Moon and Honey

We have a honeymoon….3 weeks in Italy, incorporating Pisa, Tuscany, Rome, and the Amalfi coast. YAY. And “phew”. It was getting a little close for comfort. Keep your fingers crossed til the paperwork goes through but as things stand we managed to book a damn honeymoon.
Really looking forward to it. Three weeks away with Mr BB is just about the best use of time imaginable.

 Spent this morning creating a list of April flowers for my sister; now the big day is looming she’s a little daunted by the thought of doing all our church flowers but as she insisted way back in February last year and we have no other florist – tough! Welcome to the world of panicked wedding creation. I know she’ll do a great job though, she’s one of those quietly creative people who take up some craft and are adept within minutes whereas much as I would love to be, I suffer from that most unfortunate of maladies -Cackhandedness

I went shoe shopping last night and fought my way through demented women on some mission to denude Dublin of every last pair of shoes. At least that’s what it seemed like. I blame Sex in The City – it taught an entire and gullible generation that women are supposed to be obsessed by shoes. You know, I know not one single woman who is shoe mad? Not one. I have a friend who used to buy boots but that was because she was overweight at the time and sublimated her inability to buy fashionable clothes into boot purchasing. I love clothes but I can’t do fashion; and I certainly can’t do shoe-fetish. However, the couple of thousand Carrie Bradshaw wannabees shoving their way through Grafton Street yesterday would no doubt consider me a tad odd.

At any rate, buying a pair of originally overpriced and now slightly shop soiled sale shoes seemed to represent Nirvana to them as they pushed, pinched and growled their way around Carl Scarpa and Zerep. I recieved the most vicious look from a woman because i dawdled too long in front of the New Arrivals display. I shuffled aside to realise I had been blocking her from a row of silver and gold glitter-encrusted sandals that would have had the likes of Liberarche covering his eyes and saying “Ah here, don’t you think that’s a bit over the top?”

I ended up in Brown Thomas looking at what can only be described as Hooker Chic when Mr BB rang to say he was outside Wagamamas and did I want dinner. Did I what? One Yaki later and I was a new woman.

However I did see a good pair of walking shoes which I went back and purchased this morning. Now, I wonder if I dyed them ivory would they look well under a wedding dress?

2008 – the countdown to a nervous breakdown?

Oh good gods on a stick, it’s 2008. Hello everyone, sorry I’ve been away so long! I do have a good excuse though, written and signed by me mammy. Our Xmas period was sadly spent arranging a funeral – Mr BB’s beloved, and lovely, aunt died suddenly in the K on the 23rd. We had to help arrange for her to be flown home, buried, etc. A very sad, and very drawn out process; she was only buried on Saturday last.

In between we did manage to have some fun – we enjoyed a lovely Xmas day, our first together as a couple. Although neither of us have conventional spiritual beliefs, as a family occasion it was definitely very important to us both and the fact we managed to share it across two counties and two families and still be together for a good part of it was an achievement. New Year’s Day we spent in Kildare with his family, a lovely evening albeit a sad one in many ways considering the circumstances and New Year’s Day we spent being wined and dined by my sister in Wicklow. So as you can see we’ve been busy.

And of course on New Year’s Day my mother, who has a wicked sense of humour, looked vaguely into middle distance, then announced “it’s 13 weeks on Friday to the wedding.” I almost swallowed my own tongue. I fear this means only one thing folks – yes, this blog is going to be very very boring and very wedding oriented from here on in so many apologies in advance!

So where are we? Well at the moment we have the main items in place, church/hotel/dresses/bridal party. We have a lot of the smaller  things under control too, the little touches, but every time we sort one thing we discover a lot more to be done! And we’re still not overly stressed which seems to annoy people.

We were at dinner last Saturday night and two of the guests were newly weds. Once someone mentioned our wedding they went into overdrive about how stressed we must be and how many rows had we had yet and so on; our reply (we’re fine and we don’t row about these things)  was greeted with obvious resentment.

OK we’re no angels, and we have our moments but temperamentally neither of us are rowers, and we are so happy in general we don’t row, we tend to sit down and talk. For us a disagreement is not being in harmony; when it happens we repair it, and fast. But then again - we don’t set each other up to fail. I don’t expect Mr BB to be enthralled about colour schemes and he doesn’t expect me to give a rat’s ass if the Band plays the wrong version of T-Rex.

However, as the stress mounts maybe we will crack and start snarling if so I swear I will tell it truthfully and recant my smugness. But til then, I wish folks would stop projecting their own relationships onto us!

Personally, my main problem right now (apart from mass booklets, church music, playlist for the band, invitations, RSVP cards, envelopes, information sheets, website, honeymoon*, flowers and favours, obviously) is shoes. I am no SITC gal with Manolo thingumies in the wardrobe and finding a decent but not too high pair of shoes, pretty, matching dress, and wearable for a day is proving a challenge ! Other than that I seek a good make up artist 9one scheduled in, fingers crossed she works out) and I have to decide what to do with the four feet plus of hair I sport. Finding a good hairdresser for very long hair is the devil’s own work!

All this girlie bling is a little strange to me but I am enjoying it really – it’s a good excuse to step outside the norm.

*honeymoon. I don’t want to jinx myself but we may actually have one. As of 1pm this afternoon we’re supposed to be popping into the travel agent and booking. Finger’s crossed!

Anyway happy New Year, folks, hope it’s a good one.