WITHDRAWAL

It seems like all summer I have been running at full tilt planning showers,weddings, dances, and then helping three kids pack up and move out. After months of having a full house and cooking for a crowd, I now find myself an empty-nester. Hmm ... now what do I do with myself? I've read a few books, cleaned and organized a few rooms. I bought a label maker and labeled things. (Ange, you would be proud) I even impressed my husband by removing channels we didn't get from the guide. I admit I was starting to get a bit bored but I didn't realize I was addicted to party planning until last night when I received an email from a friend who is helping her friend plan a wedding for January. She asked where I got my paper lanterns from and I immediately started to form ideas in my head as to how they could decorate and then went on the internet to garner even more ideas. This is not a good sign. I have nothing to do with this reception. My name is Fionna and I am a party planning addict. Please help!

THE STORY OF THE DRESS

We searched high and low for a modest wedding dress with not much luck.I suggested to Brittany that we try looking on the internet and came across this great site that custom made dresses at a very, very reasonable price. Brittany saw one that she really liked and as I was about to place the order I noticed that they required more time than we had to make the dress. To say we were disappointed was an understatement. I decided that I would email them and see if they could accommodate our request to have a dress made in time for the wedding with the understanding that it would cost extra. I wasn't overly hopeful so was pleasantly surprised when I received a reply to my question within an hour. The contact person (Libby) told me she would get in touch with the designer and get back to me as soon as possible. Later that day, I received another email from Libby telling me that if I placed my order by the end of the day, we would have the dress in time for the wedding. The cost to have it rushed? 30 US dollars. We took measurements, placed the order and waited.

I can tell you that there were a few raised eyebrows when we told people we had ordered a wedding dress on the internet. My friends were pretty dubious about the whole thing thinking I might be getting ripped off. I wasn't too worried because Libby had been so good about communicating even after the company had received my payment.

Exactly a week before the wedding, the dress arrived. It fit perfectly, looked beautiful, and Brittany was very happy with it. The total price including the rush order and shipping came to $238 US Amazing!

I cannot say enough good things about Libby and my experience with modgowns.com I would highly recommend them. So if you are looking for a modest custom made dress for a wedding or prom , check them out.

WHAT FUN

I had no idea that decorating a tent for a wedding was so much work or so much fun. The joy in it came from working together as a family to create something beautiful for our only daughter/sister. It took us the better part of an afternoon to set up tables and chairs and hang lanterns but the end result was well worth the effort.

The most amusing part of the day was the phone call I received from my dear husband as he tried to purchase more fabric for the tables. I had decided early on that I would prefer one long piece of cloth to cover a row of tables rather than smaller tablecloths for each table. It ended up being much cheaper than buying tablecloths and the effect was nicer. I am now the proud owner of 25 meters of white material. At $2.50 a meter it was a fraction of the cost of the cheapest tablecloths I could find at $14. I would have needed 12 so that was a saving of over $100 dollars. Then there was the added benefit of talking my husband through the ordeal of having to go to a fabric store and finding/purchasing the appropriate material. With the help of an attentive employee at the store, he passed with flying colours and arrived home quite pleased with himself. There is hope for the man after all.

THIS TIME NEXT WEEK

This time next week the tent will come down, the company will be gone, and I will hopefully be relaxing with my feet up on the sofa. I can hardly wait. Ian has taken this entire next week off of work to "help" with the final preparations. I will probably send him golfing (read it and weep Haki). I love my husband dearly, he has many talents but helping with wedding preparations is not one of them. For the time it would take me to explain what I want done, it would be faster just to do it myself.

Ian: What can I do to help?

Me: Can you make some paper flowers for me?

Sure I think I can manage that.

Take eight sheets of tissue paper.

How can you count out eight? These papers are all sticking together.

Dampen your finger.

It's putting holes in the paper.

I said dampen it not slobber all over it.

Okay, I've got eight now what do I do?

Do an accordion fold all the way down.

What size do I make the folds?

About an inch wide.

