Will I See My Shadow?

Who knows?  So I'm finally starting to be able to poke my head out from my crazy work schedule.  The past six months have gone by so quickly, I really have no concept of time on how long ago things were.  I'm looking forward to that changing.  The weather is gorgeous, it's getting easier to meet up with folks, and one thing Spring is really good at doing is lighting a fire under your butt.  For example, this weekend, Douglas and I are attacking the mattress search head on!  We've only been looking at getting a new bed for at least the past year now.  We had started looking back in January but were sidelined when I had pleurisy.  You can't really lay down to test out a bed when you can't lay down at all.  We've been slow to get back on the horse but we're planning to giddy-up tomorrow!

So what is all of this rambling about non-wedding related stuff?  Well, it's all relative.  Folks at work keep asking when the wedding is.  The good thing is that they understand when I verbally shrug.  We haven't had much down time.  Luckily, we're finally heading into the summer season and things should (emphasis word, here) slow down back to a normal pace.  Normal for summer is pretty nice, so we're happy about it.  Ok, getting slightly off track again.  Between the mattress searching and Doug's job hunting, we will have more time for wedding planning!  I know a lot of you out there are going to either give me the gas pedal response, "The time will fly!  Start now!", or slam on the brakes, "You've got plenty of time. No rush."  Personally, when there's a project in front of me, I like to get right on it.  I've been trying to pace myself but I've been feeling restless having not looked at color palettes.

The funny thing I'm learning about weddings is that everything is connected.  Depending on who you ask, you shouldn't decide on anything until you...
...finalize your date so you can coordinate everything with that time of year
...choose a location so everything gives the feel of the wedding you're going after
...find THE dress so everything can be built around the style of the gown

Well, then, where to start?  Personally, I'm starting everywhere!  What better way to find the path of least resistance?  I probably won't start looking at dresses for a while since I A) have to start at Estelle's in New York and B) want to start the process with my Mom.  Sadly, we haven't been able to get up to see my folks since the engagement, so it's still very surreal.  The earliest I could see me getting up to NY would be July at the earliest, so that's definitely not at the top of my list at the moment.

Given that I really have no place to start from in any category of wedding planning, I've been dabbling.  I spent a few minutes last week deciding to start playing with color palettes involving burgundy and a lilac purple.  Burgundy, being a shade of red, was a starting point to incorporate one of Douglas' favorite colors into the scheme.  Lilac pulled in purple for me (NO it's NOT blue...you know who you are).  I only did 2 palette mock-ups and haven't messed with or thought about colors since.

There won't be a lot of money spent on flowers.  I always knew that.  I never understood spending all of that money to deck out a venue in plants.  It looks pretty but the $ just doesn't seem worth it.  So I will probably stick to the bouquets and maybe some center pieces or small decorative pieces.  So where to start?  I'm not a big flower person.  I don't know the difference between a hyacinth and a mum without Google.  I at least have a favorite flower, so I started there.  Daisies.  They come in many different types and colors and are readily available.  I spent an hour or so perusing TheKnot.com and Google for daisy bouquets.  I found some very interesting color combination, but I don't think I'll end up with a daisy bouquet.  I might have to succumb and look at "higher end" flowers.  Anyone up for a quick teaching session in botany?

Shoes.  Yes, I've been browsing shoes.  I came across this really cool site called ShopStyle a while back from either Twitter or one of the wedding blogs.  What do I know about my shoes already?  They will be flats, but not slippers or flipflops.  Why?  I don't want to be taller than Douglas on our wedding day.  We are about the same height, so any heel I take on will put me in a position where I'll be looking down on him during the ceremony.  I really don't like that idea.  It definitely doesn't jive with the whole equal parts deal we've got going on.  I definitely want some shoes with style, though.  It is really difficult to find stylish and fun flats.  It's hard enough looking for my size 11 feet, but flats AND size?  Nothing really that fun.  The search is going to be fun, though.  I'm excited about the challenge of finding the right pair of shoes (believe it or not).  So if you see me on my wedding day, make sure to ask to see my feet!

So, yes, I have been dipping my toe in quite a few pools lately.  With the, what do they call it, "free time", coming up, I plan on being able to look at some wedding things more seriously...or as seriously as I will attempt to look at them.  (see beginning of post)