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.