Four Weddings and My Funeral...

I try not to get too personal on my blog...for good reasons.  I tend to share events and happenings in my life rather that write about the way I feel. I've been known to wear my emotions on my sleeve, but here (and at work) I keep my "I'm-a-girl-so-sometimes-I-just-have-to-be-a-little-over-dramatic" emotions down to a minimum. And there are perfectly good reasons for all of it:
1) I'm known to be a little harsh when it comes to things that I'm opinionated about

2) I would rather let you keep your good opinions of me, rather than introduce you to the annoying side of my personality.
3) I doubt people want to listen to me rant

But today is a bit different, today I just need to share with you what I'm going through...and it's absolutely ridiculous. (Which I'm sure you've already figured out) :)

This summer...I have 10 weddings, and we're still anticipating more. Ten is an absolutely ridiculous number; but no no no friends, you don't know ridiculous.  My friend Minda has 21...21!! Now THAT is just stupid!  Don't get me wrong, I am super excited for all of my wonderful friends who are getting married, but there is a part of me knowing that later this year I could be #23 or 24. Ahhh!

Every Wednesday morning Boyfriend and I have breakfast together to dream, see what the Lord is doing, and talk about where we are in life alone and with each other (it's the highlight of our week).  At the beginning of this new year when we sat down to set some goals, dream, and cast vision one of Boyfriend's goals was for us to get married this year. Exciting stuff. No part of me wanted to just jump into marriage, we've been dating for almost 2 years this June, but I knew that 2010 would be our year. Since that January 1st breakfast, every couple that we know has managed to get engaged. Now if you know me, and chances are if you're reading this you do, you know that I am a HUGE people-watcher, it's my most favorite thing.  I have no problem sitting back and observing for as long as I can before it's my turn to take the plunge. So with all of these couples getting engaged and beginning their spectacular wedding planning, I get to watch...yyesssss!

So in observing these couples and knowing that my own season is getting closer and closer, I've decided to start to browse around some wedding sites, figure out what I like, what I don't like, and how the heck do you even begin to plan a wedding, and the big question, "How much is all of this gunna cost?!"  Well let me tell you--it's depressing.  Don't get me wrong, I am THE world's biggest penny-pincher when it comes to throwing parties, and with weddings there are just some cardinal rules that I want to stick by:

1) I don't believe in buying those napkins with your initials on them- I mean REALLY people, you're paying $0.50 a napkin for someone to wipe their crummy-hors devours mouth on it and then to top it all off they throw it in the trash! Point blank...waste of money, even if they are made from "recycled materials."
2) I hold the same opinion regarding wedding invitations, people throw them away.  Spend no more than $2 per invite.
3) Wedding programs I could take or leave, I personally think they are a waste of money.  If you want to know who the bridesmaids are and how they know the bride and groom, just go ask them. You don't need a program to figure out that the girl who looks most like me is probably my sister. I do however believe in wedding programs that have a dual-purpose. (i.e. outdoor weddings with the program printed on a fan to keep guests cool- now THAT is practical.)
4) No more than 6 attendants (each) for the bride and groom. I've been to weddings before where there are 15 bridesmaids and groomsmen. I know you were in a sorority but do you really have to have all of those girls as your bridesmaids? No. And I doubt that anyone has that many close personal friends, but that's just me.
5) Don't make your ceremony last longer than 20 minutes. I've been to weddings that have dancers, singer after singer, there's communion, a scripture reading, a salt covenant, a unity candle, a slide show, vows/rings exchanged, the parents blessings prayer, a sermon preached and even a dadgum alter call. I'm not at all taking away the significance of the ceremony or how sacred it is, but you can be spiritual without all of the fluff and in under a half hour. If it goes longer than that you're guests get bored and the kids start getting fussy, and those things are liable to spoil the ceremony...quick.

These are only a few of my rules that I want to stick to as far as my wedding is concerned- but to each her own opinion. I'm a DIY crafty kind of girl so for most of my decorations, table settings, etc I want it to be homemade- it's what I like AND it definitely saves money. I don't care too much about my dress I just want it to be unique. The one thing that I want for my wedding is to be outdoors and to be unique to Boyfriend and me. The choice of venue is key, and it's been the main decision that has saddened me- cause Lord it gets pricey!  I've ultimately come to the conclusion that:

1) Forget the wedding and we can just go to the JP- Boyfriend wasn't a fan of that one either ;)
2) We elope...we tell everyone that we elope, go on our honeymoon and have a reception when we return.
3) I need to find someone with a great big back/front yard or ranch that we can use that isn't too far outside of the DFW area. (not as easy as it sounds either)
4) We keep shopping for the cheapest alternative.

Ugh- now you know why I titled my blog the way I did, cause this just might be the death of me! Haha. And for those of you who are wondering... no there is no ring on my finger yet.  Boyfriend has chosen to pay for my ring in cash, which is THE most amazing way to honor our marriage by not starting us out in debt. Thank you Jesus for a wise man :)  And on top of it all I would rather not be engaged right now; call me selfish but when 4 of those 10 couples got engaged in ONE WEEKEND I kind of felt bad cause they had to share their special time with everyone else. I want our engagement to be ours and no one else's. Now every time a couple gets engaged it seems like they are caught up in the hype of everyone else's engagement, and to quote my Roomie, "I am so anti-hype."  When our time comes, it will come and it will be magnificent.  Until then I will continue to research outdoor venues and try not to get too depressed over how ridiculous it all costs. :)
Shoot me an e-mail if you know of any great places :)

Web-site of the Day: http://wedinator.com/  This is a blog dedicated to wedding fails. Pretty funny. I'm glad people can make light of all of this wedding gobbledygook.