Does this look right?

Yep. that's fine.

But I don't think it's an inch.

It will be fine.

How come it's uneven on this side?

You'll have to redo it.

It's still not going right.

Here let me fix it. Now wrap a piece of wire round the middle and snip the ends into points.

Is this the middle?

Close enough.

How should I cut the ends?

Into points, you know, like an arrow.

Where do we keep the scissors?

The same place they've been for the last eleven years.

Oh... in the kitchen?

Yep.

It's hard cutting through all these layers. I can't do it. (frustration creeping in)

Just cut through a few layers at a time.

Okay now what?

Carefully peel each layer up and to the middle one at a time.

Oops... it ripped.

Gently, gently.

Uh oh, I ripped another piece.

You have to be really gentle.

Ummm.... how come it's ripping all the time.

It's tissue paper.

How come mine doesn't look like yours?

Maybe it has something to do with all the rips.

Is there another job I can do instead?

This was the simple job

Oh!

In the meantime, I've made three paper flowers, and written this post.

PAPER FLOWERS

Brittany's reception is being held at the house and I thought it would be nice to have some sort of decoration along the path to the tent so I purchased some stakes, some tulle, and I am in the process of making giant paper flowers to line the walkway. Cute eh?

HAPPY SURPRISE

The long list doesn't seem to be getting any shorter. In fact, with each passing day it gets a bit longer as we realize something was forgotten or somebody brilliant utters the words " you know what would be great?". On the most part the suggestions are great ideas and I just wish we had the time to follow through on all of them.

I thought we were in for a quiet long weekend but then the phone rang this morning and Daniel announced that he and Olivia were coming for the weekend and would be here at lunch. Later this afternoon, Brittany called to say she and Ben were coming for the remainder of the weekend as well. Matthew and Kere were already here with the kids so we now have quite a houseful. Ian has gone to town to get groceries. I am a happy camper and will enjoy this welcome break from sewing bridesmaid dresses. I think I will teach everyone how to make a paper peony.

A BROTHER'S LOVE

For years he called her four nostril bum face, teased her incessantly, and kept any potential boyfriends at bay but every weekend for the last month Matthew's been working hard in our yard doing landscaping in preparation for Brittany's big day. He offered to do it and it's been a labour of love. Some days I think I have the best kids in the world, other days I know I have the best kids ever.

LUCK O' THE IRISH OR GOLDEN HORSESHOE? EITHER WAY, I'LL TAKE IT!

I had a friend once tell me that I must have a golden horseshoe stuck up my backside (not her exact wording). She seemed to think that good things happened to me for no apparent reason. I argued that good things happened to everyone you just had to recognize it. Being the pessimist she is, she didn't buy it. Another friend once commented that I have the luck of the Irish sometimes. Having done some genealogy, I couldn't argue, there's definitely some Irish ancestry. Brittany it would seem, has inherited it too. I cannot believe how things are coming together for her wedding and the deals we have been able to get. It's been nothing short of amazing. I believe we've really been blessed. First there were the wedding invitations that we got at 75% off the sale price that just happened to be the right colour. Then there was the whole ordeal of trying to find a tent to rent. Only one was available and it was 50x70 feet. I told the rental agent it was a wedding we were holding not a circus. I mentioned it to my neighbor and he told me that right in the little town we live in, the Lions Club rented tents. I was able to get just what I wanted at half the price of any place else. I could go on and on but I won't bore you with the details, I'll save them for their own separate posts. I hope that things continue to go in this direction. There is still a lot to do yet but I am confident that it will all come together. I just hope that one day when I am bending over to pick something up, that golden horseshoe doesn't pop out.

MAIA'S DRESS

Maia is too young to be in the wedding party (nine months) but she is going to be as sweet as pie in the dress Brittany picked out for her at the GAP. We just happened to be in there checking out their sales rack when Brittany spotted this dress that was on sale but not in the sale section. It was the perfect colour, right size, and it was the only one left. We were thrilled with our find and know she will look absolutely adorable in it.

