Invitations!

The invitations are in, addressed and on their way!

Heather, who I work with, did an amazing job on the envelopes and Kreativees created beautiful invitations! I am very excited to finally get them stuffed and off my desk!

After today I will have been to the post office four times in the last week.... I don't even know if I have been that many times in the last five years. The people at the post office are interesting but on Monday I encountered a very nice post office worker - the conversation went as follows:

Post Office Guy: Is there anything hazardous or fragile in these envelopes
Me: Nope

Post Office Guy: Are the wedding invitations?

Me: Yup

Post Office Guy: (after I swiped my debit card): Do you want cash back?

Me: Nope, I am all set

Post Office Guy: You should take some out while it is still just yours!

L-O-V-E it! This was the second trip to the post office.... of course the first trip ended with me buying regular first class stamps because as we all know I don't do details and it didn't cross my mind that the invitations would cost more.... as Jessica so kindly pointed out they would all get returned to me for insufficient postage and well that would be "no bueno"

Menu meetings, dress fittings, timelines oh my!

So obviously there will be no pictures of the wedding gown but here is one from the engagement shoot, amazingly I managed to get up without any grass stains! My wedding gown is in, it looks amazing and I can't wait for everyone to see it!

With less that 11 weeks left to go I feel like deadlines and projects are starting to pick up! The invitations are in and the envelopes are out for calligraphy. After what felt like 4,000 revisions they are absolutely perfect and Stephanie from Kreative's has been beyond amazing and the invitations came out exactly as we (I) wanted them to!

The menu has been discussed yet not tasted, quite a tease. We had the menu meeting at 10am and by 11:30 I thought I was going to die of hunger from listening to all the delicious ideas, lets just say everyone will be very well fed on October 8th!

The timeline is a headache and mostly just something I would rather not think about. I HATE planning and details, I just want to have a party, drink champagne and be surround by people who I love and will tell me I look beautiful... much easier said than done. I didn't even think about deciding when dances will be had and who will give speeches when, should salad be served before the parent dance? I just figured it would all just happen as it should.

I am now attempting to make a list - for those of you who don' know, I am not a list person. Everyone keeps telling me it is easy now that the big things are done. I do not agree, the big things are easy - you need a date, you need a venue and you need a bridal party. Its the little minutia that pops out of nowhere and throws me off, who knew someone had to be responsible for making sure the groomsmen put their boutonnieres on correctly?!

Well I'm off to attempt a list....

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Wedding Transportation!

So being the non-detail oriented person I am, I figured people would get an invitation and figure out how to get to the church and to the reception.... silly Colleen, we need to transport them to and fro. Just in case you haven't logged hours googling transportation methods in Boston there are about a million. You can go by school bus, you can go by charter bus. You can go by Boston trolley, you can go by Ghosts & Gravestones trolley. You can charter a Segway tour, you can charter a duck boat and if you happen to be Jessica your fiance can suggest chartering a fleet of pedi-cabs and giving each driver a t-shirt with a picture of their assigned passengers on it....

After realizing that the school bus probably doesn't have a/c, the charter bus is way to big for the tiny side streets of Charlestown, the Duck Boat is probably more expensive than flying people and I don't think anyone wants the pedi-cab driver to own a t-shirt with their face on it we settled on the trolley. While I think the Ghosts & Gravestones trolley is awesome we figured the classic Old Town Trolley is probably best - plus if I can get the wedding party to pose for pictures like these awesome people it will all be well worth it!

Just when I thought the photobooth couldn't get any better....

This gem of an email made its way into my inbox yesterday:

Hello Colleen,

I hope this email finds you well and getting excited for your Wedding!

I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that we are currently offering a Special Wireless LED Lighting Package for our Photo Booth Clients.  Couples may add our Wireless LED Lighting Wedding Package, which includes 10 lighting units, for $600.  This package features the availability to choose from a variety of colors.  This Package typically costs $1,000 but is currently available as a Photo Booth Package Add-on for $600 for a limited time.  If this is of interest or if you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank You!

Sincerely,

Scott Marshall

Seacoast Events

978-462-6877

www.seacoastevents.net

Seacoast Events is proud to announce that our Photo Booth Services have been rated by local brides and voted The Knot Best of Weddings 2011 Pick!

I am sold! In my mind this add-on is going to create a lazer backdrop like my 2nd grade school photo.... I mean for a mere $600 who can deny anyone, especially a bride, the joy of having such an important day caputured with a lazer lightshow background?!

