100 Day Stretch

Image via Chicoparty.com

Today officially marks 100 days until our wedding. Where did the time go? Even though we've been engaged for 13 months now, there's a panicky part of me that needs more time. But, thanks to our type A careful planning, everything is pretty much done! Mr. Warbs and I did a little dance when we got to the back page of our wedding planning checklist. We're in the home stretch, Hive! Just a few more big things to conquer and then all that's left is the little details that keep me up at night. Pssh, no big deal.

A few more big things to share first before we get into the nitty gritty:

1. Our wine box! The bane of my existence, the center of our ceremony, this thing kicked our asses.

2. Invitations. Almost done with these. We're planning on mailing them out a bit earlier than usual just because we're antsy like that.

3. Favors. I've flip flopped on these for a while. I just have some really good ideas, but no follow through. As is my nature. I'll work it out though. Just hope our guests are happy!

While my anxiety has slowly been building up approaching the 100 day mark, Mr. Warbs has remained as excited as he was the night he proposed. Every time someone mentions that we don't have much time anymore, my response is "I know! I'm freaking out! Ahh!" His response is usually "I know and I can't wait. The day can't come soon enough." Oh, Mr. Warbs, you've been trained well. Just know that even though I'm panicky about this wedding, I'm more than sure that I want to spend the rest of our lives together. Watching James Bond movies before bed, leaving funny quotes to each other on the door and kicking your ass at Monopoly Deal. Yeah, I said it. Married life, here we come!

One Year Engageaversary

Exactly one year ago today, Mr. Warbs got down on one knee in our bathroom and scared the crap out of me. I know that's not a very eloquent sentence, but that's what happened! Since then the weeks and months have seriously flown by like nothing. Here we are a year later and it all still feels so new. Sure, I'm not the clueless bride who clung religiously to bridal magazines anymore, but I'm far from being a pro. I still have trouble getting used to saying "fiance" and occasionally will call Mr. Warbs my boyfriend. Whoops! Trust me, I get the super awkward look every time.

There have been a few changes though. We've become closer to each others respective families. My sisters and my mom have always loved Mr. Warbs, but it's even more amazing that my nieces and cousins love him as well. If I go to a family function or dinner without him, they genuinely miss him. And since I know my family, I know they're not just being polite. On the flip side, I simply adore his parents. They are the sweetest couple I've ever met. I can tell that Mr. Warbs' definitely gets his caring and respectfulness from his dad. I've never seen a man more devoted to his wife's every need. My future looks good on that front! My MIL is also a true gem. From the beginning of our relationship, she treated me like her daughter and has been very protective of me. When a car mechanic tried to screw me over on a deal, she yelled "No one is gonna [expletive] with my daughter!" Yeah, I hope to never get on her bad side.

We've grown stronger as a couple which seems impossible when you're planning a time consuming, stressful wedding. But it's true, we've fallen into our own little groove. This year has felt more intimate and loving than the one before it. All the little things that used to drive me crazy, I just shrug off now. Like Miss Mole mentioned in her super awesome post, all those little things are just the price of admission. It drives me crazy that Mr. Warbs uses 2 or 3 water glasses at a time, but it's worth having him in my life. We've seriously gone to new and disturbing lengths to make each other laugh this past year and I've loved every second of it. It's hard to believe that we could actually get any closer.

Photo by Nataly Lemus Photography

How has your engagement changed your relationship?

Sneaky Jealousy Spiral

I've put off writing this post for a while because, well it's a little embarrassing. And petty, very petty. What am I talking about? Wedding jealousy. We all feel it from time to time. It usually starts off as a small twinge, that you can brush off. But it continues to grown until you have to deal with it. Hive, I admit to falling prey to the green eyed monster.

When Mr. Warbs proposed, I was ecstatic. I wanted to shout it from the roof tops and tell everyone. But, I was a little hesitant to announce it at work for a couple of reasons. I didn't want to be known as the "look at me!" co-worker. You know the one They tell you every detail of their life, whether you ask or not. Also, I wanted to contain the information as I was not planning on inviting the whole office to the wedding. So when I got to work the day after the proposal, I didn't say anything. It killed me. When I got home Mr. Warbs encouraged me to just tell a few people on my team, so I could squeal with glee. But before I could tell anyone, one of my co-workers returned from her vacation in Rome with big news, she had just gotten engaged. In freaking ROME.

 

Image via Robot Reviews

She excitedly rushed over to tell me the news and all I could squeak out was "Congratulations...me too!" I was so frustrated that I hadn't shared my engagement news first, because 1) there's no competing with Rome and 2) I would now be the "me too! me too!" girl. A part of me knew I should have been excited that I had someone else to share wedding planning adventures with (this was before I found the Hive!), but I was just down right jealous. I felt like she had stolen my thunder. Ridiculous right? That my friends, is the power of the green eyed monster. Even though you know you're being crazy, you can't help falling into the spiral. The same week as our engagements, another co-worker announced she was pregnant and baby talk soon replaced wedding talk. Ha! Eventually, I sucked it up and got over it. But seven months later, I can't help but feel the jealousy flare up every time someone else gets newly engaged. What about you, Hive? Does anyone else go through fits of wedding jealousy?

Yay!

I'm engaged. Happiness, sugar plums and chocolate cake! When he popped the question, I was ecstatic, running around all pumped up about all the fun planning that lay ahead.

Until I started planning.

I read a book that basically said, "You're an idiot. Weddings are expensive, exhausting and will cause your face to melt off in frustration. It's also the MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF YOUR LIFE. Enjoy!"

My dreams of horse drawn carriages and chocolate fountains quickly deflated. Planning a wedding in Los Angeles was not looking exciting or cheap. My fiancee (who will be referred to as Mr. Adventure) and I decided that if we wanted to have a nice wedding without starting our marriage in the red, some compromises would have to be made. Like forget about training a dove to place the ring of my finger. (10 points if you recognize that reference!)

We both decided to only invite close friends and family with no more than 50 guests. Having the wedding during the off season would also help to cut costs. But even those factors didn't help much.

And so it begins, our eye opening, face melting challenge! Plan an affordable wedding without sacrificing too much quality.

Step one: Find an affordable and somehow gorgeous venue.

Step two: Have everything else magically fall into place? Or tackle every task one at a time, whatever.

Thirteen months to go!