INVITATIONS....DONE!

It took a heck of a lot longer than we planned but I can now officially say that the wedding invitations are in the mail. Whew, that is a huge task taken care of. We got quite a deal on the invitations and with a little creativity we had them looking like Brittany wanted. Here's the story on my amazing bargain.

I was in Staples looking for some black card stock which unfortunately they did not have, when I just had this feeling that I should walk to the back of the store and look around. At the very back of the store hidden at the end of an aisle was a table of clearance items and lo and behold on the table were some do it yourself wedding invitations in the same colour Brittany is using in her wedding. They were twenty dollars marked down from thirty and I wasn't sure if I should pick them up or not so I decided on a packet of gift bags for six dollars (also in her colour) instead. I went to the checkout to pay for them and discovered that they were an extra 75% off. It was at this point that I did my best Arnold impression and uttered those infamous words " I'll be back!" I cleaned them out, programs, place cards, seals, invitations, and table number signs all for under fifty dollars. I was in my absolute bargain hunting glory.

Top picture: Finished invitation

Top middle: Our assembly line

Bottom middle: The cute little gift bags I got for two dollars (not each but all).

Bottom: The original invitation in the box

MEN ARE FROM MARS

It's been interesting watching people's reaction to the "big news" and it has made me realize just how different men are to women. It has been made even more evident discussing the reception plans with my husband and married son. The males are totally unfazed with the daunting task of putting a wedding together in just seven short weeks. They believe that seven weeks is more than ample time. Here is my idea of of a wedding planned by a (straight) guy. In other words, my husband.

Invitations= just call everybody on the phone, it's free and a whole lot easier. If you want to get fancy, email them.

Dinner= KFC, everybody loves that stuff.

Drinks= buy a few cases of soda, saves on glasses.

China= paper plates, no cleanup

Flatware= plastic cutlery, it comes in white, perfect wedding colour.

Decorations= what are those?

Wedding dress= Wear your mother's, she WAS your size when I married her. I'm sure it will fit.

Venue= We can clean out the garage. No one will notice the oil stains.

This is why my husband will not be involved in any of the reception plans. I will smile politely at his suggestions, ask for the check book, and roll my eyes heavenward as I walk away. Perhaps this was his plan all along.

LETTING PEOPLE KNOW

When I got to church this morning, the bishop asked if he could make the announcement from the pulpit. I told him no (shocked look on his face) and then proceeded to explain that I wanted to have some fun in Relief Society (women's organization of our church) with the big news. It was my turn to conduct the meeting so here's how it all went down.

Me: I don't believe there are any announcements this week. Oh, wait a minute, a date's been set for our annual picnic. Betty, do you know the date of that?

Betty(taking the bait): It's on August 6th.

Me: That's right, August 6th at Champlain Park. Hey, I've just realized that's the day before Nathan comes home from his mission ( collective oohs and aahs) (pause) and it's also a week before Brittany gets married. ( I grin)

At this point there are some confused looks and even a few chuckles

Me: I'm not joking.

Audette: What?

Me: Brittany's getting married and I'm not joking (still grinning)

Audette: What?????

Me: Ben got down on one knee Friday night and asked her.

(Some excited chatter follows)

Me: We'll begin our music appreciation portion now.

Darlene: Is this guy a returned missionary?

Me: Yes

Sylvie: Oh so you really aren't joking. (looking really confused)

Me: Nope

(at this point I am bombarded with questions)

It was almost too much fun.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Ben got down on one knee last night and proposed to our only daughter Brittany (and we didn't even have to pay him). We couldn't be more thrilled about this wonderful announcement. We knew it was coming but what I wasn't prepared for was the challenge to plan a wedding in a little over seven weeks. I believe we are in for a fun ride. I have great friends who have rallied round and offered their help so I think everything is going to be just fine. Oh and the best news of all... Brittany who has always predicted that she would be a definite bridezilla, has so far been very compliant and practical. Way to go Britt.