Three months to go!

It's three months until the wedding! I'm so close to being done with everything. We picked up our wedding bands today; they are prettier than I remembered.
I'm really hoping my wrists and thumbs will recover soon so I can get back to making the things I still need to make. I didn't mention it earlier, but I got done with my veil just about a week ago.

I found the same fabric my mom used to make her wedding gown when she married my step dad. She saved a sample of it and had brought it out when we were talking about what fabrics I might want my dress in. I am not using it for my whole dress, but I liked the idea of tying it to my mom somehow.
I sewed czech glass seed beads around the edges of the fingertip length veil, and along the comb as well. I made a similar veil for my dear friend Kasey for her wedding last September, but it didn't occur to me then to sew beads along the comb. She seemed to like it anyway. :)
Since I've been using every possible moment to make items for the wedding for the past 6 months or so, this self-imposed break has been strange for me, to say the least. I now find it really difficult to just sit and watch a movie, because I'm so used to having some "employment" as Jane Austen would say. (I'm reading "Sense and Sensibility).
I still need to make about 10 hearts, six bridesmaids' gifts, and two gifts for special people helping out.
I can't believe it's actually going to happen!

Eurgh.

I basically took the whole week off from crafting for the wedding, because I'm starting to get some pretty serious carpal tunnel symptoms. Before I gave in to my gentleman's urging to take a friggin' rest, I started stringing a long necklace for someone in the wedding who has been helping me a lot.
I started it back up today after I got off work, but as I was nearing the end of the very long string, I turned to the gentleman and said, "I'm starting to think this is ugly." As I was working, I was imagining giving it to this person. It wasn't going well in my head - I was begging forgiveness and telling the person they don't have to wear it to the wedding.
The gentleman agreed. It was an ugly piece.
So I'm trying to figure out something else, which, eh, kind of annoying. But I'd rather give nice things than give something I don't even like. I just have to figure out what I'm going to do - work with the components I have in a different way, or go in an entirely different direction.
It doesn't help that I just got done writing a story about a local jewelry maker who makes beautiful, meticulous woven pieces and I'm feeling somewhat (ok, rather) inferior. You can see her pretty, pretty stuff here.
I think maybe I got in too much of a hurry and got preoccupied with getting DONE rather than making gifts that I know I like and that others will like and wear.

Very bad, no good blogger

Sorry about the lack of posts lately! I have been a very busy little bee, with work and preparation for the wedding. I've got 95 hearts done, and I need only about 105, so I am much more relaxed about that. I have gotten several of the bridesmaids' gifts done, and I started on my veil. I am also working on design sketches for something for a couple special people who have been helping me a lot.
Today I picked up the flower girl baskets from the Amish or Mennonite lady I ordered them from. I am fascinated by the Amish and their ability to maintain a microcosm of "plainness" as they do. There are many Amish or Amish Mennonites in Southern Indiana, where my grandparents are from, and I recently discovered there are a fair number where I live in Illinois.
Esther and her husband have a small farm southeast of where I live. Their lifestyle is interesting to me. The Amish Mennonite church, like any other, has a multitude of differences throughout the world, so it's not like you can say, "All Amish don't use a telephone."
Ben, Esther's wife, was plowing their garden with a pair of Belgian horses when Dan and I showed up to pick up the baskets. I found that particularly exciting because my great-uncle Lawrence used to breed Belgian draft horses. They are beautiful, gentle animals that I can remember visiting as a child. My great-uncle also had a Chihuahua named "Half-Pint."
Anyway, that's kind of off topic, but what can you do. I am hopefully going to spend the rest of this weekend finishing my veil and being awesome.

Just breathe.

It's four months until our wedding. Things are shaping up. I'm headed to my hometown in a couple days to meet my hairstylist, consult with the photographer, converse with the officiant, see the reception site and taste cake. I'm treated to regular updates on my dress from my mom, who sends me frequent cell phone photos.
I'm still not done with the hearts, but I'm trying. I just have to make my veil and the bridesmaids' gifts after that. I have one of the bridesmaids' gifts done, and they won't take long. I can make the veil as easy or as difficult as I have time for it to be.
I have been really heartbroken for the people of Japan and looking for ways to help. Reading all the news coverage has put a damper on wedding excitement for me for a while. I wish there were a way for me to help that didn't involve money, but it looks like a contribution to the Red Cross or another aid organization is going to be the way to go for a while at least. I don't know what I could do; make hats or blankets or something, maybe? It sounds like food and shelter are the biggest needs for the Japanese affected by the tsunami and earthquakes right now.
I know a wedding blog isn't really the place for thoughts on the disaster in Japan, but it has honestly been at the forefront of my thoughts since it occurred. For now, I suppose, I will continue to pray and hope the gentleman and I can make a charitable contribution to an organization helping soon.

Et cetera

Sorry about last night's pity party. I got a trifle overwhelmed. I don't want this blog to turn into my anxiety corner, but rather to celebrate the creativity that we're trying to put into the celebration we want to have. So here are some pictures of our save the dates!

Dan wanted to be the one to put the magnets on the cards, and he decided he wanted them all to be heart-shaped. Which was adorable, and looks awesome. It's a little detail, but it is just cute.
We've got all the envelopes sealed, we just need to address them and get them in the mail.

For the next couple days, I might take the advice of a little Zen wedding book my future mother-in-law got me, and put a moratorium on the W word. I seem to be less overwhelmed, but I need to temper my headlong dives into the details.

Blogorrhea

I'm officially sick of hearing myself talk about the wedding. Is there some sort of wall people hit, where it's all you think about, and every once in a while you still tear up listening to a song or imagining something, but mostly, you just want yourself to STFU about hair, dates, favors, songs and all that?

That seems like a complicated concept. Maybe there's a word for it in German.

There are four months and nine days until the wedding. Dan has been extremely helpful with everything I'm doing.

We have finished the save the dates, except for addressing them. All the envelopes have our return address on there. I hope to get them sent out Friday or Saturday, which means it's cursive time again. Then we get to do it one more time for the actual invites, and I forget when those are supposed to be sent out. A month in advance? Idk.

If there's anything I do know, it's that my family has my back like whoa.
We had a problem with the reception site, namely, that it was less than desirable in parking and number of sinks per bathroom (none), and it wasn't 12 hours before my aunt, grandparents and dad had found a shiny new reception site and got that sucker reserved. I can't even figure out how to thank them. A card seems insufficient.

I have completed 72 hearts. I am inching ever closer to my goal.

But anyway, I am tired of hearing myself talk about the wedding. As much as I know I will cherish the day with Daniel, I can't wait until I don't have to think about the little details anymore.

Super quick update

I'm at 65 hearts - getting there slowly but surely.
I picked up the save the dates today, so we'll be busy addressing and putting magnets on the cardstock, I'm sure.
Every "The Knot" e-mail I get tells me how many days to go, and it's starting to make me majorly nervous. Not in a cold feet sort of way, but a "how will we ever pull this off???" sort of way.