Kickass....

Cupcakes!

We have tried a few different types of cupcakes at this point.... some were ehh, some were meh and some were overwhelming.

Enter Kickass Cupcakes after hearing how much Jessica loved their cupcakes I figured we may as well travel to Somerville and give them a taste! The shop is tiny and was packed but we were still running on the high of finally buying a car, a redbull and half an english muffin each so we were willing to wait it out and so glad we did! We tried a few different flavors that each got better and better! The best comment from Corey "Yup, this is the one - those other ones tasted like Crisco" We picked three flavors but everyone will have to wait in anticipation to find out which three, leaving one open spot just in case they come out with an awesome seasonal flavor!

Considering that we are planning a five course meal for the wedding everyone better save room for the cupcakes, I promise they will be worth it!

Engagement Shoot - C-Town Style

Well we finally made it to the engagement shoot! I was on a mission - nothing was going to stop me not the sort of crappy weather or Corey's newly "trimmed" hair courtesy of Gangster Cuts.... picture this string of text messages:

Corey: Take the m lites out of the freezer
Colleen: Obv I already did but thanks for the order, a please would have been nice
Corey: Can you "please" bring a m lite down to gansta cuts?
Colleen: No, can you "please" come home and watch a movie with me?
Corey: Nevermind the nice lady just gave me some booze
Colleen: She is trying to roofie you
Corey: Arbor mist, I think

There should have been no doubt in my mind that this haircut was not going to come out how I wanted!

We wake up on Saturday and the weather is not any nicer and Corey's hair wasn't any longer but I think we rocked out the engagement session! Corey was determined to get an Awkward Family Photo and I tripped over my own feet at least three times, yup, the photographer is wondering what he got himself into!

Everyone will have to wait 2-3 weeks for the proofs but I bet they will be worth the wait!

The Royal Wedding vs. My Big Fat Boston Wedding

A. I would LOVE to have Kate's 2nd McQueen gown
B. I would love even more to have her lack of armpit fat!

Pomp and circumstance aside there were three Bs that make up the main differences between My Big Fat Boston Wedding and the Royal Wedding:

Budget - I think the monarchy might have had a slightly bigger budget going into this event but who knows!

Bridesmaids - Mine will all be over the age of 21 and hopefully will not make any faces that scream "I am so bored and I don't want to be on this balcony any longer"

Beer - My Big Fat Boston Wedding will be serving beer.... and champagne and wine and liquor - we aim to please all!

When it comes to what I hope My Big Fat Boston Wedding and The Royal Wedding have in common I have only one word.... Facinators! I am thinking maybe we get the bridesmaids orange ones to coordinate with the groomsmens ties....

Oh October!

Just in case a wedding wasn't a big enough event for October we have added in our 5 year college reunion.... the next weekend! While getting married makes me feel kind of old the fact that we are at a reunion interval makes me feel really old!

 In the full spirit of embracing this old age hotel rooms are booked, vacation for the week is booked and I plan on eating a least 10 Rise 'n Shiners from KKD since this will be the first post-"lots of nightmares that my wedding dress won't fit day of the wedding diet". For those of you not lucky enough to go to school in Burlington, VT the Rise 'n Shiner is a sandwich made up of your choice of bread (go for bulkie roll), egg, your choice of cheese, your choice of meat (obvi ham) and a hash brown.... drooling already! I will be on vacation from work Mon/Tues for wedding re-coop in Wed/Thurs and back out Friday - considering how important I am I don't know how work will manage.... ahhh Jessica (or HAHA Jessica)

I am very happy to report that I have heard rumors that Aidan Murphy will be partaking in a Sig Ep basement Beruit tournament.... its a toss up weather to bet on Aidan winning or his mother blocking the entire outing..... I might go with Aidan winning considering if there was no Sig Ep basement who knows if his parents would have ever met.... on that note if the Sig Ep basement didn't exist I might have never met Corey and we might not be here contemplating My Big Fat Boston Wedding.... who knew a gross basement and cheap bear could produce such amazing things!

This will be only the second time I have been back to UVM since graduation, if we make it to Brewers Fest it will be number 3!

Until then I will just be here dreaming of eating Rise 'n Shiners after drinking cheap bear while actually eating tofu.... and of course doing my best to keep you all updated on MY BIG FAT BOSTON WEDDING!

