More Wedding Planning and More Other Stuff.

Plans proceed apace. The venue is chosen, which was the biggest question. It is a beautiful hall in Seffner, Florida. Seffner is a suburb of Tampa. Sis has it already decorated in her mind. Southern Belle has the dress materials for the maid of honor and bridesmaid, and she plans to make the dresses herself. She bought the wedding dress, and already has it. The menu for the reception is still in flux, but we've got time. The friend who offered to cater the reception, whom I will call "Red" in this blog, has personal issues to deal with right now so she's not thinking about what to serve. We've got time, though, and Red will be on board once she gets things sorted. The honeymoon is already planned and booked. Woohoo!

Packing. Ugh. I've been making no progress lately.

As for moving, I'm now planning to rent a U-Haul trailer and trailer hitch for my car. My car has a 3.8 liter engine, so it's up to the task. March 30 can't get here too soon.

Root Beer

Let it be known, I love root beer. For as long as I can remember, I've loved root beer. I consider myself a root beer connoisseur. So when Southern Belle suggested using root beer for our wedding toast instead of champagne, I reacted with joy and amusement.

Sadly, my sister would probably have a myocardial infarction if we suggested it. So, sparkling grape juice for us.

A man, a woman, a wedding planner.

Did I write "hilarity ensued" in the description for my blog? Well, planning a wedding from such a distance is not hilarious.

My sister is our wedding planner, as I've mentioned before. I've spent this evening on the phone talking to Sis and Southern Belle. I spent the afternoon cold calling places in Florida about reception sites.

I'm in Illinois, Southern Belle is in Georgia, and we want to have a Florida wedding. Sis lives in Florida, at least. Wedding planning isn't easy, and this being a "destination wedding" is making things more difficult. There have been a few times I've come close to pulling my hair out because of the stress of this.

Tonight Sis imparted some wisdom. Sis is a wonder and there are times I feel completely inadequate compared to her. She would slap me and tell me to shape up if she heard me say that, so let's keep this between us, shall we?

The sibling wisdom was, "This wedding is for you and Southern Belle. It's not about money, it's not about how pretty it will be, it's not about any of that. Give me a budget and I can take care of the rest, but you need to keep in mind just what this is all about. The both of you are preparing for your life together. That's what really matters."

I called Southern Belle back and we talked about the dirty details of money. We settled on a number, and I called Sis back. Sis said she could work with the limit given, and is sure she can bring the wedding off under what we've given her to work with. Then she told me to relax and let her take care of things.

Did I mention I love my sister? No? How remiss. I do love her a lot. My hair is now safe from me. If only it were safe from the ravages of age...

My Car and Other News

My car update won't take long. It was a loose battery cable. Funny the tow truck driver didn't catch that when he went to jump start the car.

In other news: Packing. Or more accurately, sorting through the papers, old bills, and other stuff that have piled up in my notoriously disorganized filing cabinet. I hate it. I want to be able to twitch my nose and have it all done. Too bad it doesn't work that way.

More other news: Wedding planning. This phase of planning may best be titled "The Search for a Venue." We've struck out twice so far. It is especially difficult to do so with me in Illinois, Southern Belle in Georgia, and the venue somewhere in Florida. Fortunately my sister is a wedding planner, lives in Florida, and is dedicated to making this work. We'd be lost without Sis.

Yet still more other news: This weekend I will put everything on pause to play staffer at the Winter War 36 game convention. Follow the link and see what it's all about!