The List

To invite or not to invite....



Why does it seem that as soon as you're getting married, everyone you've ever known manages to come out of the woodwork's?



Once you are getting married, you will soon discover that all weddings are a business. There are charges, and surcharges- not to mention venue restrictions and capacity limits. So what to do? You find a place and its great, it has everything you've wanted in a venue and it can hold a large amount of people. You then find out the number of people you're allowed to invite. (If you want a dance floor (who doesn't), you have to cut that number down by an additional 40.) Then you have to factor in your partner which means that number is now divided by half. (i.e. a venue can hold 300-40 (dance floor)= 260 /2 (your partner's side)= 130. 130. The magic number!



So you're telling me I need to create a list that includes every important person in my life and restrict it to 130? Let's not forget all the family, and your parents' friends...... by the time you look around, you're down to 30 people that you're allowed to invite. TO YOUR OWN WEDDING! I've never realized how large my immediate family is, not to mention the extended family. I am beginning to feel like the chick from My Big Fat Greek Wedding- Jamaican style. There are so many people that are important and that you would want to take part in your special day, you forget that they all add up. It all comes down to the dollars and cents of the matter.

As I said before, weddings are a form of a business. After all these people venture from every corner of the earth just to participate in your special day, you've got to feed them! Imagine if your caterer charges you $25 per person- multiply that by the number of people= $6500. Over $6000 on just food! And then watch the look on your face once you realize some people don't show up! Guess we'll be serving McDonald's at my wedding..... I'm just saying.

The thing that I don't understand is why do you have to invite some people just because? Like why do you have to invite that ungrateful cousin that you detest, or that aunt that you absolutely cannot stand? Can someone please tell me what's the point of inviting someone who you know really doesn't care about your well-being but just because the same blood runs through your veins, they're an automatic shoo-in? I have tried to create every stupid rule just to cut my list down like, "If I haven't talked to you in 2011 you're off the list", or my favorite, "Just put all the possible names in a hat and draw until I reach the limit." I mean who cares if my friend I met last year is invited, but Grandma didn't make the cut? (I can just see my mother giving me that "look")



I guess in the end, it’s up to you and your parents on who to invite. They say that it's your marriage but your family's wedding. The one thing that I keep trying to remember throughout this is that on the night of the wedding, when all is said and done and I am sitting in my husbands' arms reflecting on the days' events, I don't want to have any regrets. I know that there are going to be many battles throughout the planning process, so I have to pick and choose wisely.

Well I know one thing, it's back to the drawing board.... This list isn't going to make itself!

ConverseLuv

The Engagement

A friend of mine thought it would be a good idea to blog about what's going through my mind during the wedding planning process.... it would be a good thing to look back on. I thought it was a cool idea so here I go....

Where to start. Oh yes! I am ENGAGED! It all happened on April 9th 2011. FH (future husband) worked a couple jobs on the weekend, so I decided to head down to my mother's house to hang out. Around 5:30pm, He called and said it would be a good idea for us to go out to dinner that night around 6:30-7. We normally go out with my family, but he thought it would be best for us to go alone. Mind you, I was in sweats, no make up, my hair was recently washed and curly. In other words, I looked a hot mess! He thought I should go home and get ready, but he forgot that he had dropped me at my mothers house leaving me with no car!

Luckily, my mother and I are relatively the same size so I raided her closet, shoes, jewelry and make up! I could tell something was up when he arrived to pick me up. Every minute I left the room, he would be sneaking around my parents whispering to them. So finally we left and went to dinner. As we pulled up to Ruth Chris' Steak house I looked over to him and he had this HUGE grin on his face.

Normally he is very affectionate, but for some reason he wouldn't allow me to hug him. (The Ring). We sat down to eat and had a great meal. Right before they served dessert, FH pulled out the ring and placed it on the table. He looked at me and asked the famous words, WILL YOU MARRY ME? Not wanting to cause a scene, I simply smile and said yes. (We were sitting in a booth in a high traffic area so he did not get down on one knee.) Of course, I have chubby little fingers so the ring could not fit! As we were finishing up the meal, FH dropped a glass and broke it! We walked out of the restaurant, hand in hand and waited for the car to pull up. As we were waiting, he got down on one knee and asked me again.

We drove back to my parents house, where they received us with smiles and congratulations. I had been grilling my mother the entire time to see if she knew anything. It came out that he showed my mother the ring right before we left for dinner simply because he knew I would be asking her. He also asked my father weeks before he popped the question. To this day I still don't know what was said.

And so that's how I got ENGAGED!