Slacking

So I have been slacking on the posts.... and the gym.... and the healthy eating (I may or may not have had 12 string cheeses last week alone....) Considering that our engagement pictures are being taken on May 7th, a mere three weeks from now, it is a good thing I decided to go with the armpit fat minimizing dress choice! While I am hoping that the armpit fat is going to melt away as I watch the marathon runners out my window at work, I am pretty sure it won't happen.

Everything has been pretty quiet on the wedding front. The (almost) last batch of save-the-dates went out today, I am just waiting on three addresses from Corey and I have to actually get to the post office one day to mail the international ones but we will get there! We have finalized the booking for rehersal dinner - Figs in Charlestown, so delicious and I am sure that fried calamari and wood fired pizza is just what a bride needs the day before her wedding.... but they are too good to pass up!

Most importantly - (sidebar, for those of you who don't know, I secretly wish I was a professional bowler and I love to bowl even thought I never win and yes I don't win even though I took two semsesters of bowling at UVM) - we are bowling after the rehersal dinner! Lanes & Games here we come! Yes Chris & Jessica, people do actually go there. Lanes & Games is the most fabulously low keyed bolwing alley, they have candlepin (boo) and big ball (only real way to bowl) not to mention delicious pump cheese nachos, Stella on tap and the carpet-on-the-walls decor. It is in Cambridge near Alewife/Fresh Pond right next to the unfortuantly closed down Faces. I planning on wearing my very own for the occasion bowling shoes and I am REALLY hoping that maybe just for once I can win..... or in the very least just not lose!

6 Months to Go!

We have officially hit T-6 months until My Big Fat Boston Wedding! A big thank you to everyone who has put up with me so far, Mom, Dad, Corey, Jessica and a whole bunch of vendors. We really only have a few more big items to knock out, cake testing, food tasting, finalize the florist, gift bags and the little DIY stuff.

This weekend I am headed down to MD to see The Nanny. She has purchased a lavender dress for the wedding and is really excited about it, it has 12 layers and the sales girls told her it looked perfect! This also means I need to spend the plane ride organizing everything I have done/am doing/need to do for the wedding as she is going to want a full account as soon as she picks me up! Wish me luck.... we all know how I do with the details....

May the next 6 months be filled with peace, serenity and lots of tastings!

Q2 Challenge!

April brings showers, tax day and most importantly the beginning of the Q2 challenge!

I decided that Q2 would be the start of healthy eating and no booze Mon-Wed, obviously with the goal of losing (or even just slimming) the ever challenging armpit fat! I think there should always be boundaries, time constraints and I shouldn't knowingly set myself up for failure hence the fact that the no booze is only three days a week and we are starting with just one quarter.

For those of you wondering.... its not off to a stellar start. Considering Jessica and I drank half the bar at Tico and had fried Manchego cheese with mango honey dipping sauce and fish tacos last night I am going to go with maybe Q2 needed a one week grace period. I started the week off so well with yogurt and salads and this is how it is ending....

Tonight is healthy grill - grilled tofu, veggie and chicken! Wish me luck!

Big Day Out!

Last Thursday my mom came to look at additional florists, I will say this go around was a little bit easier since I actually knew some of the flowers names. We started off with a little breakfast at the club and then headed out, table clothes in hand. Our first stop was with Teresa at Mimosa she was very calm and listened to both of our ideas, plus she gave me a whole bouquet of flowers on the way out! At this point we have seen two florists and like two florists....



Flowers from Mimosa!



Next I wanted to go to M. Flynn to look for jewlery for me and the bridesmaids. The shop is run by two sisters and is both a working studio and boutique. The best part of shopping at M. Flynn is that if you see something you like but want it a bit different they will make it for you! Mom and I looked at a bunch of jewlery and talked to her about doing custom pieces, everyone will have to wait for the final results!

After a delicious lunch (and beverage) at Aquitaine it was off to Ilex to meet with Andrew for the final flower consultation. Andrew had some great ideas and brought up a few things we hadn't even thought of - such as using the material from gown alteration to wrap the stems of my bouquet!

I got in a cab to go home, with my bouquet, and here is the conversation I had with the cabbie:

Cabbie: Did you get those flowers from a wedding?
Me: No, I was meeting with a florist to plan the flowers for my wedding
Cabbie: Ohh, congratulations, when is the wedding?
Me: In October
Cabbie: Those flowers have to last until October?!

