Real life & the wedding

Let me get the fun stuff out of the way...

Wedding Invitations - mailed! I'm getting word that some local folks have already seen their 'tation. We are feeling badly about a couple - got word that an out of town friend is splitting with their spouse but they are still living together and are technically still married. The invite still goes to "Mr. & Mrs." but ouch. On the same day the invites were mailed we got word that one of the in-laws dearest friends had suddenly passed away. (more on that in the 'real life portion of this post.) In thinking about it - if it were me I would rather receive an invitation for Mr. & Mrs. TPgal vs. Mrs. TPgal if the timing of the departure of Mr. TPgal was so very unfortunate as to coincide with the arrival of any invitation. I am aware that our wedding invitation is a trivial concern to this family, but I don't think being concerned with the etiquette is out of line.

The Wedding Dress - my first fitting was this morning. (THANK YOU YAZ for coming!) I was having anxiety that the dress as purchased in November wouldn't fit or wouldn't still be loved. Alas... wrong on all counts. In fact, the darn thing doesn't need to be hemmed or anything. The dress maker is taking it in a little in the back so that it "lays perfectly" across my shoulders but that's it. I was going to have a key element changed, but upon consulting my fashonista advisor we..I opted to leave it as is. Classic, pretty and super "bridey". I will go back at the end of August and provided the minor adjustments are perfect I will get to bring it home.

Honeymoon - in as much as I'm looking forward to our wedding day, I am equally anticipating our honeymoon. We're going to explore the Washington Wine country in Walla Walla and then make our way to the Canadian Rockies. We have reservations all over and just booked a fabulous spa experience at the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel. I'm eagerly awaiting the 9 days we will spend without phones, work, alarms or 'work clothes'. Packing scares me a bit because we'll need casual clothes for our outings during the day, glacier hiking, exploring the countryside and then some nice things for our evenings in. We have a reservation at a swanky place at the Chateau Lake Louise so I picked up a HOT blue dress for that evening. I must look good for my new husband.

Pre-Wedding Pastoral Sessions - We finished our pre-wedding meetings with Pastor Kirby this week. I'm so glad we made the time to do this. Not only will Pastor K be able to speak about who we really are and how thankful we are to have found each other, but we explored some serious stuff about how to make a marriage work. The key is 'work'. Talking, communicating, owning your own crap (those are Kirby's words) and being a good friend. I can't suggest that our relationship is perfect, but it was a nice validation that we didn't discover any red flags or any new areas in which we don't have common ground during this deep dive into potential marital land mines.

So you thing you can't dance?- I really wanted to take dance lessons before the big party, but when it comes down to trying to schedule time to learn a cute dance for Jason and I to debut on our wedding day it just isn't practical. We will sway to the music and look each other in the eye. If you're expecting a huge Taiwanese Prison Camp production number, please be prepared for disappointment. We will take a few practice spins around the living room to take the edge off, but don't expect any lifts.

Onto real life. We were (are) so sad to hear that Mr. B passed away Monday. Mr. & Mrs. B have been Jason's neighbors since before he was born (I think). They are kind people who have been true friends to my future in-laws. I can't imagine how hard it would be to lose a dear friend so suddenly. Both of Jason's parents are extremely bummed out so Jason and I have decided to go to Denver for the service. Mr. B was 82, active and had a lovely spirit. I'm expecting the funeral to be a celebration of his impact on those he loved. It will be likely less attended than the Michael Jackson funeral, but that's a good thing in my opinion.

I hope our going provides some comfort to Jason's mom & dad and that our inept words of condolence to Mrs. B are able to convey the honor of having known him.