Staying Organized to Fend Off Wedding Anxiety

"The big day is so soon! Really excited to celebrate!" 

This past week I've received some variation of that text. A part of me is like, "Yay! I'm so happy that people are eager to attend our wedding!" 

The other part of me is silently gagging, worried that the day will be an utter disaster and no one will have a good time. Really, truth me told, I should just be concerned whether Peter and I are enjoying ourselves.  It's our day, right? Well, try telling that to the part of my brain riddled with anxiety. I hate disappointing people, and the thought that even one of our wedding guests will consider the day a 'meh' on the fun scale rips me up inside. 

To help calm my nerves, I turned to what we use in TV to help keep us organized and calm - a production call sheet. What is this mysterious thing? It's a list of who needs to be where and when, how to contact crew members, and other important details for the production. A wedding is essentially a big production, so I copied an old call sheet for the big day. 

I also made a multiple contact lists. The first contact list has the name and numbers of the bridal party, and, our immediate family. The second contact list has all of our vendors/MC/anyone else who is part of the ceremony. Both lists include everyone's 'call time' aka the time they are needed, and the location. The plan is to email everyone the contact list & call sheet a few days before the wedding and have physical copies at the venue. 

I've also asked my MC to be the designated 'go to' person the day of the wedding. Vendors will check in with him, and he'll help coordinate where they need to go to get set up etc. This was advice multiple 'marrieds' gave to us. It makes sense; the bride and groom really don't want to be putting out fires the day of their wedding. 

What else have I done to help calm my nerves? Well, I've cut out my second coffee of the day and have started eating kimchi on the reg. Apparently the spicy Korean dish is one of the top 10 foods that help with anxiety. Has it worked? I think it's too early to tell, but my what it has done is forced me to take out our green bin more frequently. Kimchi has a very distinct smell that, unlike a fine wine, does not get better with age. 

The Art Party & Final Payment

This weekend sh*t got real. Again.

Peter and I woke up Saturday morning and started rushing around like a McCallister about to miss their flight.* 

Our final appointment with the venue (Fantasy Farm) was scheduled for later that morning. We were responsible for providing final attendance numbers and paying the remaining balance on our deposit. Our grand total was about $2000 more than we had originally budgeted for. This was not fault of the venue - entirely us. Our wedding guest list expanded by approximately 20 people throughout the year. To be fair, the venue had flagged that might happened. They said more often than not, wedding guest lists grow as the date moves closer.  

After departing with thousands of dollars, we rushed back to our place. Later that afternoon we were hosting a wedding decor arts & crafts party. As I mentioned in a previous post, wedding odds and ends (place cards etc.) are hella expensive. Bunz Trading Zone is great for some of that stuff, but if you don't swoop in right away, you're left wandering the aisles of Michael's cursing their inflated prices for wedding decor. 

Not content to spend $40 on table numbers, I enlisted the help of some of my artistic friends (shout out to Gabrielle and Michelle!), my bridesmaids and future mother-in-law, Susy. Our mission? Create wedding place cards, table numbers, and a few other wedding odds and ends for the big day. 

As a thank-you, I made lunch and bought booze. 

What did I learn from the crafting party? For one, I was reminded of how insanely talented my friends are. I was floored at their designs and artistic prowess. I also learned that crafting takes much longer than I had initially anticipated. I figured we would be able to knock off the table numbers, place cards and a few other odds and ends in 2 hours. How young. How naive It took about 5 hours in total to complete everything, with the place cards taking up the most time and resources. I'll think of that the next time I'm a guest at a wedding. 

This photo is brought to you by an, "Oh shit! I better take photos of this!" moment. 

Aren't they beautiful??? 

So! We're three weeks away from the wedding. What's left to do? A bunch of stuff, including our wedding day schedule. 

*Any Home Alone fans out there?