9 months until the birth of our wedding!

Wow, we're into single-digit months now! And it just so happened that yesterday was the open house for our wedding venue, Pine Rose Cabins. The last time we were there in April, there was still snow on the ground and everything was covered in a thick layer of ice. So needless to say, we were eager to see what the place will (hopefully...) look like for our June wedding. Thank goodness that now I have a much clearer image in my mind of the whole set-up than I had previously, which means I don't think I'll be spending as much on decorations as I was anticipating since the natural surroundings need little help...

(All photos by Julie Wilson/Pine Rose Cabins)

So let's see how my master to-do list is going...

1. Venue - check!

2. Dress - check!

3. Bridesmaid dresses - check! but still need shoes and the flower girl dress

4. Save-the-dates & invitations - check! and will order the invites later

5. Catering - going to our tasting in two weeks!

6. Cake - I know what I want, and going to tastings after the menu is confirmed

7. Music - talked with the DJ at the event, will probably book him soon

8. Drinks - talked with the bartender, have to decide on buying our own stuff vs. his package
9. Photographer - talked with one, waiting to hear back from another

10. Flowers - need to call, and thus be forced to decide on colors

11. Favors - we have a super awesome idea in the works :)

12. Cabins - so far 2 are reserved, still waiting to hear if we need to reserve another for more family members

13. Honeymoon - ... well, depends on if we'll have enough money left over to survive after the wedding, haha.

It looks like I have a lot of phone calls to make, but at least some progress has been made!

Keep Calm and Carry On

I love these British WWII posters, originally created as a kind of positive propaganda for a population under intense enemy attack, not knowing if they would live to see another day, or what the future may bring. Those phrases are still so true today, in particular the last one of which this post is named. That logo has become increasingly popular on t-shirts, vintage posters, and eco-friendly water bottles as of late. Perhaps because of the rather depressing state of the economy, which directly affects peoples' careers, such as my future husband's.

I cannot truly understand why the timing of it all has to be like this; why our plans have this potentially giant chasm in them thanks to the state education budget crisis, and perhaps other factors that remain a mystery. I remember being so happy that Darryl decided to go into teaching because of how relatively secure that field is (or was). Who knew that the same year he began to work towards his credential, so many teachers would be laid off that entire schools shut down not far from where I live. To be completely honest, we're pretty worried. It's hard not be become completely consumed by the whole situation; the situation being, 40+ teaching applications sent, 7 interviews, and 0 job offers. A lot of it really doesn't add up, considering that almost all of the interviews seemed to go very well, but then again it's hard to say exactly how many people are out there applying to the same positions. For one of the jobs for which he interviewed, the applicant number was around 200. And with each interview comes a new set of hopes and nervous anticipation, which ultimately lead to greater disappointment. It's all rather draining.

The only reason that I even bring this up on my otherwise upbeat wedding blog, is that part of the reason I created this publication of mine was to document the reality of our 2.5 year engagement, mainly for myself to look back on one day. As of now, this is our reality. Each week brings a new set of "what ifs" and "plan B, C, and D's." Personally, I have released whatever plans I had for us and have allowed myself to be open to other prospects as far as where we might live, what I might do as far as working or going to grad school, when we may have kids, etc.... I could get excited about pretty much anything at this point. I have released it all into God's hands, and now we wait and see. And if there's one thing we've had to get used to, it's waiting. We must have faith that it will work out for the best, as it always has before, and in the mean time I keep reminding myself to "keep calm and carry on."