Pre-wedding obstsacle

If getting a notice for jury wasn't enough to deal with (okay, truthfully it wasn't that bad, as I had plenty of time to send in my request to change the date and it was no problem), but on Friday, the day of the rehearsal and dinner, my mom called with more news. My license expired last month and I had a post card from the BMV letting me know. I had no idea. Isn't there some sort of warning you get that your license will expire? Not to mention, I'm going to need a new one with my new name (and new address once we move!). But, with a trip to Mexico just a couple of days away, it seemed imperative that I get a new license ASAP!

BUT.. my day was already planned out! I needed to run a couple more errands. Go home. Shower. Curl my hair. Get dressed up. Pack for the next two days. Leave before rush hour to get to church on time. Getting a license was not in my schedule! So, as an emotion female before her wedding day, while standing in line at the mall with Drew and hearing the news from my mom I broke down. Yes, tears started to flow, slowly, while Drew was trying to pay for something. Let me be clear, in hindsight, it wasn't that big of a deal. But, going to the BMV was the last thing I wanted to do, on top of everything else - it was as though the state was trying to keep us from getting married! Then, I just had a fear that if I didn't get a new license I would have issues boarding the plan, traveling, etc. Luckily, we drove separately to the mall so I left and put my errands on hold. I went home, got ready, packed and made it to the BMV before rush hour and closing time. Let me tell you, I got lots of looks while I was waiting. I'm sure they thought I was some self-centered girl who needed to be all dolled up for her picture - wearing a nice dress, high heels, curled hair and makeup. Nope - just getting married tomorrow! And yes, I'll be back again soon to change my name.

 

I did make it to the rehearsal with time to spare. The rehearsal flew by quickly and then it was time to mingle and eat. Overall, I think everyone had a good time. Drew and I really wanted it to be a casual event where people could mingle and feel relaxed, not stuck in there seat.

The evening was full of personalized items and snacks to showcase our personalities.

Popcorn for me. Rice crispy treats for Drew. I even got to invite those few people who were making the trip that I don't get to see much. Its been four years since I've seen my sorority sisters Kelli (yes, since graduation!).

 

We finally got to catch up in person that night since the next day would be full of meeting and greeting guests. If you are reading Kelli, thank you for making the trip!

Mrs. Rothmeeler, signing in...

Wow, being a 'Mrs' makes me feel old! But, I'm ready to start blogging again, and boy do I have a lot to write about. Pre-wedding obstacles. Wedding excitement. Honeymoon. Getting back to reality. And, moving! So, check back frequently as my posts will be coming in spurts so I don't get overwhelmed.

Wedding Crisis

...has hopefully been averted!

Yes, there was a bit of drama yesterday when I received an interesting piece of mail

summons for jury.

And, not one, but two weeks of jury duty. Starting = May 14. Wedding day = May 19. Jury duty is not exactly how I planned to spend my honeymoon. Needless to say, I called the court house and after explaining the situation the lady actually chuckled at the coincidence and told me to ask for a postponement of my date. It's in the mail now and hopefully will not cause a problem.

The irony behind all this is, just three days ago my co-worker and I were discussing jury duty and I said, "I've never had jury duty before, but I think it would be interesting."

Busy, busy

Yikes, these days are just flying! I really have no idea what I do with my weekends. I make lists of all the things I need (okay, want) to get done and while I am unbelievably busy the entire weekend somehow I still have half of my list left to complete. The house is a disaster. The laundry is wrinkly. And, the dishes need to be put away. Phew. Just thinking about it wears me out. But, I am determined to get one of the many things done tonight after work. Hopefully the laundry.

The good news is my dress is ready. I stopped by the alterations place today to take a look and the seamstress did an AMAZING job. For the most part I didn't have a lot of alterations for her. Sure, it was big here or there which she had no problem fixing. However, the bustle was the big project. My dress... well, there is a lot to it. I never imagined it this way, but I love it despite the fact that it will take an army to bustle. O well. I'm only getting married once :) So, the seamstress came up with this awesome idea to bustle the dress, and it turned out amazing. She added buttons to the back to loop the material up when it comes time to dance and then covered those buttons with lace (which is on that part of the dress already). So, basically the lace all fades together and you can't even notice it wasn't there to begin with. Okay, I realize I am rambling on mysteriously, about something that you have to see to understand. And, while I would love to post a picture I must wait until after May 19. I am just really excited with how it turned out and how nicely it will bustle up while still sticking to the design of the dress.

In addition to the dress success, I also met with Drew's cousin to create the programs. She has offered to design and print them for us as a gift. Once I send her all of the copy, it will be another item I can add off the list. It's hard to believe that Thursday marks the one month mark, and while my heart starts to speed up as I type that, I, for the most part, am staying calm and feel as though we are on track. As long as I can get a little something done each day we should be golden.

