Our Christmas cards came a week too late.  I never received my first set of photoshare cards.  Now I ordered our STDs and paid for the slowest shipping possible and received them in 4 days.  Explain that!  

Sorry in advance, but this is long and confusing.  There's a summary at the bottom, if you'd like to skip to it:

Bobby has 4 brothers, and I'm an only child.  We were originally going to have them be his GM, and I'd pick my BFF for my MOH and 3 other friends for my bridesmaids.  Well, I had 2 really good friends, and the 3rd I was stuck on.  I asked a mutual friend of ours (the only real mutual friend we have, plus she was already good friends with his brother).  

Then brother J begged me to add his gf (now fiancee, getting married this September), well I caved and added her.  I asked Bobby if he had someone he could ask, and he asked a friend (to be his BEST MAN, although he doesn't talk to him as much, just because he couldn't choose between his brothers).  So our sides are even right?  Well, no, not really.  

Brother B was then offended that I asked J's girlfriend (now fiancee) even though B has been living together with long-time gf, who I get along with better anyway.  Well, yeah I'd choose B's gf over J's gf for sure since I talk to her a lot more and actually do things with her.  So, hell, why not both?  

Well, now Brother A is getting married apparently.  He met this girl back in HS and started dating her 2 weeks before bootcamp started (5/3).  Well, this girl is setting up an appointment to look at dresses next week and my MIL and I are the only people going with her.  Um... yeah I know it's sudden, and it probably won't last, but oh well we'll see.  Well, if it does and they do get marriend, I kind of have to add her since I added J's "wife" and B's gf.  

Summary:I should have just said no from the very beginning to J's gf.  Bobby will probably add 2 of our guy friends to make it even, and we'll end up with 7 BM's and 7 GM's.  Not to mention, we don't know if Brother A will even be on leave from the Army for the wedding.  

I have a headache now, as I'm sure anyone who actually read this whole thing does as well.  Ughhhhhhhh...

I've been going back and forth about wanting a photobooth or not.  (I really want to take advantage about the Shutterbooth special.)  Anyhoo, I asked Bobby if we could set up an appointment tomorrow.  He said he had never heard of a photobooth at a wedding.  Oh, he's in for a surprise. :)

My sister-in-law's wedding is on 3/19, and the poor girl has only received 7 RSVP's.  Now I'm contemplating not even stamping my RSVP's when it comes time to do it. You waste 44 cents per couple, and no one bothers to send it back. Next year, I think stamps will be 45 cents. We have 96 couples right now. That's $43.20 we could save. 

Seriously, what are they going to do with an envelope that has a stamp on it and is already addressed to you? Those people had better write you a letter in the near future!  

Here are my thoughts.  I probably won't put a stamp on the RSVP envelope, and I'll word the RSVP section like this: "Kindly RSVP by June 25 using the card provided or by logging on to: theknot.com/ourwedding/ournames"

I designed label sticker things to go around our wedding bubbles (tutorial on DIY page).  I downloaded the template from Vistaprint, designed them, and ordered them.  They were free!  All I had to pay was 3.96 for shipping.  It feels very good to have something done in terms of DIY.  I know it's a little early, but I want to get a lot of this done now so I don't end up with a million things to do later.  As small and probably unnoticeable as this is, I'm glad to get it done.  Here's why I can't get started on my other projects yet:


STD's (Save-the-dates, not the diseases): Sounds like we might be buying this or another trailer within the next three months.  I'm planning on designing our own postcard STD's, and postcards have addresses printed on them.   I'd hate for them to go out and read 123 Maple when we live at 234 Oak.  That would just suck.

Invites: We haven't booked the Church yet.  It seems like a pretty important thing to have done.  I'd hate to have 100 invitations bought, printed, and ready to go and find out my Church is unavailable for whatever reason.  

Programs: One of the groomsmen is going into the service.  We have no way of knowing if he will even be in our state next July.  This sucks, too.  

Hmm, I got the easiest thing I could have possibly done out of the way.  What else is next?

We are paying everything ourselves.  I opened an account yesterday where I can't touch the money until I take a hold off of it until next year.  I tend to spend the money I have, so this made things much easier.  I'm less tempted to use the money if I can't touch it.  I set up my direct deposit today.  From now on, half of my pay check will go to this account.  I only work part time and don't get a guaranteed amount of hours, but I'm estimating at least between 100-120 going into this account each week.  I have 25 dollars from each of hubby's checks going into this account as well.  This means that this time next year, we will have at least between 6500 and 7800.  We're still going to continue saving through until our July wedding date.  I am really surprised we are able to save that much!  I'm not expecting to pay that much, so we might use any money we have left over to buy some furniture or continue saving for a down payment on a house.  

Here are some things we are doing to cut costs:

Bought my dress at an outlet mall (paid 630 for a 900 dress- I was only looking to spend 200, but I found THE dress)  It's my only "splurge."
Ceremony will be at my Parish (cheaper for members, and I love the Church)
Reception: we MIGHT do an outdoor ceremony at our local metro park and have a cheaper caterer 
OR go with a hall.  I have an Excel spreadsheet with about 40 reception venues, how much they charge per person for food, drinks, and gratuity + tax.  I added up a total for 150 people, and we will choose from the cheapest places.  
There is a package with one of the cheaper venues that includes invitations, cake, dj, and linens.  
If we don't go with this place, I am DIYing invitations, centerpieces, and probably using fake flowers
We have 2 cousins on each side that are amateur photographers, and we will have them do our wedding.  
We will probably find a DJ from our friends or family.  

At the end of the day, I know, I know, it just matters that we are together.  

I went to Charter One and changed one of my accounts.  Now I have a hold on it unless I speak specifically to Carol, no one else, to remove it.  I'm not removing it until 2012.  

I changed my direct deposit, too.  Now half of every week's paycheck of mine will go into this account.  

Next year at this time I'll have more than 5200 dollars in the account.  I might sneakily add 50 dollars from Bobby's paycheck to this account each week, too.  That would be 7800 dollars.  We'll be saving well past February 2012.  Add that amount to our tax refund, we'll have a bigger wedding.  I'm so excited.  I've never been so excited to save.

I guess the hardest thing about wedding planning, for me, is going at it by myself.  It's very rare that I have a bridesmaid help me plan at all.  Whenever I try to get everyone together, they seem to all be busy.  I'm at the point I want to ask, "Do you really want to be in this wedding?  Are you too busy?"  I beg and beg for help, and my pleads go unanswered.  Maybe I'm trying too hard and pushing too hard.  I'm feeling really depressed about the wedding lately though because I feel I'm funding, planning, and deciding everything myself.  I should just marry myself by myself.