jam.slicio.us

I came across a post today when looking for online articles on what to pack for a honeymoon to Japan. The author (a woman teaching English in Japan) had some useful information but in two of her points she mentions having children. Umm, what? Aren't honeymoons usually about fucking and not procreating? *cough* So anyway, these were her two random plugs for having kids:

- "Bring your cameras for documentation. This is a very momentous occasion in your married life, so keep the memories for your future children to see."
- "Include folding bag or extra bag that you may use to put some souveneirs you might want to buy in your honeymoon place. Remember not to buy new one if you already have it for you to save money for the pregnancy and the new baby."

Is Japan a fetility hotspot or something? Why are her packing tips so geared towards procreating? I mean, isn't it a good idea to have honeymoon pictures for YOURSELF and not just your possible future kids? And how much money are you going to save by not buying a bag? Seriously. Diapers are expensive! I'd rather invest in the bag.

It bothers me that people think that just because a couple gets married they want to have kids right away or at all. It really isn't anyone's business expect the couple's. And really, can you imagine how hurtful constantly pressuring a couple to have a child is when they are trying and can't concenieve? Terrible! People need to learn to stfu (not particularly this lady). I'm annoyed at random people who keep telling us about our future with kids. I'm too polite to tell people to shut their trap. I wonder if gay couples go through anything similar, although I'm pretty sure they would have quite a few peopel telling them not to have kids. Hmm...I wonder why people think that they have the right to tell others what to do. Anyway, this post is going off tangent so I'm going to end it.

~Fin

That's right. CentREpieces. I'm Canadian!

So apparently people were really impressed with the decor at our wedding reception, especially the centrepieces. They were scooped up like hotcakes. They were nice looking but I didn't think they would be that popular. I had purchased them online and then decorated them with my sister (and technically Jack but after doing one lantern he gave up. >_>;;) with white flowers from Michaels Arts & Craft Store. The flowers were on a clearance sale too. We really lucked out on sales and reduced pricing due to the recession for our wedding, which is why we came under budget. =D

Since our reception was supposed to have a Chinese theme I thought lanterns would look good. But I found out that a lot of people use circular lanterns as reception decor and I didn't really want to fit the mainstream. So I had found these table lanterns on a website and ordered one to check it out. We liked them so we ordered 18 more. Here is a picture of us cutting the cake, but you can see the lantern in the shot.

The lantern comes in various colours but we chose red since it would look amazing on our black table cloths. You can order them here if you want one: Shoji Decor. They require three AAA batteries and their bulbs are LED lights, which is good for reception halls that usually don't allow open flame decorations. Their prices are in USD and they ship out of California. They only deliver to the States though. I had tried to convince them to ship it to Canada and even offered to pay extra for shipping and custom costs, but they didn't want to do it. So I had them shipped to my uncle and aunt's house in MI and my parents went to pick it up from them. Other than that, I loved them.

We have officially one month until the wedding day. Wow, does time fly or what? We have the majority of the things done and there are just a few tasks here and there to wrap up. It's mostly coordinating, but now that we have an official ceremony and reception schedule it shouldn't be too bad. My biggest worry at this point is forgetting to do something. The big things are easy and obvious to remember but the little things are easily overlooked. I just want things to go as smoothly as possible, and unfortunately most to-do lists online are very generic and only think about the larger items. For instance, nobody tells you to review your gift registries more closer to the wedding  day to make sure you didn't put something on that you would later not need. We have quite a few items on ours that we need to remove. When we had picked the items it was when we lived in our old apartment and hadn't any intentions of moving. Now that we're in the condo, a lot of those needs have already been met. The bad thing about the Sears registry is that they don't ask you for an e-mail address so if you forget your password (like I have), you have to call in. And if you're like me, you always remember to call in at 10:30 at night when they're already closed. >=/

In other news, I'm really glad we hired a co-ordinator. She's going to coordinate with all our vendors, hand out all the final payments for us and basically make sure that the schedule becomes reality. Totally worth the cost. If you are planning a wedding and wondering if it's worth hiring a wedding coordinator, decorator, and/or planner, do it! You will save yourself many, many stress lines and headaches.

And now...for me to go to bed and sleep off this stress headache. >_<;;

Something that has been advised to me by others is to make a photo list, which is a list of pictures that must be taken. This is a scheduled list that establishes who should be in what pictures. One friend told me how on her wedding day she was in so many pictures that she forgot to take one with her family. Now she tells everyone she knows who is getting married to make sure they take a family pic. I guess certain pictures seem obvious but on the wedding day things can get hectic and even the most obvious tasks can go overlooked. I want to make things as simple and easy as possible and making a preordered list of who should be in what picture will help things flow. Sure people might put their two cents in on the day of on who should be in what shot and where people should stand, but hopefully Sharon's assistant will put their foot down. If not I might tell the guests to shut up myself. Nobody wants to deal with a stressed out bride. Haha. I'm planning on sending the list to all the guests who have RSVPed (to those who questioned why they should RSVP online, this is why!!!) so that they can find their name and know exactly when they will be in the scheduled pictures. Hopefully this will create less chaos.