Here is what we learned on Thursday:

1. In Boston you can have a fabulous lunch for $12.95
2. To get from 96 to 40 on the same street it is only a 3-5 minute walk when it would be 6 blocks in NYC
3. Mom and I really liked all three florists.... what to do!
4. I don't deal well with anxiety or having to make decisions

Silver linings....

The above is one of the best silver linings in life.... a bombilioni, an amazingly delicious cream filled Italian version of a donut, I love donuts in a completely unhealthy way!

Anyway, yesterday I had a rare and uncharacteristically zen moment. I decided to take one of those every cloud has a silver lining type approaches to things. I am quite sure it will not last too long but here are the positive "silver linings" that have come out of the craziness that comes with planning My Big Fat Boston Wedding.

1. My mother is occupied by planning My/her Big Fat Boston Wedding and subsequently no longer has time to set me up on "blind friend dates", yes they are weird and even more awkward than normal old fashioned blind dates - these set-ups have started with intro's such as "Colleen, she works in Boston, in HR, moved to Boston from NY because her boyfriend was in Boston and she has no friends, you are basically the same person! Plus I know her mother and she says her daughter is nice"
2. In the quest to rid myself of all traces of armpit fat I am going to the gym and getting some quality cardio workouts in (side note: today at the gym I saw my old trainer who looked shocked that I was at the gym of my, seemingly, own will)
3. My dreams have never been quite so interesting to re-tell the next day
4. I have so many excuses to spend way too much time browsing on etsy
5. If I email Corey with the subject line reading "Wedding - Please Read" he actually reads them and I can sneak in completely un-wedding related rants/thoughts
6. Vendors are, or pretend to be, completely in love with all my thoughts and ideas
7. I won in an epic photo booth Battle against Carol aka my mom
8. Most importantly, I get to taste the left and right side of the menu and nobody will judge.... its for the wedding!

Wedding Bands.... a rare breed of people

The most important thing I have learned in the quest for the perfect band for My Big Fat Boston Wedding is don't judge a band by their name.... they all have awfully cheesy names. (Sidebar.... who thinks the guy on the far left in the above picture looks remarkably like Josh?)

It is hard to find a band that plays everything from Motown to Billy Joel to Rage Against The Machine (or Rage on the Machine as my dad calls it) but I am convinced there is one somewhere out there! It is also really hard to choose a band based on audio samples but it is even harder to crash another party on a random Wednesday or Saturday at 9:30 to hear them live. Fortuantly for me, the Ritz reccomended Music Management. They listened to what I wanted and made suggestions. They are also very familiar with the ballroom and will deal with all the details, big plus for me!

Below are our three favorites and we need to narrow it down because I am pretty sure we can't fit all three in the ballroom! Have a listen and let me know what you think (no need to sugar coat it)

Joey Scott & The Connection - we like them for  their vocal talents, they say they will learn any song and the fact that they have their very own sound guy!

The Hip Pocket Orchestra - their song samples are great and show that they can do everything from Jackson 5 to Beyonce to Gretchen Wilson (obvi not my pick)

Superband - they have the best mastery of modern music and sound great! Added bonus.... they play Dropkick

Vote/comment away! (no promises that we will take any one's opinion into consideration.... ha ha)

Amazing-ness!

Yesterday was a rough day in the world of My Big Fat Boston Wedding. First, the wedding has taken on a life and bank busting budget of its own. Second, I bought my dress while it was here on trunk show, aka I can't see it/try it on again until my actual dress comes in from the designer, which has been the source of a few "I picked the wrong dress" panic attacks. Third, I still don't have all the address and have got additional last minute guest list additions adding to current guest list which was already quite a "fatty".

This of course led me to a mini-breakdown which resulted in a denouncement of all wedding plans and a solemn declaration that I am moving to a "food truck" theme.

This of course led Jessica to the world-wide-web and the discovery of this little gem I like to call Taco Truck Heaven... if you can get past the onslaught of grammatical errors I encourage you to read the entire article.

Obviously I immediately emailed this to my dad and told him not to worry we are having a taco truck on the Boston Common for the reception. Below is how the conversation progressed (read bottom to top):

From: Geraghty, Scott

Done!  Shall I let your mother know or will you

---

From: Geraghty, Colleen

I could be famous!! Plus I could use my $1,000 charitable giving company match!

---

From: Geraghty, Scott

It would need to be more creative.  A homeless box bar…All cash proceeds to support a shelter.  Could probably get press on this.

---

From: Geraghty, Colleen

Brown bag it?

---

From: Geraghty, Scott

Then we can give up the room?  How will we handle alcohol in the Park?

