Counting down..

So tomorrow I hit the 11 week mark. Only 11 weeks left until I become Mrs Ziph! Only 11 weeks left to get my act into gear and get everything I need to do done. It's starting to make me feel a bit antsy. I started to make a list of things I still need to do (and other things I want to try to do), but I got distracted and ended up blogging here instead! So here are the things I still need to do:

* Wedding programs/place cards/table numbers - I need to get onto Ziph about helping me design what is in my head. My inspiration for the herb pictures is drawn from the image shown (but also with mint, rose geranium and/or other herbs that are being used in the bouquets), but in black & white/shades of grey/outline.. as a background image maybe with text (eg table number?) over the top, or as a main image with text underneath. I need to see what magic Ziph can bring (he's amazing with graphic design)..

* Suits - Ziph and I need to get our act into gear and go down to get him fitted for a suit & pick the style etc for the groomsmen. We've already got ties made for the boys, so we need to be able to co-ordinate their waistcoats and accessories. Then they can all go back together and get fitted and do whatever boys do when they got for a suit fitting.

* Finalise the bible readings for the ceremony (and who is doing the readings). I have a list of ~half a dozen that I'm thinking over, but I think I need to cut and paste them all onto one page because it's so hard to keep flipping back and forth and keep it all sorted in my head. I'm thinking of having my Nonna (grandmother) do one of the readings, but I'm not sure who should do the second reading.. I'd suggest someone from Ziph's side, but I know my MIL is not keen on public speaking (she doesn't want to do a speech either), and neither of his brothers are particularly religious so they might not be keen either. Could get Best Man's mum to do a reading (she's a celebrant, too as it happens.. not that it's relevant!).. need to check what Ziph thinks.

* Finalise wedding music selections. Once again I have a list of songs that I'm thinking of using, but nothing that I'm definite on. I think the problem is that I had always planned to walk down the aisle to Pachebel's Canon in D, but after having watched so many wedding reality shows I just can't do it. It's so common, and I think I need something that doesn't make me think of other peoples' weddings. But contenders are (not just for the aisle walk, but also for the waltz and the recessional/signing of the registry):
- Only Hope, Mandy Moore
- I Wanna Get Married, Nellie McKay
- Kiss Me Again, Jessica Lee Mayfield
- Our Love is Easy, Melody Gardot
- Maybe I'm Amazed, Jem
- For Sentimental Reasons, Nat King Cole
- Somebody, Depeche Mode
- If I Had the Stars, Melody Gardot
- Chapel of Love

But I wonder if none of them seem right because I just haven't found the right song yet. Will I know the right song when I hear it?

* Sign up for Biggest Loser (again) at the gym. Still want to lose a few more kilos.

* Bridesmaid's survival kits - I've started collecting bits & pieces, but I need to make a list of exactly what I want to include and what I still need to get.

* Bathroom baskets - Again, write list & work out what's missing.

* Tears of Joy packets - I bought the tissues today, now I need to get my hands on some glassine envelopes and design some labels (hopefully Ziph can do those while he's sorting out the design for my programs etc.)

* Bridal shower - some of my Clayton's bridesmaids (you know, those girlfriends who are pretty much honorary bridesmaids, but not officially) have offered to host the bridal shower (as opposed to the hen's night which my actual bridesmaids are organising) but I haven't had a chance to catch up with them since before Christmas, so I don't think there's anything planned yet. I need to find out if they're still keen, or if I need to pass that over to my official team.

And then there's the list of things I *want* to do.. but I think I need a whole new post for that!

Falling into place..

I think I already mentioned that within mere hours of changing our wedding from Tasmania to Geraldton some of our bits and pieces started falling into place..

1. Ceremony Venue - check! St George's will marry us on any day we want, except Sunday because they're too busy!

2. Cake - check! Ziph's mum makes delectable white chocolate wedding cupcakes with butter cream frosting. Yummo!

3. Bridal makeup - check! Ziph's sister-in-law is an incredibly talented makeup artist (who did her own wedding makeup last month!)

also:

4. Picking my other bridesmaid (aside from my sister) - check! As soon as we decided on Geraldton I knew that my fab friend Mrs McD would be perfect.. not only is she one of my dearest friends, but she also happens to be a Geraldton local. How awesome is that? I have a local on the case!

5. MY wedding ring - nearly check! I went in to see a jeweller friend of mine from my pre-baby work days, and got a quote for a custom made ring to match/compliment my engagement ring. And it came in under budget. Woo! Ziph is happy with the price, so all we have to do is actually go in and get the design properly drawn up etc and order it. I know the wedding is still 10 months away, but I really want to order it right now!!

6. Bridal hair - maybe check! A girlfriend of mine is doing a hairdressing apprenticeship, and I was her hair model today.. while we were chatting about the wedding, she mentioned that she could do my hair, but then remembered that I wasn't getting married in Perth.. Might require organising a road trip with one or two of our other girlfriends for the wedding, but still possible! And as a bonus, hair trials will be super easy, because she only lives 5 minutes away from me.. definitely something to think about seriously.

A little bit of this, and a little bit of that..

So our original plan when we got engaged was to run off and get married in Tasmania.. unfortunately for us, the "dream" venue we'd found online turned out to be nothing more than a beautiful facade with some horror reviews.. initially I was downhearted and thrown for a loop, but we persevered with the Tassie dream and started looking for other venues and locations.. but as they say, "Once bitten, twice shy.." and it began to look more and more like we'd have to take a trip over in the not too distant future to check out venues etc.. but no worries, right? A romantic couple of days away, without the kids to plan the wedding.. awesome!

Still, I was feeling a little stuck, because I couldn't finalise any plans until we went over there, and time just keeps slipping away..

And we had a very generous offer from the Best Man's mum - she's a celebrant and offered to officiate our wedding at no charge (other than necessary paperwork) if we decided to have a civil ceremony. Which begged the question, what kind of ceremony did we want?

As a teenager and into my early 20s I'd always envisioned some quaint little stone church, but more recently hadn't given the idea much thought (ironic, yes?).. and the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I still really want a church wedding. So I asked Ziph how he felt about the idea of a church wedding and he (totally randomly) suggested the parish of St George in Geraldton. Hang on a minute? What about the Tassie dream?

Clearly Ziph had picked up on my increasingly stressed out vibes (as well, no doubt, of the extra costs involved in planning the Tassie wedding that kind of defeated the purpose of our rather conservative budget) and was willing to explore our other options. So, what about Geraldton? I had a bit of a think about this, and the more I worked it through, the better it sounded.. infact, by the time I finished daydreaming I was rather excited about the prospect!

You see, Geraldton holds a special place in my heart.. my mum's parents live there (as well as most of her siblings etc) and we frequently holidayed there when I was young (and still do). St George's is a beautiful church that my Nonna attends, and I'd already floated the idea of getting the kids baptised there at some point.

It's also a lot easier for most of our families to get to Gero than to travel to Tassie, which helped finalise some other things.. like Ziph's mum will make our wedding cake, and our new sister-in-law is a makeup artist, and has agreed to do my makeup (and my bridesmaids) and now the ceremony venue is sorted, too! Yay!