Wedding Lineup

OK, since I don't have an actual picture yet, and since Nicole D. asked...this is what my ring looks like. No, it didn't come from Tiffany;-) but that that is the ring, basically. Center stone is about 1.25 carats, and the sidestones are about 1/2 carat each. And it is exactly what I wanted:-)

Nicole also asked when the wedding was, and I am sorry for not saying that sooner: sometime in the summer of 2009, probably July. The truth is, I knew when it would be long before we got engaged. I would like it to be during the summer, and this summer seemed kind of soon. Plus, Smoking Hot Roommate is getting married in July, and since it will be at the same place with some of the same people, I didn't want to steal her summer from her:-) Yea, you are welcome to think that is stupid, I don't really care (Ally already told me that was a dumb reason to wait another year...lol.)

I realize that makes for kind of a long engagement, but I am OK with that. The Boy is going to move in with us sometime probably late this summer or fall, so there will be at least one big milestone before then. No exact date yet, but SHR, Big Sis and Pape Bear are being kind enough to let me have it at the beach house, which will make for three straight summers with "family" weddings there. That greatly eases the planning troubles, as I don't have to reserve a date way far ahead of time. And I will probably use a lot of the same vendors they did, which will make it easier still.

And now, back to my questions of the last week...who exactly is going to be in this wedding? My guess is that I spent more time thinking about this than I will about any other part of the wedding, including the guest list and the dress! And for the most part, you guys were on the same page as me, although there are some notable exceptions, which are likely due to the fact that I write more "day to day" stuff than retrospective stuff...more on that in a second.

Anyway, Munchkin seems like the perfect Maid of Honor:-) I was a little worried that she would be too young, and thought briefly about her walking down the aisle with me, but I like this idea better. Tinkerbelle is going to be a flower girl, although I am hoping that we can find her a dress close to what the bridesmaids are wearing...she can be like a mini-bridesmaid.

SHR, Big Sis, The Body and The Mouth are going to be the other bridesmaids. This was a tough one...I feel really bad about leaving some people out, although I have spoken to everyone and noone seems to be at all upset about it. So that's good.

I fully intended that Twin Sister would be a bridesmaid, as well. I was actually sort of surprised that so many of you thought that I should leave her out. I think that I have not really portrayed enough that she is just a really good friend of mine. In addition to being The Boy's weird other-half, she is a very, very close friend of mine. However, he pulled rank and decided that she is really the only person that he wanted as his "Best Man". Best woman? Is that a role? Whatever it is...she will lead the group of people standing up for him, along with his brother, The Rocket Scientist and his two other best friends.

I also had a lot of trouble deciding who I should walk down the aisle with, and until a couple of days ago, I was convinced that I would go by myself, or with my two sisters. See, I have thought since I was about 14 that, when I got married, BFFb would give me away. That likely sounds kinda weird, and I guess it means that I have not fully described my emotional debt to him, but really he was always the person I thought of as being there with me. There is just a whole lot of stuff there, and I can't imagine what my life would have turned out like if he hadn't always been around for me.

But then, as you all noted correctly, Papa Bear is the closest thing to a father that I have ever had. And in the end, I felt like it is a very appropriate gesture to ask that he give me away. There isn't much I can do to really show my appreciation for what he and his daughters do for me, but I think this is a very meaningful gesture. So, that is where that is.

As for BFFb, well, I found a really good job for him, too. He and BFFg are going to get a one-day license to officiate a wedding, and they are going to marry us:-) So that's it...the two people that I have the longest history with, and that I have gone through so much with...well, they will literally get to be there and go through this with me as well:-)