Calm & Serene

It's here! I leave for Athens tomorrow morning. The only things I have left to do are pack and paint my toenails.

This picture here is the calmness I hope I'll be projecting this weekend. My main goal is not to be stressed out, overwhelmed or negative. This will be a challenge for me because there's going to be lots of family and friends around, and it's in my nature to want to make sure they're taken care of and are having a good time. I'm just going to keep telling myself that I can't worry about everyone else and that I have planned everything as much as humanly possible (or as much as you can without shelling out hundreds of dollars for a Day of Coordinator).

Another fault I'm trying to combat is my tendency to have a "glass is always half empty" attitude. I've had lots of random "what if" worries about the wedding that I know in the end won't matter (like, should I have done the sunless tanning thing?, will people like our food? will people like the band?)

So, I'm going to focus on just having fun, being in the moment and knowing I'm marrying an amazing person who I love and makes me happy and will continue to do so for years to come.

Programs - Check!

The finish line

Gentry and I have been engaged for a freakin' long time. I'm talking 20 months long. Yes, that's right. One year and eight months. I could have birthed two babies in that time. I feel like I've been planning the Olympics, and I'm finally going to see the fruits of my labor.

Now, I have nine little days left. Finally. Sweet Jesus.

My attempt at being artsy

My new favorite show

I really like this show. It originally aired on Canada's CBC, and is now on the Soapnet Channel on Thursdays at 9 Central.

Bouquet toss gets a bad rap

We're having both a bouquet toss and a garter toss (Gentry really wanted this). I've been reading about how so many brides are forgoing these traditions because of how all the single guests secretly hate them.

Since I'm indecisive and always need help forming opinions, I asked one of my single bridesmaids if she thought the bouquet toss was cheesy. She said that she really liked the tradition, so that sealed the deal for me.

I just hope the girls at my wedding are more enthusiastic than in this video.



Do you like the bouquet toss?

Cold feet about the name change

So, I'm definitely going to change my name, but let's just say I'm not enthused about it. I've had my name for 30 years! It's my identity. It was my byline in my previous profession. I'm a little attached.

Don't get me wrong, I love the whole idea of how changing my name will be the beginning of our family. And I can see how changing your name connects you more as a couple. But, I guess I'm just set in my ways and the thought of legally changing my name in two weeks freaks me out a little bit. And even though I'm going to use my maiden name as my middle name, everyone is still going to call me Angie Hislastname.

For a good half of our engagement, I was set on keeping my name, and Gentry, thankfully, was very supportive of this (he said he wouldn't want to change his name either). What changed my mind was that if we have children, I would want all of us to have the same name.

On the bright side, my new last name flows really nicely with my first name.

Damn, what a fine lookin' guest book table

Call me cheesy, but I'm excited about our guest book table for the reception. I think the event coordinator at our venue thought I was crazy because it was the first thing I wanted to discuss when I met with her last.

It's going to consist of pictures of our grandparents, a kick-ass Greetings from Georgia sign that I bought at Junkman's Daughter's Brother in Athens and a MyPublisher book (check it out here) that I made of all our engagement photos that the guests will sign.

Must take pics

So, I'm getting to the point (22 days to go!) where all the little details have to be taken care of.
Next week I have to touch base with our photographer.

The picture you see here is one I know I'm going to ask her to take. It definitely fits our relationship.

I'm up in the air on whether or not I'm going to give the photog a traditional list of must take photos. I read a blog post on weddingbeepro.com a while back from a photographer who was complaining about such lists because it compromises their ability to capture spontaneous moments and, besides, they are professionals and this isn't their first rodeo.

Having worked with many newspaper photogs in the past, I can certainly relate to this way of thinking. But, you can also make a valid point that I am paying this person a lot of money, so I deserve to get what I want. For instance, I don't want to get my pictures back and realize I don't have a single picture of just my sister and I or whatever.

Anyone have any thoughts? Should I go all Type A on my photographer and give her a detailed list of must take photos?

Ye olde bachelorette party

Last weekend I had the best bachelorette party in Atlanta with five of my lovely bridesmaids. It was so much fun! We stayed at The Georgian Terrace, which is right across from The Fox Theatre. One of my bridesmaids has a friend who works at The Fox, so she gave us a top to bottom tour. We got to go on stage, into the headliner dressing rooms -- the works. I especially enjoyed it because I had never been, but had always wanted to go.

The next stop was Flip Burger Boutique, which has as its creative director Top Chef finalist Richard Blaise. We gouged ourselves on Krispy Kreme milkshakes and sweet potato tots.

