Now, It's Istanbul

Or is it Constantinople?



My renewed passport has arrived (Arthur's hasn't...hmm....maybe he really cannot leave the country), our airline tickets are bought, our tour is booked. We even have travel insurance. I guess this means we are actually going on a honeymoon.

So now, what's left?

1) Finalize music issue (yes, dear readers, amazingly that issue has yet to be resolved)
2) Figure out what we are doing about the rehearsal dinner (see above parenthetical side note)
3) Buy stamps, print out and mail invitations
4) Get the bridal party gussied up (in other words, find their dresses and then corresponding outfits for men)
5) Create wedding centerpieces
6) Create guest bags
7) Purchase and design silk flower creations
8) Buy shoes for wedding dress
9) Buy accessories for wedding dress
10) Get fittings done
11) Buy a suit and shoes for Arthur (as well as a rehearsal dinner outfit)
12) Write ceremony
13) Write vows
14) Get a marriage license
15) Determine if we are doing favors or not
16) Determine if we are doing a first dance and what our song will be
17) Buy presents for bridal party

It is a long list. I'm sure it could/should be longer, but Top Chef Masters is about to start.

Four Months and Counting...

According to my mother's monthly text message, we're just four months away from tying the knot. That's right, folks. Four months from today, we'll be bustin' a move on the dance floor of the Three Village Inn. What song will it be? The electric slide? The chicken dance? YMCA? The Grease montage? Oh, please let it be the Grease montage. Please. Please. Please.

In actual fact, we don't have the music situation squared away yet so it might just be rounds of row row row your boat. Maybe I can dig up some old mixed tapes.

So where are we at within the wedding count down list?

Side note, there are approximately thirty bridal related magazines at the bodega at the 34th Street Path station. There were even several on getting engaged. I don't really understand what is in that magazine. I don't think I want to know. Anyway, according to various wedding expert sources, we should:

1) Book the rehearsal dinner and day after brunch venues. We're working on that one. We know where the post-wedding brunch will be. My childhood abode. Thanks mom and dad. The rehearsal dinner is another story. We have one place in mind because of its proximity to the wedding venue and affordability. However, at the end of the day, since we are paying for most of this ourselves, it is still just another expense. Then there is the question of the guest list. Do we invite all out of town guests? How can we possibly afford that? Do we just invite those actually in the wedding and close family and let all of those who traveled far to be with us fend for themselves?

2) Check on the wedding invitations. "Umm....hi, costco....umm...are they ready?"

3) Select and order the cake. Attend several tastings. Cake. Yummy. Well, it is included at the Inn. Too bad. We like to taste.

4) Purchase shoes and start dress fittings. Well, my first fitting is not until August. I'm thinking gold. I like the Manolos below, but I'm not Carrie Bradshaw so if anyone sees some knock offs, let me know!

5) Schedule hair and makeup artists. Luckily, one of my best women volunteered.

6) Choose songs. Grease montage!

7) Plan welcome baskets for guests, if desired. What says Long Island? How does one get a thick accent into a welcome basket? Seriously, they are desired. We have some ideas.

In any event, it is nice to see that without having looked at the "lists" in a while, that we are looking pretty good.

Grease is the word!

Coming Soon to a Wedding Near You...

Arthur and I actually did a really good job of getting certain things crossed off our list last month. We finalized hotel accommodations (I still can't get over how few hotels there are in/near Stony Brook), registered, finished our wedding website at idofoundation.org gathered addresses, ordered Save-The-Dates, sent most of them out (admittedly, some of them were returned to us and/or never made it for some weird reason and some of them have yet to be sent), and worked on the centerpieces. We did all of this from the end of February to the end of March. Not bad for a couple of slackers!

Now, we (take that as the royal form of the pronoun because we all know it was Andrea) have set the following tasks to be completed by the middle of May.

1) Pick out wedding invitations (Arthur suggested pigeons, but anyone who knows Andrea knows that won't fly (forgive the pun))
2) Find a DJ/Figure out if the IPOD is the way to go (ARTHUR!)
3) Figure out welcome/rehearsal dinner situation (I don't think there will actually be a rehearsal)
4) Find out about contributions from the Carlson side of the family (ARTHUR!)
5) Get our passport situations sorted (mine has expired and Arthur needs one)
6) Visit a travel agent (fun!)

Wish us luck. Arthur may need some extra wishes.