---

From: Geraghty, Colleen

We have the entire Commons at our disposal!

---

From: Geraghty, Scott

I understand the truck…position it down by the stairs on Tremont.  The problem would be with the BBQ pit.  Smoke in the ballroom, I think, would be a bit over powering.  Don’t you think?

---

From: Geraghty, Colleen

Why not go all out and get both J

---

From: Geraghty, Scott

I am not sure if you are looking for a Taco truck or a BBQ pit??

---

From: Geraghty, ColleenSubject: Crisis Averted

These people have AWESOME wedding ideas! Make sure to scroll down….

200 Days....

My Big Fat Boston Wedding is in 200 days! 200 days seems forever away but I am sure it will be here in no time. Here is what we have left to accomplish:

• Actually mail out the STDs (save-the-dates)
• Pick a band
• Taste and order cake
• Set the menu
• Hair & make-up test runs
• Engagement pictures
• Find some jewels
• Make sure the guys get fitted
• Finalize invitations
• A bunch of DIY projects from menus to table numbers to welcome guest bags for the out-of-towners (get ready Jessica)
• Have a million dress fittings
• Find a veil
• Most likely have 1,000 more wierd dreams

Most importantly this also means I have 200 days to get my tush into gear.

I have been really good about going to the gym. This weekend I was convinced that I gained 4 lbs in a week.... then I weighed myself in my birthday suit today and I was my good old normal weight, who knew jeans weighed so much!

We went to the gym on Saturday, Sunday, today and we are planning on tomorrow and Thursday. Corey is not a morning person and I can only go to the gym first thing otherwise I have all day to come up with reasons why I don't have to go to the gym. This morning the alarm went off and Corey decided that he couldn't get out of bed because it was still dark outside - I told him that I can't drive stick so in order for me to go to the gym he had to go also. This didn't do much, I then appealed to the accountant in him and told him that there was a direct correlation between my inability to loose LBs and his inability to get his butt out of bed, that did it!

And thus continues the battle of the armpit fat....

Dreams, Nightmares and Everything In Between

I have always been a terrible sleeper, it takes me forever to fall asleep and I can't stay asleep, I'm basically a walking Ambien commercial. If I get 5-6 hours of sleep a night I consider that a good night. I am still getting my normal 5-6 hours of sleep a night but those hours are now consumed by wedding dreams from the normal, to the weird to the straight up bizarre.

For example, on Saturday night I had a dream/nightmare that after the ceremony I was given a different bouquet that was round with a handle (think little flower girl bouquet). Not only is this not at all what my bouquet is supposed to look like but this one doubled as a salad bowl. Yes, I had to eat my salad out of the round ball bouquet, and ladies I wasn't the only one with this salad set up. Even stranger I distinctly remember thinking how this bouquet ball could be used at a later date to hold a pita pocket....

Here's to the next 5.5 months and seeing how much weirder things can get....

V is for Victory....

In the battle of "Carol vs. Colleen & The Photo Booth" Colleen & The Photo Booth have reigned supreme (who doesn't love Iron Chef?). It is official - there will be a Photo Booth at My Big Fat Boston Wedding! It is a great photo booth (see above) from Seacost Events and believe me there are a lot of not great photo booths out there. This photo booth prints two copies of each strip, one for the guest and one for the guest book! It also gives you the option to print in color, black & white or sepia, fancy!

I would like to point out that this is the photo booth my mother forwarded me from The Knot so really she is responsible for me finding the perfect photo booth and there was a coupon and that coupon got me $100 off PLUS and extra hour for free - giving my mom more time to enjoy it.

Everyone better ooh and aah over my photo booth at the wedding. I am going to suggest that my mom makes a speech announcing the opening of the photo booth. I want to prove to my mother that it really was the best idea ever!

Fun fact: Benefit Concepts (our flex spending reimbursement company) is going to be really confused when they get the photo booth contract I faxed over with my denist bill for reimbursement... I was just so excited to print the contract.... ooops!

KaBoom....

That is the sound of my dad passing out in NYC... yup, I can hear it all the way up in Boston. With save-the-dates comes final headcount! For those of you who don't know; my dad loves me, he loves great food, he loves great wine but he also really loves to save money. The final headcount has topped off at 209... the poor guy was really hoping for 140. After I explained that we all have a lot of family (Corey and my friends combined make up 59 guests - aka 28% of the guest list) I could tell that he was on the verge of a Father of the Bride moment:

Matty: Can I put Cameron back on the list if he promises not to eat?
George: You know, that's not a bad idea. Who else can we ask not to eat? My parents and your mother.

