Busy does not begin to describe this week. I am trying, really I am, to turn my schedule upside down and sleep at night, but I'm finding it frustratingly difficult. It took months to adjust to working nights, but adjust I certainly have. Here it is, almost midnight, and, in spite of knowing I have to be up by 7:00, I'm wide awake.
I really have no time to blog tonight, so the heart of this post is written by Ariel. She originally posted this on facebook, and asks me to tell you all that this is NOT her best writing.
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Stress... Me (Ariel) Venting...Share
Fri at 3:56pm
Ugh...things I was afraid of about the wedding:
1. the officiant wouldn't show up
2. the cab driver wouldn't show up
3. the caterer wouldn't show up
4. the bartender wouldn't show up
5. it would rain
6. lots of guests wouldn't show up...or would come late
7. the photographer would forget about us
8. the cake will get messed up
9. the schedule just won't work
10. the flowers from WalMart would look just like flowers from WalMart
10. this list could go on and on and on
A lot of these fears have been eased. The caterer seems like a fairly competent guy and has talked with my mom extensively about the buffet and food. He is supposed to call some time this week to confirm everything. And we have his cell phone number in case he doesn't show up on time. But hey...reputable restaurant. Everything should be fine.
Eric will be calling the officiant on Tuesday to make sure everything is still a go. Surely he wouldn't leave us hanging.
The bartender seems to be a very trustworthy guy. And he looks like Santa Claus. And he works with Eric. So he definitely wouldn't want to mess anything up there. And if by some crazy chance, an emergency arises right before the wedding, we have a guest who likes to bartend too.
The photographer has made up a schedule and I'm not anticipating any problems now that I know we haven't been forgotten. She will be calling me this week, too, to confirm everything again.
Scattered storms are in the forecast for the "big day." That's alright though - currently, the rain chance stands at 30%, and if it starts to rain, well, we're in Tennessee...we'll just wait 15 minutes and start the ceremony then.
And I plan on mass-marketing my wedding date to facebook friends the day before, so they don't forget. So at least if Eric's entire family forgets to drive down from PA, and my whole family forgets that I'm getting married, at least my facebook friends will be there. ;)
I trust Publix for the cake. And I trust Belle's husband's driving...so, hopefully the cake will arrive in one piece. And if it doesn't, well, then it's precut for the cake cutting ceremony. Haha...
I found a woman at the Murfreesboro Farmer's Market who sells BEAUTIFUL zinnias, coneflowers, and sunflowers for $4 an arrangement! Wowie! I asked her about getting some stuff together for my wedding, and she is super excited to be doing all of the arrangements for me! Even the bouquets! And they are multi-colored ones, just like I wanted. She's actually going to pick them fresh for me Wednesday morning and deliver them to my house herself that day. And we're getting arrangements of about 3 dozen flowers for 7 different tables, 3 larger arrangements, 2 bouquets, and flowers for boutonnieres and corsages all for $60. And...if something falls through with this...which I don't think it will...this woman was really all but jumping in the air for joy over getting to make arrangements for my wedding...then I'll go with the original plan and stop by WalMart, Publix, and Kroger, and make my own arrangements the day before.
Now, here's where the extra bit of stress is coming in. The cab driver. I had talked with a cab company in Clarksville and got a quote of just $45 an hour for someone to drive people back and forth between the hotel and the reception site. The "drunk bus," if you will. So we don't have, you know, inebriated guests driving around on twisty Clarksville roads in the middle of the night. So, I had planned on prepaying the cab boss lady this weekend. She told me just to give her a call and we could meet whenever I was in the area. The cost would be $225. Called her yesterday. No response. Left a message. No response. Called again today to tell her I could come pay her on Sunday. "Well, um...yeah, I talked to some of the drivers about that...and uh...they wanted to up the price a little bit to make sure they had gas money. I didn't realize how far out there that was. That's got to be, what...at least twenty miles or so." Uh...okay...price quote out the window. How much extra? "Just $15 an hour." $15 an hour!? What the...? That's an extra $75! That's $300! No deal. I told her that was a bit much and I didn't know about that...that the driver's expenses would be covered and that he would only end up taking about 6 or 7 round trips total...that we were planning on tipping him on site...and that he would get to spend most of the evening sitting around eating free food at the reception. So she asks, "So, who would be tipping him?" Uh...the guests and if they don't, we will tip him on site. "Oh, well, I'll talk to the drivers and see what we can negotiate. Just call me when you're in the area on Sunday. They want to make sure they have enough for gas and everything....it's expensive." Ugh...how irritating! You can't quote me a price and then up it by $75 when I go to pay! So perhaps it will still be $225. That's all I'm giving her. I'll tell her the rest will be made up in tips when he shows up and does his job if it's more. And he better show up...or I will be calling her on her cell phone and letting her know. And I will be getting the name of the driver and his cell phone number too. Ugh...you're a cab company! You're not supposed to give the bride undue stress on her wedding day!
So yeah...that's the stress. Not really much I can do about everything but call and remind people to show up and call the weatherman and tell him to keep that rain out of Pleasant View at least between 4 and 6. I'm so used to getting stuff done myself...even if everything runs smoothly, I'm going to worry because I'm not in charge. I'll be in a big white dress trying to relax and "enjoy my day." Although I think I'd enjoy it more if I could just make sure everyone was doing what they are supposed to. I would be much more comfortable if I could just call everyone to make sure they are where they are supposed to be and supervise setup at the reception venue...but alas, I'll be saying vows and stuff...so a cell phone call during the middle of that would probably be frowned upon. At least I'm pretty much finished with everything for my grad class. And I'm trying not to worry about school stuff until closer to August. And I've lost like 8 pounds since vacation so I won't have any trouble fitting into the wedding dress. That's nice.
By the way, I looked up the distance between the hotel and reception site - 12 1/2 miles...not 20.
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My reply to Ariel's post:
These are a lot of my fears, too. I will add to that:
EVERYBODY who didn't RSVP shows up and we don't have enough food.
I don't fit into my new dress.
One or all of us trips walking down the aisle.
My allergy eyes are terrible that day and I rub all my make-up off, leaving me very pale and washed out.
My rolls don't rise.
The deer decide to break down my barricade and eat all the flowers the night before the wedding.
We don't finish cleaning by 1am and lose our deposit.
When the sun hits your white gown, everyone sees that it's covered in black Spooky hair.
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Epilogue: The cab situation has been settled. Ariel met with and paid the original agreed amount, and says everything seems to be fine there.
Just in case, I have made up more silverware packets today. The favors and plates should hold out, and I added a bit more food to our catering order.
The deer have pretty much decimated one of my huge pots of impatiens out front, and even nibbled on one that IS ON THE PORCH! But the barricade seems to be working on the pots for the back yard. We just won't be able to set them out until the morning of the wedding.
Sonny is safely back in jail!
And the really great news is that rain has been taken completely out of the forecast! Scattered thunderstorms both the day before and after, but the wedding day is supposed to be mostly sunny and only 83 degrees! You can't get better than that in Tennessee in July.
I will talk with you all again after my daughter has a new name, and I have a new son.
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