March/April Showers bring May Wedding Flowers

Over this last weekend I had my last shower with my mom's family. Unfortunately, all the pictures are on her camera so I am using pictures from the weekend prior. It was a beautiful day. My three aunt's put it together and included a lot of family members I hadn't seen in awhile. Luckily we had name tags or I would have been in trouble. That's one benefit to this whole wedding process... putting names with faces. You can call me my father's daughter because I have the worse memory when it comes to names. I might remember what color shoes you were wearing or how many kids you have, but your name, not so much! Overall though it was a beautiful day with good food and great company.Mom.Jill, my future sister-in law (who finds someone she knows at EVERY shower!)
It's strange to think that the showers are over and the next big event is the rehearsal dinner. Okay, I lied, it's not strange, it's overwhelming, to think about! Luckily Drew's sister Jill and I met Sunday to talk over the details. It will be a pretty low-key evening. Drew really wants the dinner to have a relaxed, get-together feel as opposed to something formal. That's part of the reason we decided to have it below the church in the "basement" instead of going to a restaurant or banquet hall. This way people can move around and mingle with each other. It will also hopefully reflect our personalities.

Speaking of other finals, I had my last dress fitting today! It was very exciting. The seamstress has to do one more tiny alteration to the help with the bustle, but other than that it is perfect.

Over the weekend Drew and I had two very special guests. The Davidson's came to visit! It just so happened they were both in Bloomington over the weekend so they made a special trip to our part of the woods so Emily could attend the shower. And... Drew and Jon finally got a chance to meet since Drew was in Iraq at the time of their wedding. Lexi of course made sure they were comfortable.
Outside of planning for the wedding and working Drew and I are also keeping our eyes open for a house. Over the weekend we found one we really like, but we are still trying to determine what to do with his house. We both agree that it's not big enough for the three of us. I suppose time will tell, and things will work out as they should. We don't want to overwhelm ourselves now.

Small World

On Saturday my dad's family held a wedding shower and it was full of surprises. Not only did I hear some great stories about marrying into the George family, but I saw first hand just how small of a world we live. It turns out, Drew's sister works with one of my dad's cousins. They both showed up and looked at each other wondering what the other one was doing at the shower. Of course, it was easy for Jill (Drew's sister) to make the connection given the same last names. It was a little harder for my dad's cousin. I guess she didn't pay attention to the invitation or save the date to connect Drew's last name to his sister. Regardless, everyone got a big kick out of it and Jill did not feel out of place at all surrounded by Georges.

But, it doesn't stop there. It turns out too, that a good family friend on Drew's side babysits for the kids of a woman who works with my dad. The girl saw the invitation while she was babysitting and it was another small world moment.

I'm starting to think that I won't have to worry too much about who I seat people next to as they will probably know the person next to them! Okay, it probably won't be that easy, but I am crossing my fingers that the seating chart isn't too dreadful. I think that's the one thing that is giving me anxiety.

Perfectly Compatible

Drew and I like to think we are perfect for each other. Of course, I'm sure every couple (especially those who are less than two months from saying 'I do') likes to think that way. Over the last month or so we have embarked on a number of meetings and retreat in an effort to get married in the Catholic church. Through it all we've been forced to think about how our indivudual lives/morals/upbringings, etc. will play a role in our relationship and the family we are about to become. One of the first things we did when we met with our Decon was take a questionnaire compatibility test. The test was filled with questions relating to communicating, religious views, to financial situations, as well as many other topics. While neither one of us was nervous about the outcome, we were quite curious as to what the results would indicate. Over the weekend we sat down with a couple from the church who offered to be out mentors (They were good friends with Drew's family growing up) who told us that in all of the years they have been doing this (I want to say at least 10 years) they have never seen scores as good/as close as ours were to each other. To add to that, each topic has one or two key indicator questions which the church considers more important than the others. In that case, if you miss one (or more) it's important that your mentors talk through the questions/answers with you. Drew and I not only had the same answers as each other, but we both put the church's preferred answer.

I really believe that Iraq forced us to think and talk about things that we may not have considered for some time. I know personally Iraq forced me to take on roles I wouldn't have had to otherwise, as well as learn to communicate stronger verbally as opposed to shutting down or pretending everything is okay, when it's not. We didn't have a choice. And, for that I think we are stronger for it.

After going over the results we talked with the couple for a while. The wife made an interesting analogy. She called their marriage a child. That just like you have to take care of yourself and your children, you can't neglect your marriage. You must also make time for each other, just like you make time for each individual kid, if you are blessed to have children. It was an interesting analogy, which also makes a lot of sense. This is one thing Drew and I have talked about in the past, how we both think it's important to get away together once a year (or whenever necessary). It doesn't have to be far or fancy, but a chance to focus on us as a couple. Overall, it was a nice night hearing from and talking to a couple who have been married for 40+ years whom isn't an immediate family member, nor someone we know really well.