Then, we headed to The Vortex's comedy club. I knew this would be fun, because let's just say there was no denying that the six of us were a bachelorette party. My bridesmaid Suzanne had adorned me with a white boa, veil, tiara, bachelorette sash and some items relating to a certain part of the male anatomy.

One of the comics asked us what all the gear was for, and one of my bridesmaids went on stage and gave him a candy penis necklace to wear and a penis straw to drink his beer with. That pretty much gave him enough material for his whole set.

Before I knew it I was called on stage so my bridesmaid could take a few pictures. It was all really hilarious.

We ended the night with a carriage ride (aren't we romantic!) in which we passed a naked man on the sidewalk changing clothes (that's how it is when you visit the big city:)

All in all, I had a blast and was glad my bridesmaids had a chance to get to know one another before the big day.

Twilight -- the bike race, not the Vampire movie

Our wedding day coincides with the Twilight Criterium, a professional bike race that brings about 30,000 people to Athens. I think the reason we were able to snag both are ceremony and reception venues is because the bike race was going on. Apparently, we were the only couple crazy enough to think we could pull off a wedding during Twilight weekend:)

Since the race is held downtown, and that is where our reception site is, I'm going to have to make maps for all our guests. Some of the roads will be closed off, etc.

Our reception will end shortly before the main bike race begins on Saturday, so I'm hoping downtown won't be too much of a zoo then.

My hope is that our guests will see the bike race as an added bonus to the wedding weekend. I remember going when I was a student at UGA, and it was a blast. This year there's going to be outdoor stages downtown with jazz musicians, too.

Check out more about the events going on during Twilight here.

I know if I was a guest at my own wedding, my plan for after the reception would be to chill out on the streets and watch the race while drinking a mojito or two and enjoying the atmosphere and then meander back to the hotel.

Cupcake goodness

I've never understood the fascination brides have with wedding cakes. I didn't have my heart set on one that I saw in Martha Stewart Weddings or anything like that, and I can't fathom spending more than $250 on a cake -- and even that seems excessive.

So, enter in cupcakes. These, I can get excited about, and they are cheap! We're going to have red velvet ones with cream cheese icing (Gentry's fave), and strawberry ones with buttercream icing (my fave).

I don't know how buttercream icing tastes. Anyone have any thoughts? That is what the caterer recommended, so let me know if it's not yummy.

Let's go away on a holiday

With all the focus on the wedding, I forget that I will be lounging on the beach in about a month. Gentry and I are going to Culebra, a little island off Puerto Rico where there's not much to do except relax. We rented this beachhouse, which I think will be awesome.

We've never been to the beach together, and neither of us have had a real vacation in forever, so I can't wait. I'm not going to put together any itineraries like I normally would do, but I really want to go horseback riding on the beach and snorkleing.

In this recession, I thee wed

It's tough having a wedding during a recession. There's lots of guilt in spending money when everything about the future is so uncertain. We've had friends and family who've lost their jobs, or are in jeopardy of losing their jobs, so it's not exactly the best time for them to be spending money on a hotel room or a wedding gift or travel expenses or a bridal shower or bachelorette party.

And I feel bad spending money on things that are not necessary for the wedding and honeymoon, but I would like to have. Like a cute sundress for our trip to Puerto Rico.

On the flip side, I read somewhere that people like to attend weddings in bad economic times, because it's a nice escape from all the doom and gloom.

Automatic Y'all

Chances are the guests at our rehearsal dinner won't leave hungry. We're having Weaver D's cater, with fried chicken, macaroni and cheese and broccoli casserole. Weaver D's is best known for it's motto, Automatic For the People, which R.E.M. used as an album title.

Gentry knew from the get-go that he wanted Weaver D's to cater the dinner. He's a picky eater, but loves him some mac and cheese. I'm psyched that it will be distinctly Athens.

Showered with love

A group of ladies at my Mom's church in LaGrange, Ga., threw me a shower on Saturday. The best part about it was that my 83-year-old grandmother was able to attend. Granny doesn't get out of the house much unless it's to go to Winn Dixie, the beauty shop, Cracker Barrel or to JCPenny. But the church was less than a mile from her house, so we were able to drag her there. I was really glad she was able to go because she's stubborn and is telling us she won't be going to the wedding because she can't travel that far.

I also was glad I successfully visited Granny without her nitpicking about my appearance. God bless her, I love her, but she is a little crazy. She likes to make comments such as, "Angie, you have some bumps on your face," or "Angie, you have a gap between your teeth." If you don't know her this sounds mean, but I promise she does it to everyone.

Anyway, the shower was great and I got oodles of small kitchen appliances, including two Crock-Pots. Chili cookoff, anyone?

Oh hair flowers, why do you torment me so?

I was torn between two choices on what to put in my hair for the wedding. My friend Suzanne's sparkly headband that she wore at her wedding, or a faux flower pin.

