Please Come!

37 days to go. It's crazy how close it is. It feels unreal that I'll be married in just over a month and all this planning will be over.


We have had a few issues with the invitations. Or, rather, the envelopes... We got the invitations custom made in India and they turned out pretty nice and very colorful. One side is in English and the other is in Hindi (something my mother really wanted). We also got matching thank you cards and gift bags made, all out of hand-made paper.

The one thing I didn't realize until I started getting ready to mail them was that the envelopes weren't self-adhesive! So, it wasn't a matter of just licking an envelope closed to get them ready. I had to use a q-tip to put rubber cement on the top and bottom, hold it closed, then put it under a book or box to seal it closed. After it dried, I put gold stickers on, which were also severely lacking in sufficient stickiness. The process took hours! MJ's also didn't have adhesive, but his envelope paper was thinner, so he could just use a glue stick.

Then, I found out last week that some people haven't been getting their invitations! They literally got lost in the mail. I'm so pissed! Fine, we decided, we'll just resend the ones that didn't make it. I looked through the invitations and we have plenty, so no problem, right? Wrong! They didn't give us enough envelopes! And, not only that, the invitations are a weird size, so we can't find any envelopes that fit! What a mess! I've had to hand-(re)deliver some invitations without an envelope because there's really no other solution...

The other somewhat humorous thing is that, in general, our Indian guests have not been RSVPing or booking hotels. Most of MJ's friends, who are not Indian, had RSVPd, booked their hotel, and already sent a gift within 2 days of getting their invitation! LOL

I've spent the past two nights looking through old pictures to find ones we could use in the slideshow my brother is putting together for the reception. It's making me a bit nostalgic though. I'm trying to pick funny ones too. There was a whole string of class pics where I literally looked like I was in costume - one year a sailor, the next a Victorian doll, then a 80's rocker... LOL MJ is one lucky guy!

But, honestly, the biggest thing I've been focused on in the past few weeks is losing weight. I started taking an herbal supplement, I joined a boot camp class, and my new apartment has a gym in the building. I've also been eating a lot healthier and stopped drinking alcohol. I was almost too big for my old size at the beginning of the year, but I've dropped down to at least the one below now. In some brands, I fit 2 sizes smaller now. I hit a frustrating point because the scale doesn't show any differences, but my clothes are fitting better. So, even though I still show as losing 25 lbs, my regular clothes look way too big on me. So my new goal is to fit into this somewhat tight pair of pants 2 sizes smaller than my old size. I can get into them, but they're not comfortable yet. So I'm fairly happy with my progress. I'm sure my mom will still think I look terrible and I'll get to hear it from all my aunts at the wedding, but I've done what I can and feel good about it.

My bachelorette party is this weekend! My lovely friends have planned it and I have no idea what we're doing! They've kept everything a secret, so hopefully they'll be nice to me ;) All I know is when/where to show up and what to pack... I'm really looking forward to it though. It'll be so nice to just have a fun weekend with my girlfriends and not have to think about all the things I should be doing. Time to let loose!

Where to Go? Everywhere!

As much as I never fantasized about my wedding, I have dreamt about my honeymoon for as long as I can remember. I love to travel and I guess I see a honeymoon as the ultimate vacation. Cost is less of an issue than usual, and people do things they wouldn't normally - swim with the dolphins, stay in a hut on a remote beach, explore a cave with a flashlight, visit a monastery at sunrise, etc. I used to always say I'd take a 3-month honeymoon when I finally got married, go to multiple countries, and just explore. So you can imagine that the honeymoon destination conversation has been a big one with MJ. Unfortunately, reality strikes and 3 months is more likely to be 2 weeks (though I have suggested on occasion that I could continue on the honeymoon without him...this idea was not well received). MJ really wants to go to Hawaii. He gets so excited thinking about exploring a volcano it makes me laugh. I wouldn't mind Hawaii, but it doesn't excite me as much. I was pushing for Australia/New Zealand on the pretense that it's so far that we're unlikely to go again for some time. Plus, his cousin has a beach house in New Zealand he's told us we could use. But it'll likely be winter there when we go, so that's not quite as compelling. I'm also trying to put Thailand, Bali, Morocco, and the Galapagos Islands in the mix. (Let me know if you have other ideas!) MJ also wants to include South America, Greece, and Japan, so I think we've covered almost every continent! It's such a big decision! I wish we could go everywhere! Until we have a confirmed date, it doesn't make sense to try to decide on a honeymoon, but honestly I'm more excited about confirming it! ;)

