The beginning

The reason for Destination: Married is two-fold.

1) Though I'm reluctant to leave Xanga, I no longer blog over there with any regularity. I'm hopeful that my followers from there will come here though as they're the only people I care to share this blog with! I can't access Xanga from work any longer and by the time I get home at night, take care of Addy and dinner and whatever else I've got going on, blogging is very low or off the list.

2) I need a place to write about wedding stuff. Pure and simple. C is the only one I actually talk to about these things without feeling incredibly self-centered. And he is a guy, though he is WAY more involved than I ever thought he would be, but he doesn't care about everything.

I need a place where I can get in to all the nitty gritty details of my (our) day and not worry that I'm going to completely bore him into a coma.

The title comes from our having a "Destination Wedding" which is not as tropical as it sounds. We're getting married outside Chicago. But apparently any time you plan a wedding away from where you actually live, it's considered destination.

Here's what's at the top of my list currently: I called to book the gazebo in Pottawatomie Park today. It's really called the large Pavilion because this sucker is WAY more than a silly gazebo. It's huge. I have no doubts that it will have no issues holding our guests. And it's gorgeous.

I found out that I have to call back on Monday at 9am even though I was specifically told to call today. The lady on the phone was extremely helpful though and answered all my questions about does the pavilion have power and can I decorate and those types of things.

I also found out that I apparently have to pay an extra $300 to have the tables that are currently in the pavilion removed, in addition to the rental fee. And no, I can not send out my groom, groomsmen, and hulking brothers to take care of this for me. I HAVE to pay. So now, my little $250 ceremony jumped to $670 roughly, not including chair rental, decorations, music, or transportation. So much for less than $1000.

Other things that I'm currently dealing with. The rehearsal dinner. I have no idea what to do about this one. I thought I'd found a great place but the party room is upstairs and C's dad can't do stairs. So back to the drawing board. Why I'm worried about this now when there's 6 months to go is beyond me but it's one detail that keeps popping up.

I am all set to finally purchase my gown today, slightly used, from this girl online. We're using PayPal so it all seems legit but I'm waiting for her to confirm it's still available and then it's go time! I'm slightly nervous about purchasing used but the price is too good and it's the dress I want. Her measurements are slightly off so there will be alterations, but I'm paying $550 less than new and we now know my ceremony cost went up by at least that.

On top of the dress, I need to figure out shoes and jewelry for myself. I want to find the perfect pair of navy satin heels and I'm having issues there. Nothing is just quite right.

Anyway, there's a brain dump to get things started. Hopefully you can keep up with me as I plan away! Welcome!!!