After pointing out that statistics say 15-20% of invited people do not actually attend we were in a much better place. Did I point out that I may have take a page from Dan Tosh's book and created a statistic to favor my cause.... not at all!

All I know is this wedding is going to be a fabulous time and I am certainly going to be eating!

Save the Date!

Stephanie at Kreativees saved the day, both literally and figuratively! After the first batch went MIA Stephanie was beyond accommodating and sent me a second set for free... in two days! They came and they are exactly what Corey & I wanted, simple and not fussy at all. Everyone will have to wait in suspense until they get mailed out. She is also doing my formal invitations and I am really excited to get started on that project!

I also ordered a custom stamp from Note Trunk - I also had issues here, I ordered one and got my own address wrong.... don't ask. Robert was so nice and actually refunded half the cost of my first stamp even though it was my own fault!

Stamping is much harder than I thought it would be but I figured a DIY project here and there is good for a girl! I am trying to master how to get the stamp straight and centered while attempting not to smudge it, there is a fine line between not enough ink and too much ink.

For those of you keeping score Colleen & The Photo Booth has another successful day.... my mom (Carol) actually forwarded me an email she got from the Knot for a discount on a Boston photo booth; done and done! I think she is starting to come around. As a side note we did having the following conversation:

Mom: "I keep getting these wedding emails"
Colleen: "I think you probably signed up on a wedding website or something"
Mom: "Oh, I think I signed up on the knot.com"
Colleen: "Makes sense"
Mom: "Yup and last night the Knot was sending me hairstyles but I was too tired to look at them"

The marvel of modern technology!

Flowers Flowers Everywhere....

Flowers are hard! Thankfully Orly at Tangerine Creations is helping us sort through flowers. It is really hard to explain what you want for flowers when you don't know the names of any flowers. This is how the conversation went:

Florist: What types of flowers do you want to see incorporated into your wedding
Colleen: Well I know I like Peonies
Florist: Unfortunately Peonies are an early Spring flower
Colleen: Oh, well I also like those white sort of fluffy looking ones that look kind of like Peonies

And so on and so forth. She is a VERY patient and VERY helpful lady, thankfully. Plus points for her - she said a photo booth sounds like a really fun idea, I have started working the photo booth into every wedding meeting to test the waters and see what people think Colleen & The Photo Booth - 5,  Carol - 0!

My mom has all sorts of ideas about flowers.... and all these ideas are different than mine - here's how this conversation went:

Florist: We could do something like this for the center pieces
Colleen: Oooh, I really like that
Carol: That's not going on my table!
Colleen: (to the florist) This isn't really my wedding, I am just a guest :)

I was thinking about it today and I cannot tell you one thing we decided on besides boutonnieres. Its all a blur and by the time we finished I was in desperate need of a cocktail!

Carol vs. Colleen & The Photobooth

As previously stated I am trying to only fight for things I really want.... the photo booth has become a battle!

Colleen: "Mom I am going to have a photo booth at the wedding"
Carol: "Colleen, just because we live in New Jersey does not mean we are from New Jersey"
Colleen: "Well it would be a really fun thing for the wedding guests and all my friends think its SUPER cool"
Carol: "Well all your friends are SUPER tacky"

So on and so forth. For those of you who aren't aware, I can be relentless when I put my mind to something and put my mind to this I have! It is a photo booth that prints photo strips while you wait, in 5 seconds! The best part is that it prints two copies, one for the guest to keep and one to go into the guestbook (obviously will be used to embarrass said guest for years to come). I think the best guestbook will be the one full of photo strips with comments after everyone has been cocktailing it up for a few hours. You can pick color or black and white and there is no limit to how many photos you can take - they also provide props but the idea of clothes/wig/etc that other people have worn grosses me out so there will be none of that.... unless my mom wants to buy a few!

T minus 7 months!

My Big Fat Boston Wedding is exactly 7 months from today! This is both super exciting and crazy at the same time! After waiting more that 7 years for the proposal it is amazing to think that in 7 months and 5 hours I will be married. Just think if I hadn't gone to UVM, lived with Liz in the honors environmental dorm, rushed Tri Delt, become a Tri Delt (eventually... thanks Di), spent way too much time in the Sig Ep basement, evently went as Corey's formal date, watched him fall out a window, then had him throw me in the snow, fell in love and agreed to move out of the best city on earth we might never have ended up here!

