#1: Check of the stress level
#2: WOW! It's great to be ahead of schedule (reprise 1)
and of course,
#3: imParting of Wisdom
Now, let's start this thing out Soap Opera style:
(to be read in a deep and dramatic TV announcer-type voice) In our last episode, Nicole was starting to feel the stresses associated with putting together a wedding reception. After sending out the invitations, she realized that the wedding was coming up sooner than she realized, and worried she was getting behind schedule. Was Nicole behind schedule? Is the wedding coming up sooner than expected? Will she be able to pull out of the stress she was feeling? Let's tune in now to see how the mother of the bride is doing.....
#1: Check of the stress level:
Yes, it's true. Sending out the invitations caused a great level of stress. It made the wedding seem SOOOOO close and I did NOT feel as prepared as I wanted to by that point. Kaylee is coming home from London one week from this Thursday and I want to have everything done by then so we can just soak up and enjoy that last week of time together before the wedding.
Luckily, I had NOTHING on my calendar the two days after invites went out. I grabbed that opportunity and just slowly, but methodically, finished off all sorts of little items on my list. I LOVED IT!! I now am feeling a TON better about the whole thing. There are still lots of little things like: make sure we have enough extension cords/spot lights (gonna get Kyle on that one), steaming out wrinkles from chair covers/sashes/overlays (but I am hoping to get some friends to help me), stringing some lights on this decoration thing, and mounting some pictures, but that's about it. There is another project, but I am leaving that for Kaylee to do since she has asked to be able to help in some way once she gets home.
Note to future self: If you start to feel like you are running out of time, don't ever underestimate what two days of hard work can do. I got a TON done and it helped out the stress immensely. It felt GREAT!!
#2: WOW! It's great to be ahead of schedule (reprise 1):
I have now had 2 experiences where I am reaping what I sowed (in a good way). Already told the story about the invitations in the last blog. Well, I have been experiencing another one over the past month:
Everything has been ordered, and what has not come in yet will be here in the next 48 hours (with the exception of the flowers). This has not happened without DRAMA! I will explain...
I ordered a bunch of stuff from linentablecloth.com WEEKS ago. Two items in one of the orders were SATIN table overlays and a roll of 58" x 10 yd PINK organza fabric. When the order came I got ORGANZA table overlays and MARIGOLD organza fabric. I called and they were really cool about it. They just sent out a replacement order. When that order got here I received SATIN overlays (good!) and a 6" high roll of pink TULLE (bad!).... yeah.... that's what I thought! They messed up the replacement order?!?! I called again and, once again, they were very sweet and apologetic. The replacement order came about a week later and I got... 3/8" RIBBON!!! 3/8"!! The roll of fabric is 58" tall. If I stand it up, it comes to my EYEBALLS!! If I stand up the ribbon is it as tall as my baby toe. I have NO idea how they could mess that up. They did get the color (pink) and fabric (organza) right, but the part they missed is a pretty crucial one.
When I called them AGAIN, I was still nice - but firm. I explained that it is a very lucky thing that I had planned ahead enough so that this was not a problem. I did tell them if it happened again, I would then run out of time for them to get it replaced... AGAIN. For the record, the THIRD replacement order arrived a few days ago in the form of 58" x 10 yd PINK organza fabric...(good!) :-)
I am SERIOUSLY happy that I started on that stuff as long ago as I did!! It really took over a month to get it right!! In defense of linentablecloth.com, I like all the stuff I have gotten from them, and surprisingly I would order from them again... but that is as far as the defense goes.
They did handle it in a classy way though: She said "The most I can offer you is an 'I'm so sorry'" ..... on second thought, maybe that wasn't so classy. Personally, if I were managing that place, after that many bad replacement orders I would have at least given "5% off your next order", or something like "just keep the stuff that is wrong in case you can use it someday". Oh well. Since I am done ordering things, I didn't really sweat it.
IT IS SO GOOD TO SAY THAT!! I think I will say it again: I am done ordering things :)
#3: imParting of Wisdom
At the start of the last blog I blew through information on utensils, napkins, cups, etc. I will elaborate a bit more on all those things, but first let's talk white paper doilies:
APPARENTLY, they are becoming very fashionable... who knew?!? If you want some, the best prices I found were at:
10" (24 ct), $1 @ Dollar Tree
12", $.12 @ Joker Joker
14", $.14 @ Joker Joker
For what Amber wants for refreshments we need cups, bowls, spoons and napkins. The caterer told me to go to smartyhadaparty.com because he gets a lot of his stuff there and he thinks they have the best prices. I DID go there, but I also checked out other places just to be sure.
I looked online and around town. Here in St. George I went to: Joker Joker, Partyland, Costco and Dollar Tree. Here is how it all broke down:
** If it matters, they do not sell spoons separately in CLEAR, only white.
* If you order from them, FIRST find them on facebook and "like" them. Then post a comment on their page asking for a promo code. They will send you one within 12 hours. It will most likely be $5 off your order.
For online orders you also need to take into consideration shipping & handling charges.
For those with the "Buy American" (a.k.a. Buy Local) attitude, you probably won't like what I did because I almost all the stuff I got was from online. Exceptions: spoons & doilies @ Dollar Tree and some bigger doilies @ Joker Joker. If it had not been for smartyhadaparty & ebay, I would have used Partyland for most things.
That is all the wisdom I have to imPart of today.
P.S. Kyle, if you are reading this before I talk to you about it, will you please be in charge of making sure we have enough extension cords & spotlights?..... Thank you :)
