I must confess to being addicted to the Internet. Being of Gen Y, I remember a time without the Internet: a simpler, sweeter time. A time when letters were written as a means of communication. A time when phone calls were made to catch up. A time when books were opened when you were wondering which president instigated Manifest Destiny. It was Polk, by the way...Wikipedia told me so.

And now, enough of my ode to the Dark Ages of the 1990s. My purpose in starting this blog is simple. It is my wedding journal, if you will. Despite Facebook, a wedding website, friends, relatives, and the average joe on the street, I still feel as though I need to record this journey to wedded bliss.

As of today, here is what is planned. We have the place. We have the photographer. We have the dress. We have singers, a pianist, food, and favors. We have a website. Centerpieces have arrived. The wedding party has been picked. Most of the invitees have received their hand-made invitations. Beverage dispensers and food tubs are awaiting the fulfillment of their purpose in my garage. And yet, it feels like the list of things that have been accomplished pales in comparison to what yet looms. Someone told me that no bride is ready for her wedding, she just stops and gets married. She didn't mean that in reference to mental state, but rather in reference to all the preparation, all the tiny details, all the unexpected isms that arise...I thought it was quite apropos.

My current projects (as there seems to always be more than one) are:

bees

confetti

programs

floral details

My vision for these projects:

These little bees will accompany my favors of honey straws. These honey straws arranged in Mason jars will accompany a small floral arrangement and a lit oil lamp to comprise my centerpieces. The honey straws will have a cutsie hand-made label attached to the Mason jar, and the label will read 'Love is sweeter than honey' or something gag-worthy to that effect. The labels will have a little bee on them. This idea is courtesy of Mrs. Green Tea from Weddingbee.com, my new favorite site.

Our confetti has to be organic, as we're getting married in the great outdoors of Montana. In my vast hours of web time, I stumbled upon this at etsy.com. It is potpourri, but I figured it would make colorful and wonderfully scented confetti. Luckily, as a barista at a coffeehouse famous for our homemade lemonades, I have easy access to many lemons. I also happen to be something of a fruit nut, so I eat oranges fairly often. I decided to buy the lavender, but save up my citrus peels and dry them myself. Little did I know...wow...it's a daily project! I don't know that it will be worth it in the end, but I think the idea itself has merit.

Another from the annals of weddingbee.com's DIY selection, these programs immediately caught my eye. I have my own take on them, however. They will still have a Popsicle stick attached to make it into a fan. It will, after all, be a July afternoon. However, as I'm incorporating as much color into my wedding as I can, the programs are going to be varying jewel tones...blue, green, pink, yellow, and orange. Instead of a bird theme, I have darling silk flowers in the same colors, which will attach with multi-colored brads. The unique thing about these programs is that the reverse side has...wait for it...GAMES! Wedding themed games gave the guests a little something to do before the ceremony started. This idea is enthralling to me, so I'm trying to put together something similar.

Having no green thumb or floral vision of any sort, I turned again to the internet for inspiration. I knew only that I wanted a wildflower look, incorporating lots of color. This lovely bouquet filled in the blanks of my idea. The bridesmaids' dresses are a beautiful sage green with accents in magenta, so the dahlias will be a matching pink rather than orange. This, I feel, will also lend a more summery look to the bouquet. I am lucky enough to have a very talented lady on my team when it comes to my florals. I am sure she could put this together in her sleep...whereas I would somehow kill the blooms with just the breeze from a blink. Seriously.

I am hoping to accomplish a large portion of my in-work projects over the coming week. The fee-aunts-hey and I are heading to his sister's home. Living in Montana is great, but it seriously limits shopping. He wants to wear a suit on the Big Day, so we're taking a trip to a more metropolitan sort of place to shop. And relax. And assemble programs. And glue wings on bees. And...well, you get the picture.