Its amazing to stop and think about the people/things/events that help get you to a certain place/point in life. This thought makes it a perfect time to talk about my wedding party! Sorry guys, but I'm skipping over you.

First and foremost, I heart my wedding party. I am lucky enough to have five birdesmaids in addition to my Maid of Honor (Paige, aka the Lamb). Picking a wedding party was hard but for good reason! When it comes to friends I am more of a quality over quantity kind of girl; if I could have had a 14 person (basically all the friends I have) wedding party I would have but that probably would have added more worry to my church debacle trying to find a church with room for 28 attendants plus me and Corey! The maid of honor spot was a no brainer; obviously I picked my sister (I feel bad for brides with multiple sisters). I thought about friends who I have had for a while, the girls who have been in it for the long haul and have been through the major "Colleen & Corey" events. Megan has been my friend for as long as I can remember and Di, Liz, Brooke and Katie were there for all four glorious years at UVM and ever since! They are going to be fabulous bridesmaids and I can't wait to have them in my wedding!

Stress!

Planning a wedding is stressful, anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or insane! It is hard work trying to maintain a balance between what the families want and what the couple wants (good time to note that the groom needs to quickly learn he wants/like what the bride wants/likes). I have taken the approach to picking the few things I really really want (can we say photobooth!) and giving over pretty much anything else. This is the classic pick and choose your battles, do I care how envelopes are addressed? not really, do I care how the plates are set down and picked up? not at all, do I care about having a photo booth? you bet your buns I do! When I asked Corey if there is anything he really wants/needs to have his answer was "Well I would like to end up with a wife and I want some tuna"

There are also bumps along the way, some small some the side of the Empire State Building. The latest "bump" is a big one.... M.I.A Save the Dates. USPS says they were delivered on March 1st, do I have them? No. After having a slight fit with the automated voice at customer service I got connected to a very nice lady with absolutely no information about anything. You would think when you call USPS, a company that delivers thing as a business model, they would be able to tell you what address said package was delivered to, nope. They don't actually have access to delivery address but she did assure me that it was delivered to Boston, MA - well that's SUPER helpful, if I start looking through Boston now I might find them by October 8th.... wish me luck and really wish USPS luck in finding my pacakge before I go down to my local post office and give an earful to one of their pension earning public servants.... after all I am from NJ and I will let my "Jersey" show!

Party Dress!

It happened again! The bridal party has been pushed back by a delivery from the mailroom! Don't get me wrong, I really L-O-V-E my wedding gown but it is long and sort of heavy so I figured after the first dances and dinner I will change into a party dress - this will allow for maximum dancing/drinking. Everyone knows Corey's dancing is more like an epileptic in the middle of a seizure fit so I need a dress that can keep up with those dance moves! I found this Sue Wong dress at Bloomingdale's and it is just what I was looking for; very light, moves well, really comfortable and doesn't require a strapless bra. The picture doesn't do it justice but it is sparkly and will look fabulous with the shoes!

Shoes!

I had every intention of dedicating this post to the who's who of the wedding party then the mailroom dropped off a package for me.... wedding shoes - the wedding party will just have to wait! I was reading one of the four million wedding blogs out there and stumbled upon http://www.shopheylady.com/ - the shop was created by twin sisters who were sick and tired of going to events and always ending up with tired, sore, beat up feet. They promised fashion and comfort with a manageable heel hight - I was sold. The biggest issue I had was what style to choose! I knew I wanted some bling and I knew I wanted my shoes to be my "something blue" so these are what I ended up with! They came in a beautiful box with a shoe bag and handwritten note along with them, classy. While they don't quite go with today's black tights I had to try them on, they fit perfectly and are just as comfortable as the site promised, its true love! The struggle now is going to be keeping them in their box for the next 7+ months.... 

Colleen vs. The Armpit Fat

First of all I am saving everyone the horror/scarring effects of me finding a picture of armpit fat on the "world wide web".

I found, and bought, a beautiful wedding gown. I think wedding dress designers must be cruel people, I wear a size 4 in a normal off the rack dress - they ordered my gown in a size 10 saying that would give us room to tailor it down, well I sure hope we are going to tailor down a 10! The dress I tried on was a sample size dress and was a bit too small which accentuated the armpit fat. Without giving away too many dress details (not that I think Corey knows what a blog is or how to go about reading one) the armpit fat is in no way, shape or form cute and the dress is beautiful. I am now in a full on battle with my armpit fat, this is one aspect of the wedding and I do not want to be big or fat!

