Whew.....I survived!

I am sure that you are wondering what exciting and dangerous adventure I have been on lately, and I am sorry to tell you that it is not nearly as exciting as what you are probably thinking.  It has to do with a wedding that I helped plan/run where the bride struggled to be organized, despite my best efforts, and some how wound up with a list of 100 things that still needed to be done one day before the wedding!

One of my loves in life is weddings.  I decided after our wedding that I might enjoy doing some wedding planning/coordinating on the side of teaching.  I won't be one of those people you see on TLC who is able to design everything, but I enjoy helping the selection and organization process of it all.  My friend Janae was kind enough to let me test my skills at her wedding and rehearsal, and things went well.  So, when a friend asked if I would be interested in helping from the start with a cousin's wedding, I was excited, and said I would do it for free (crazy I know) since it was my first one from the start.  Little did I know she would change her mind a thousand times and end up being so unorganized.

Some of you are probably bored, so let me just get to the day before the wedding.  Keep in mind that she and I had already met and planned for 20+ hours over the last 6 months.  I show up Thursday to begin the set up process for the reception expecting to see some strong young men, boxes that were labeled and organized, and possibly more than five people, including myself, but that expectation ended up being unrealistic.  Despite the unorganized state of the set up and the overwhelming list of to-dos we got it knocked out.  I was very frustrated because I checked in with her frequently to see if she had questions or needed anything from me, and she repeatedly told me no.   Some of our set backs Thursday could have been prevented has she told me she needed help, and I would have gladly taken care of them.

Trying to move this post along because I can sense your bordom, let me just tell you to envision anything that could go wrong before a wedding, and it probably did.  Including things like having to buy flowers at 8:00p.m. the night before the wedding, the groom getting so drunk the night before his big day that he doesn't remember how he got the huge scratches on his face, half of the wedding guests showing up 15 minutes into the ceremony, finding out 30 minutes before the wedding that the bride decided she needed to run to Wal-Mart, discovering the groomsmen and groom drinking IN THE CHURCH before the wedding, and the list could go on, but I think you get the point. In the end they were married and things turned out nicely.  Here are a few pictures of things I helped do at the reception.  If you want more details feel free to ask.

One of the center pieces I made

Close up of the other center piece I made.

Candy Favor Table

Delicious Fruit Table

Guest Book Table

And that is the end of my pictures, I was too busy doing other things to snap any more.

The first part of this week was spent with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law in St. Louis for the ICRS convention.  (click ICRS to learn more about it).  Sara and I were there to help Jennifer out with whatever she needed.  It was so much fun to spend time together, and it reminded me just how blessed I am to have such wonderful in-laws.  God gave me one of the huge desires of my heart when He gave me Stinson's family!  Anyway, Sara and I met lots of authors, picked up way too many books, and even got ourselves into a little trouble with the ICRS police!  I think you may recognize the people in the picture with us.  

Well, I am off to work my way through my piles of new acquired books!