Speaking of dates... though we don't have a final date, it looks more and more like it'll be either 6/26 or 8/21. Woohoo! To finalize our date options, I had to call a panditji's cell phone yesterday, which was an interesting experience. But we got what we needed and everyone seems comfortable with these options. I'm hoping for 8/21 to give us a little more time to plan and it seems like a better date for a honeymoon and future anniversary trips :) We're still researching invitations as well. My mom wants them printed on both sides (Hindi on one, English on the other), which may limit our options. Some of them are so pretty, I'd really like to see some physically.

The funny thing about being the first in my family to get married is all the unknowns. Luckily I have a few friends who have been helpful and willing to share their information. Both got married in TX, one a year ago and one three years ago. My mom has a few good friends she can ask as well. But it's a touchy subject with some and we don't want to make anyone uncomfortable by asking them certain questions. Which makes it hard to find out stuff - like how much are you supposed to spend on flowers? How much jewelry should we buy? What are the challenges with getting invitations printed in India?

The other exciting news is that we setup our engagement party! We were able to confirm the upstairs bar at Pravda for a celebratory drink with some friends the night before the Superbowl. I think MJ and my brothers are going to stay to watch the game together too! We sent out invites using pingg, which I like so much better than evite. So far it sounds like people liked it better as well and quite a few will be able to come. I'm looking forward to it!

We Still Haven't Celebrated!

The date seems to be coming together, though it's really soon, so it's a bit overwhelming for my family. MJ and I will go there in 2 weeks to see the location too. Hopefully we'll be able to confirm it then! Once the date and venue are set, everything else can start to come together as well. But, basically I'm planning on being in VA like every other weekend! I'd originally hoped to look for a condo while wedding planning, but I don't think we'll have time any more. That may have to be a newlywed activity...

Today's first challenge (besides my continuing health stuff) was looking for a location for an engagement celebration. I got in touch with a million places to book a private party after looking at reviews, etc. There are two options now that are available, and we're waiting to hear back from a few others. (We're not doing a massive celebration, just a toast with a few close friends.) The date also had to change as my parents are coming here next weekend to meet MJ's before they leave for India and MJ and I are going to VA the weekend after to look at venues and meet with other vendors. So hopefully we can do it the weekend after or the night before the Superbowl. I also made the invitations on pingg.com, though we'll send it out only when we're sure about the location.

The next task for the day was setting up a wedding website. We wanted something free and Indian-looking, but not cheesy. We chose firstphera.com's Black Magic theme. So, yes, I've officially signed up for theknot.com and firstphera.com, two wedding websites. Scary! We don't have much on the site yet, but it's ready to go. Our good friend takes beautiful photographs and agreed to take some engagement pics of us, which we're hoping to use on the site as well.

Another challenge with having a wedding so soon is that our original plan for wedding invitations may not pan out. My mom and I are going to India in April and had planned to buy them there. But, if the wedding is in June, we won't be able to send them out in time. So I've been looking around online to see what the cost difference really is. My best friend, who got married three years ago, said the difference wasn't huge and she got hers made in the US. So another thing to research! There are so many different types as well! It's a bit daunting to try to pick just one. And is it supposed to match the colors and theme of the rest of the wedding?

My mom and I also started discussing some of the details about the mandap, favors, and colors. So far we agree on all of the things we discussed, but we're not finalizing anything or picking specific items yet! ;)