Normal people would say "ok just go to the gym" but the gym and I have a love/hate relationship, I love to hate the gym. I sucked it up and got a gym membership, I have gone twice this week and just to put it into perspective Jessica so kindly pointed out that this is more than I went all of last year. My new found sort of desire to work out has meant that everyone at work has to hear about how much my armpit muscles hurt but I am determined to lose this armpit fat! Plus I figure going to the gym will give me a good argument to present to my mom when I can't lose the armpit fat and need her to just suck it out!

Venues, locations, etc

After coming to terms with the fact that I wasn't getting married at the happiest place on earth (the St. Regis on the corner of 5th & 55th) I had narrowed it down to Bretton Woods and Boston, both approximately half way between my parents and Corey's. The Omni Mt. Washington did not have the dates I wanted and I heard a not so stellar food review so Boston it was! I then narrowed it down to the Ritz and the Boston Harbor Hotel. Obviously the Ritz is a spectacular hotel and right on the common but the Harbor Hotel is on the water with beautiful city views on one side and georgous harbor views on the other. Visited both, too much walking and opportunity for boozed up wedding guests to disturb non-boozed up hotel guests at the Harbor Hotel, great space with no guest floor interaction and a spectaular sales/events team at the Ritz - the Ritz it is!

Venue down, I figured great now I'm all set.... not so fast Colleen. Who knew it was so hard to find a church! Fast forward two months and I am on my 5th (and hopefully final) church. The first church, close to the hotel, historic beautiful - the MBTA does work and cracks the foundation of the church in the process, floor to ceiling crack behind the altar. Second church, beautiful stained glass, inimately fits 175 - each time we visit the church the maximum capacity decreases (it really holds 150) and our guest list grows (pushing 200), wedding outgrows the church (hense Big Fat Boston Wedding). Third church, beautiful, Episcopal, near the hotel - sure the date is available, sure we can book the church; small thing - we have to become members and attend the church regularly for 6 months prior to the wedding or give a $7,500 "suggested donation" - considering that would mean Corey would have to give up all summer weekends in Maine or we (and by we I mean my parents) would be shelling out almost 12K for the ceremony alone, not happening. 4th church, beautiful, just over in Cambridge, church administrator sends pictures and its beautiful with tons of natural light - it takes the better part of an hour to navigate the 500 one way streets between Boston and Cambridge but we finally get there, walk into the sanctuary and find out there are two, yes TWO skinny aisles - this creates three seating sections and would allow me to walk myself down the aisle - again, not happening. 5th (and knock on wood, final) church, quintessential New England, plain but pretty with tons of windows, we saw the church, listened to a 40 minute oral history on the church and I was in love (did I mention they validate parking for $.50 and are a 6 minute drive from the hotel)! Old West Church here we come!

Father of the Bride

Here goes the blogging attempt - Perez Hilton watch out!

Considering we are 2 months into planning there will have to be a few "catch-up" posts to get everyone up to date.

First and foremost my favorite movie of all time is Father of the Bride. I can recite the entire script verbatim, line by line, in my sleep; Liz can both vouch for this and keep up. I have dreamed of planning my wedding for years and always envisioned myself, Franck and Howard creating a fabulous event topped off with swans and a tulip border. Then reality hit.... there are WAY more details involved than Father of the Bride let on and Franck & Howard aren't here, most likely because Howard is too busy psychoanalyzing suspects on Law & Order SVU... but getting back to the point, this is WAY more work than I thought it would be and lets face it I'm really not a details kind of girl, I am more of a someone plan a fabulous event, I'll show up, eat drink and everyone will be excited to see me kind of girl!

My Big Fat Boston Wedding

Its T minus 8 months until wedding day! My bridesmaids are in NYC (and Iraq), my maid of honor is in NC and my family is everywhere except Boston. To keep everyone up to date and my sanity somewhat in check I have decided to start a blog of the wedding... the event lovingly know as "My Big Fat Boston Wedding".

It started with my decision to find a hobby that did not include drinking wine, eating nutella and watching TV on the couch. My mother's suggestion? Fencing... for those of you who do not know me well I am in one word a clutz. Considering I want to walk down the aisle in one piece I thought maybe a blog will do; Di promised to read it daily and I was sold!

I can guarentee this blog will be filled with some information, a few rants and lots of amusing stories ... here goes!