Weddingbee

1. He thoughtfully cleans up the mess from me making dinner, even though he didn’t eat what I made.

2. He takes me to 7-11 at midnight to fill an ice cream craving.

3. When I bring home the supplies for an ice cream sundae (that I’ve been talking about for literally 2 weeks), he laughs that I bought light vanilla ice cream, but doesn’t judge.

4. He’ll take time out of his schedule to help me pack up and move my classroom.

5. He doesn’t care that I practically kill his Palm battery playing solitaire.

6. Because he tears up when he talks about his dog that passed away earlier this year at 12 years old.

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On Saturday night, Mr. P and I went to The Grove for dinner and a movie. Apparently we have settled into this as our routine. We’re an old married couple after 3 weeks.I digress.

We thought about seeing Superbad, but after noting they already had a line at 9:30 for the 11:15 showing, we decided to skip it. We walked toward the exit and I heard someone yell out “Miss Pearl” (OK, my real unmarried last name, but you know what I mean). I saw it was a group of about 4 or so of my students from last year. I was glad to see them because in the summer time, I really miss my kids. We talked for a bit, then they went out in search of girls to hit on and we went off to leave.

I was thinking about it later and I realized that talking to them might have been potentially awkward . . . at least for them. I remember when I used to see my teachers out and about and it was like seeing an alien or a science experiment or something. It was something kind of creepy and bizarre — like a-whaaaaaaaaaaaaat, teachers actually go out to dinner/grocery shopping/to the mall?!?! And it hit me. I am that alien. I am that weird science experiment. As young and cool and fetch as I feel, high school graduation was 8 years ago.

I am a grown up.

*tear*

A couple of weeks prior to the wedding, I made the executive decision to hire a second photographer who would be with us to shoot getting ready shots. My photographer would have charged us a couple hundred extra per hour to be there while my bridal party and I were getting ready, and it was money I really didn’t feel like adding to the budget and spending at the last minute. I looked on Craigslist and found a photographer who was experienced in other areas who was willing to trade free photography and a CD of all pictures taken in exchange for building her portfolio. I figured there would be no real loss anyway — if the pictures sucked, I wouldn’t use them and I’d be at the same position I was prior (no pics of getting ready). If they were great, then I’d be ahead of the game.

With that said, here are a couple of the getting ready pics from our second shooter:

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Mr. Pearl and I decided we weren’t going to do wedding presents. However, he did decide to surprise me with a present the morning of. He was searching for something unique and meaningful that would last beyond our wedding day and he definitely found it!

I tend to be a one perfume kinda girl, normally sticking with Juicy perfume. However, Mr. Pearl bought me Fleurissimo. Normally a bottle of perfume might be a bit blase. This isn’t just any bottle. Fleurissimo was commissioned by Prince Rainier of Monaco as a wedding present for his wife, Grace Kelly. I love that the present he picked was inspired by one of the great love stories of this era! Wearing the perfume now brings back the memories and emotion of our wedding day.

I am still on the high from my wedding. What an amazing event we threw! I couldn’t have asked for much more, as it was everything I imagined. But we’re about 11 days out and something has been bothering me ever since the wedding.

My family.

My immediate family was present at the wedding. I totally loved and appreciated not only their attendance, but their help on the day of the event. Mother-of-Pearl can be really fabulous and she was so clutch on the wedding day that I don’t know if I could really thank her. Beyond my immediate family, it was such a disappointment. My maternal grandmother attended, as did my paternal uncles. Otherwise, none of M-o-P’s four sisters or their families attended. What’s even worse is that one family didn’t bother to RSVP at all! And beyond that, not one of those sisters or their families have contacted me since the wedding to say congratulations or good luck or anything. What chapped my ass was that my cousin, who is getting married at the end of October, sent out his invitations around mid-July…and hadn’t bothered to RSVP to my wedding himself.

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My name is Mrs. Pearl and I am a baby stalker.

That is my husband’s (eeeee, just getting used to saying that!) term of endearment for me regarding my absolute infatuation with babies. I love ’em. They smell great — like baby powder, milk, and sweetness. They’re soft. They’re adorable. I can pretty much find a baby in any crowd and make eyes with them the whole time.

Babystalker.

Don’t get me wrong — I know that babies aren’t always fun and games. I used to really not want to have children and if I did, not for years and years. Over the last year, Mr. Pearl and I have talked a bunch about having a baby. It was fun when it was what we would talk about — how our biracial baby would be super cute with the potential for green eyes, how our baby would be so smart, how it would be bilingual.

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Just checking in quickly to say that we are officially married!!!

Some people say their wedding day was stressful. I’m in the opposite camp. I had the best possible day I could imagine. I don’t think I’ve smiled more, laughed harder, or felt happier than I did on Saturday. I would go so far as to say it was the best wedding EVER, but of course that’s my personal bias.

Here are a couple of pictures shamelessly stolen from a friend in attendance.

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Hand cancelling may turn out to be one of the bigger mistakes in wedding planning.

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For our wedding favors, I planned for us to give out cookie favors like the one Miss Lime is giving out. The cookie shop is one that is right by the college we both went to and is famous for their delicious cookies at rock bottom prices. The problem, however, is that the cookies do not save very well — we’d have to pick up the cookies, bag, and tag them on the Friday before the wedding. I don’t know about anyone else, but that doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to me.The alternative is possibly just as crazy (if not moreso). My maid of honor and I would bake two different types of cookies on Thursday night and bag them up then.

The pro is that homemade cookies seem to hold up better than the cookie shop cookies. We can have them done the day before and not have to stress on the night before the wedding/rehearsal day. Oh, and it seems like a more personal touch that I think hope my guests will appreciate and enjoy.

The cons are obvious — having to have a big baking production is the biggest one. Also, there’s only one day difference, so is it worth it in the long run?

What do you think?

“I am sick. I am sick, sick, sick of your shit. And when I’m not sick, I’m tired. I am sick and tired!” - Wanda Sykes, “Monster in Law”

This is approximately how I feel about the wedding planning process right now. I am just so over it. I’m ready to be married. I have had a stomachache for the last 24 hours or so due to stress and anxiety. Similarly, my left eye has been twitching for about the last 24 hours, also due to stress.

Why does wedding planning usually look like so much fun on TV and movies? The fun moments have been there, for sure, but it’s been predominately stressful. I just need to be done with all this. I’m tired of looking at ribbon and paper and card stock. I’m sick of designing menus and looking at veils and discussing flowers. I just want to spend forever with my soulmate.