It's the Final Countdown + A Sneak Peak!

I wonder how many times that song title has been used in blog posts concerning the 'final countdown' to some major life event?

Well friends, the day has finally arrived where I can say I am getting married in exactly one. month.

(I apologize in advance for the fact that you will be singing that annoying hook the rest of the day.)

Planning this wedding has happened in two major phases. First, after the engagement, was the mad dash to decide on a guest list, a budget and a venue. However, after these big things were taken care of, there was a long stretch of waiting. Waiting because I had to focus on school and graduation and interviewing and work when I really wanted to be stalking blogs and making crafts and spending time with my fiance.

And then, I graduated. Suddenly, with no job and presented with the challenge to live solely on graduation money from here on out, I had plenty of time for these things! Remember that post when I talked about enjoying retirement? As much as I thought I would be bored of it by week two, it really was nothing to complain about--because all of a sudden, as time began ticking away, there was suddenly A LOT to do. Such as:

1. Painstakingly cutting out black cardstock table numbers.

2. Stamping hundreds of candy bags and punching out teeny tiny hearts to glue on them.

3. Resisting the urge to rip open every single box that has accumulate in my wonderful mother's sewing room.

Between running around like a chicken with my head cut off and accidently supergluing my fingers together, I've been missing my fiance because (BIG NEWS!) he started a school counseling job in Fairfax, VA! He got a call the weekend that we visited and has been filling in as a substitute counselor at a high school down there. It has been an amazing opportunity for him and he is loving it, and I am so excited to see him finally get to live out his career dream!

In other big news, my future sister in law, Alisha, got married last weekend! It was such a beautiful and joyful day! Future family gatherings are gonna be ballin'.

Needless to say, it has been QUITE the busy month so far! It's been hard to blog when all I want to is show you all EVERYTHING--all the decorations, all the plans--but I need to restrain myself so that there will be lots to blog about in the coming months. 

I have had an absolute blast planning my wedding, and even though I know it's not even close to being over yet, I am so, so thankful for everyone who has helped me and Ian out during this exciting time--all the friends and family members who have contributed their time and services, my girlfriends who have helped stamp and glue hundreds of invitations and candy bags and have put up with months of wedding talk, my mom who has passed down her impeccable organization skills and has kept me calm, and my dad who has surprisingly not gone all Steve Martin in Father of the Bride. Yet.

But I can finally say that I'm ready. It's time. I'm ready to have a really fun wedding, and more importantly, I'm ready to begin my new life with Ian. One month! I'll leave you with a little preview of what we've been working on--and it's the only preview you're gonna get-- I swear!