be pieces like these that we have during the prelude.
Processional part 1 (Mr. Blueberry + Officiant, parents, grandparents, etc):
Pachelbel’s Canon in D
Believe it or not, I *love* how the Canon sounds on harp! Before our meeting, I was sick to death of the piece and actually told Mr. Blueberry “We will *never* have this in our wedding.” But as soon as the harpist played the first note, I was already tearing up.
Choosing a wedding-day hairdresser wasn’t even a question for me. The same lady has been cutting my hair since I was so little I had to sit in a booster seat (a board, actually) on her salon chair. She’s the only person in the world who can get my bangs to look right, the person who introduced me to highlights, and the person who was able to keep my post-”Locks of Love” cut from looking boyish–twice. In other words, Rhoda is really awesome.
Last Friday I went in with 5 pages of pictures, and directions Alissa gave me for how her hairdresser did her wedding hair. Rhoda and I talked about it and fiddled with a few ideas, and ultimately came up with a plan.
BUT before I post the pictures, I want to tell you a few things that will be changing:
~on the day-of, my haircolor will be darker/brighter. When this picture was taken, I hadn’t done anything to it in a REALLLY long time
~Also, on the day-of, the top part will be more even (there won’t be that angle-looking effect), and chunkier, more textured (she’ll curl it before pulling it back, instead of vice-versa
~There will also be LOTS more hairspray. LOTS more.
~I was a dum-dum and forgot to bring my veil. Yeah, I know.
So with that said…
It sure doesn’t seem to take much to make me tear up lately…including the weather forecast:
Forecast for Friday, May 25 at Kansas City, MO:
Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 70s and lows in the upper 50s.
You could hardly ask for better wedding-day weather!
I mentioned several weeks ago that the shop who we ordered the FG dresses from didn’t even order them until just a couple weeks ago (everyone had been fitted months prior). They put a massive rush order on things, and promised to have the dresses in by the time of the wedding. Of course, this wouldn’t allow any time at all for any alterations that might need to be made. My cousin Julie, the mom to two of our FGs, called and gave ‘em a piece of her mind. Somehow, I’d even say miraculously (too bad tone-of-voice doesn’t transfer well via Internet), the dresses came in this past Friday.
Yesterday afternoon, Julie brought in her two–Emily and Olivia–and I brought in Jenna, one of the others. Emily and Olivia’s dresses both fit them perfectly first try–no problems there! Jenna’s, however, was a whole ‘nuther matter.
I don’t want to embarrass Jenna by discussing it too much, but she’s a heavier girl. When we ordered the dresses, they measured her and told us they’d order it in a size __. So we went ahead, and today she tried it on. The dress didn’t even come close to zipping up the back. I got the saleslady’s attention (she was *not* interested in paying any more attention to us than absolutely necessary). Read more…
It always bugged me that two of my oldest friends weren’t standing up with me at the wedding. I’ve been friends with Mandi and Stefanie since kindergarten and third grade respectively. Recently I had the brilliant idea to ask each of them to do a reading during the ceremony! That way they can still be involved in the Big Day, but they didn’t have to buy the matching dresses. Earlier this week I asked them if they’d do me the honor, and they said yes. 
Now we just have to decide what readings to do! Here are some selections we were considering (we’ll either do one long reading and have each of them read half, or do two short ones):
~~~
From Todays Weddings:
BLESSING FOR A MARRIAGE
~ James Dillet Freeman ~
May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding.
May you always need one another - not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a valley to be complete; the valley does not make the mountain less, but more; and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you and you.
The issue of hiring a videographer has been a matter of *much* contention during this wedding planning process. I really wanted to hire one, just someone cheap to capture the ceremony and most important parts of the reception. My parents, however, wouldn’t let me build that money into the budget. Mr. Blueberry wanted one as well, and so did his parents. So for months I hemmed and hawed about it, finally resigning myself to the fact that the only memories we’d have of our wedding would be from our awesome photogrpaher.
In March I put a listing up on Craigslist, just a shot in the dark–would anyone be willing to work as inexpensively as Mr. Blueberry and I could afford? It was one of the few aspects of the wedding that we’d have to pay for ourselves, and our college student budget does *not* go far at all. I got lots of responses–some a lot more wonderful than others. But one really stood out. We talked with the videographer on the phone and tentatively hired her for the day-of, then she mailed us a DVD which we received yesterday. We were *really* impressed with the quality and loved her personality and philosophy, so we hired her…for $475.
Yesterday while heading down I-70 on our way back from St. Louis, Mr. Bluebbery and I hammered out a very tentative day-of plan. Some aspects are set in stone, others are more flexible. I’d love your all’s input on it–for you already-marrieds, do you see any major problems? After revisions I’ll turn it over to all our vendors.
Bold = set in stone
italic = flexible
11:00–brunch with Mr. Blueberry (just the two of us), + personal gift exchange
2:00–hair appointment. Me first, then my MOH, then the flower girls (we have to do this order because the girls won’t sit still as long as Katie and I can, plus our updos are more elaborate.)
3:00–quick bite of something (probably Pop-Tarts)
3:30–arrive at venue. FGs dressed by their moms, me dressed by mom and MOH. Men already dressed (home/hotel).
4:00–the grand reveal! And pre-ceremony photos on location.
5:30 or 6:00–done with most pre-ceremony photos, maybe a few indoors.
6:10–harpist begins playing, guests start to arrive.
as close to 6:30 as possible–ceremony begins. Read more…
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Mrs. Blueberry, Kansas City Age and Occupation in 06: 21, Full-time Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Full-time Student Engagement Date: September 10, 2005 Wedding Date: May 25, 2007 Venue: Wynbrick Center - a historic mansion in my hometown. About Me: We're having an intimate, 125-ish person wedding with a full-blown dessert reception. When I'm not obsessing over wedding stuff or studying for my BA in English, I'm usually playing with our two kitty cats, blogging, doing crafty things, or hanging out with Mr. Blueberry!
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