I really loved the flower idea, but in the end decided for option one because I thought this would be a better fit for shorter hair.

But then I saw this from Muscari, and I am in love.

But, I don't think the flower would work with the veil I'm wearing (also borrowed from Suzanne. Thanks, Suzanne!). Most brides I see who sport these flowers wear them with a bird cage veil, or they have long hair and they go without a veil and pin it to their bun.

Can you tell I'm trying to persuade myself not to buy this?

Oh, the joys of being indecisive.

The monogram bandwagon

I jumped all over the wedding monogram bandwagon a few months ago. This is a personalized monogram that a couple can put on everything ranging from favor gift tags and invitations to aisle runners and water bottle labels.
There are lots of girls on the Knot message boards who as a side business make these for other brides. I paid a Knottie $10 for seven monograms. I wasn't blown away by what she came up with, but at least I didn't spend that much money on them. I'm going to use one of these for the front of my programs.

Contemporary vs. Traditional

Throughout the wedding planning, I've noticed that Gentry has some very traditional tastes when it comes to weddings. I think this is because he's basing his opinion only on the weddings he's attended, and I'm basing mine on the flood of wedding blogs, message boards and magazines I've digested in the last 19-months which scream, "Put your own stamp on your wedding. Do it your way. Personalize it."

Hence, we have conversations that go like this. Gentry: But it's a wedding invitation, the font has to be cursive. Me: No.
Or
Gentry: But don't all the groomsmen gifts have to be the same thing? Me: Not unless they're all itching to get silver monogrammed canteens.

But one area I think I want to stick to tradition is with the ceremony music. Ruth, the doctoral student at UGA who we've hired to play piano for the ceremony, e-mailed me a few contemporary choices I could choose from.

One was "More than Words" by Extreme, which does make for a pretty song on the piano, as you can hear here:




But I don't want my guests sitting in their seats thinking, "Boy, I didn't know Angie and Gentry were such big Extreme fans."

So, I think I'm going to stick to "Pachelbel's Canon" for the bride's processional and "Ave Maria" for the rest of the processional. I might have her play "What a Wonderful World" and "Georgia on My Mind" for the prelude, but I think that's all the contemporary tunes I'll have.

I've read on other wedding blogs that lots of brides are choosing Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars," but I don't think that's for me.

Speaking of Extreme, here's a cute video of a young tot singing it I thought you would enjoy.

Let your backbone slip

We're going to have my friend John Rawlston's band, the Lumbar Five, play our reception. John, a photographer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and I became friends shortly after I began working at the paper in 2002. We drove to Oklahoma together for a project that retraced the route the Cherokees took on the Trail of Tears.
Anyway, John is the guitarist for the Lumbar Five. I'm excited to have an actual live band at the reception, instead of going the DIY iPod route, which was plan B.
I'm having a minor freak out that the older guests will think the music is too loud and be put off, but I'm working on controlling that. Hopefully, they will find some refuge in the little room next to the ballroom where the cake and bar will be.

Maybe Michelle will come wearing JCrew

Gentry and I extended a wedding invitation to the first family. Why, you ask? Well, supposedly the White House Greetings Office sends to a signed letter of congratulations from Mr. and Mrs. Obama. That would be awesome if we do receive it.
Hell, who knows? Maybe they are free that weekend and will be able to make the festivities.
Nevertheless, I did not include a RSVP or hotel information card in their invitation.

Dress Crisis 2009

So, I'm having the dreaded second thoughts about my dress. I had it altered by a very nice seamstress in Atlanta, and thought I could check "Get Dress Altered" off my list. But, sadly, the wedding gown gods do not like me. My friend here in Tuscaloosa, Laura, broke the news to me when I tried it on for her last week. "It's a little big in the boob area," she said. "You could fit a couple of pair of socks in there."

But no big deal, right? Just get it altered. So, I take it to the alterations place down the street here in Tuscaloosa, and the woman looks at her calendar and explains to me that the earliest she can have it ready is April 17. Apparently, it is prom season and the store is busy. We leave town heading for Athens only three business after that date, so that doesn't leave much room for any further alterations if they are needed.

So, all in all, I don't feel cute in my dress yet. And you want to feel cute in your wedding gown. I hope and pray it fits like it is supposed to when I pick it up.

I would post pictures, but Gentry is reading this blog. Sorry:)

About damn time

So friends, here is the blog that I've been meaning to create for some time now. I finally decided to do it because -- with only about a month left to the wedding -- it was now or never. Plus, with all my bridesmaids living out of town and leading very busy lives, I thought this would be the easiest way to keep everyone up to date. So, here's to getting your daily dose of all things wedding.