The Wedding Chronicles - Part 1 of 3

Part 1: The Countdown:
Yes friends I have returned from my honeymoon. And because I have not been blogging I feel compelled to subject you to several gruelingly long posts. Here is the first. A chronicling of the last four days leading up to the wedding.

Tuesday: 4 days to the Wedding…
- I get the disk from the church with the ceremony program on it. But it’s on a 3.5 floppy (who uses these anymore?) I don’t have Microsoft publisher so I go to Kinkos to open it and email files to myself. My dad has Publisher on his laptop which he is bringing with him (to do work) when he flies in on Wednesday.
- I start burning the music CD’s which we will give out as Reception Favors.
- Since there will be a lot of small children at the reception I have my mom pick up bubbles and sticker books to keep the little ones occupied when they get bored.
- I’ve been working on a video project for the wedding for over two months and still not done. It consists of photos set to 3 songs. (1st song has pics of Michael growing up, 2nd has pics of me growing up. 3rd has pics of the two of us) Plus there is a 4th song that has pics of Michael and his late father who passed away when Michael was 12. Michael knows about the first 3 parts but has no idea of the 4th. It’s my wedding present to him.
- Carmen IM’s me. I tell her that in some of Michael’s younger pics he looks like David Hasselhof. I practically fall off my chair laughing when she responds: “Wow. So is he big in Germany?”
- I get to bed a little before 2am

Wednesday: 3 days before Wedding…
- I finally finish the project early Wednesday morning in iMovie on my Mac. But I still have to convert it to a DVD in iDVD so it will play at the Reception. iDVD is a pain in the ass.
- My mother and I meet with the Reception coordinator to finalize plans and handover checks. She makes us a great deal on the video projection equipment.
- My dad arrives and I pretty much abscond with his laptop for the next 3 days. I decide I do not like the font the church used so I change it to match the fonts I used for the invitation and the Reception Program. I merge the ceremony program and the reception program. I try to start printing but it takes so long to install the printer driver on my dad’s computer that I don’t even start it. I could print it at kinkos but to print in color will cost a fortune and I insist on using the same high quality paper I used for the invites. (I am Bridezilla Full Force at this point)
- I am simultaneously working on 3 computers: 1) My Mac laptop – doing the video, 2) My dad’s laptop redoing the church program and 3) Michael’s PC as I finish burning the music cd’s that are going to be our wedding favors and printing the cd labels and case inserts I had previously designed right down to the friggin’ photography.
- Michael finally confirms with his second groomsman that he will be in the wedding party and sets out to find a jacket for him. I refuse to panic.
- I finally get to bed at 2:30am

Thursday: 2 days before Wedding…
- I’m hard at work printing the programs but my printer is unimaginably slow and has a bad habit of jamming and screwing things up. It’s made worse by the fact that it’s a double-sided print job in MS Publisher. It will end up taking over 12 hours to print and assemble 80 programs.
- During an email correspondence with the church I learn from the church administrator that the Priest “doesn’t want the church program changed in ANY way.” Too Late. It’s already changed and it’s too late to change it back. What’s he gonna do? Refuse to marry us because I changed the font and added 4 pages?
- My mom arrives to help me but there isn’t much she can do except staple the programs as they come out of the printer. Fortunately I printed the CD labels and inserts so she is able to put labels on the CDs as we finish burning them on Michael’s PC.
- She puts them in the cases for me. I notice that she is not putting them in so the label is right side up when you open the case. I stifle the urge to make her redo them. Later after she leaves and my Maid of Honor Carmen arrives I have Carmen open every case and straighten out the CDs (I just couldn’t help it.)
- I get a much needed break when Carmen engages in the arduous task of plucking my overgrown eyebrows. She does and excellent job and I begin to look Bride-Worthy.
- I finally finish burning the DVDs. Carmen keeps a lookout for Michael while I do a final quality check of the DVD. It’s perfect.
- We bag up the programs, music CD’s and DVDs along with other items that I will have to turn over to the Wedding planner on Friday.
- Michael still hasn’t found the jackets for his best man and groomsman. I refuse to panic.
- I get to sleep at 2:30am


Friday: 1 day before Wedding…
- I finally feel like I can breathe. Carmen has stayed over night and together we load up her car with the goods to take over to the hotel. My Bridal Shower which has been totally planned by my Mother, Carmen and my Matron of Honor, Anne (Yeah I have a Matron of Honor and Maid of Honor).
- Carmen has prepared the coolest (and quite elaborate) shower favors I’ve ever seen. Anne has come up with some cool fun games with awesome prizes and my Mom organized the location and totally yummy menu.
- I couldn’t have asked for more. I got the best gifts, sexy lingerie that I can actually wear plus other really cool stuff.
- The wedding planner is unable to make it over to pick-up the programs etc. But it’s no big deal since he will be there at 7am the next morning.
- I am carefree. I feel like a star.
- Carmen realizes she made her reservation at the wrong hotel. She has minor panic attack but it turns out another guest needed a hotel room and so takes over her room that the other hotel so she and her boyfriend can afford to get a room right next door to mine a the hotel.
- Carmen and I go back to my house to pack my stuff up for the wedding. I say good-bye to Michael who is on his way to pick up the jackets for the guys which are being hand delivered to the Men’s Warehouse near us from another store 50 miles away -hopefully before they close. I refuse to panic.
- Carmen and I stop at TGI Fridays on the way back to the hotel for food because it’s late and nothing else is open. It takes forever to get food and I get cranky. She buys me a shot of Tequila. I am now cranky and buzzed.
- Back at the hotel we chow on gross food, Malibu Rum and juice as she glues on my fake nails.
- I finally get to sleep at 2 am.