So far I have a vision of how I want this thing to look. The color scheme is black and white. It's simple, elegant, and a little bit will go a long way with this color scheme. Also, since the black and white theme edges on a minimalist feel, if my budget doesn't allow for it, I won't need too many extras. So far so good, color theme picked (yay!)
For the venue, I'm looking at many local areas for the ceremony and reception, there are surprisingly a lot of places in Tuolumne County for this thing. The budget is going to be small, but thankfully there are plenty of places that aren't as expensive as I was imagining. We picked Tuolumne County because it just seemed natural. I'm going to be doing most, if not all, of the planning, so I will need to drive around like a chicken without a head until the day of. That's just how I am, I trust no one else to do these things for me. Of the family that's going to be invited to the wedding, my mom is going to have to travel far no matter what, she lives in Kauai. I have no idea where my dad will be when this all gets started, but he knows Tuolumne County very well, so he has NO EXCUSE for being late :) Kris' mom and grandma will have to either drive up from Taft (5 hours) or take the train and have us pick them up. Either way, they'll need help no matter where we have the wedding. So it only makes sense, that in an effort to save my sanity, the locale we choose will be close at hand, so I can go and bug people every other day until I get what I want.
No one has told me how freaking scary it is looking for a venue. I read one bad review and i'm scared that this is what my wedding will end up being. And try as I might, when i get pissed off I can flip out. And i already know that if my day gets messed up by the venue people,I will end up with murder attempted murder charges. The stressing has started already, and I can feel my old friend Mr. Wilkins (the name I gave my ulcer, might as well, he's been around for a while...) popping up. This is going to be a major hurdle I'll have to go over. I'm think that the next time Kris and I have some days off together, we can plan on driving around looking at the venues and getting more information from them.
In compiling the guest chart, I realize that many of the people we want to invite have, gasp, kids! I trust that my niece and nephew will behave, as will half of Tiffany's kids. Her oldest will be a problem, but it's really Kris' niece I'm most concerned about. I know that he'll want her to go to the wedding, and I would love for her to be able to go. But the child doesn't has no manners and lacks any form of discipline. When she doesn't get what she wants, she throws a hissy fit. Today I will have to talk to Kris about letting Kiaha come. I figure she gets one chance to behave during the wedding and reception, and if this 7 year old girl can't handle that, then she can be taken home. I won't put up with her acting like a brat. I hate to do that, but I refuse to have my wedding ruined by a little girl who said that she didn't get enough toys for Christmas. She seriously said that.I also have to contend with the fact that in my guest list, a lot of people don't like my dad. And unfortunately that includes me sometimes. So instead of having a set seating chart where everyone will be miserable, i'm just letting people have at and sit wherever the hell they want.
Then it hits me, who the hell am I going to have give me away? I'm sure that no one will object if I just have my dad give me away, it only makes sense. But like I said, sometimes I don't like my dad. I would be honored more so if my step dad, or even my little brother gave me away. How horrible is that feeling? That because my dad feels that everything should be about him, I don't want to include him in the ceremony. Ugh. (why hello Mr. Wilkins, glad you could join me...)
For the reception, I'd like to be able to offer an open bar, which will be pricey and difficult to pull off, but it's something that I would like to offer people. In regards to food, I guess I have to wait until i get a chance to go and talk to possible venues about their catering services. But ideally, it would be a buffet style luncheon with mostly pupus and some light finger food followed by a dessert buffet. The wedding cake is always a subject of concern it seems, but I am thinking that since this is looking to be a small ceremony, if I can't find a cake i like, I will just bake it myself. Good thing I'm great at pastry cooking!
I'm starting to pull strings together to make this thing work, and even though it may look like I'm all over the place (because I am), and even though it might seem like i've bit off too much (every bride has), I know this is going to come together.
