To Do, or Not to Do? That is the Question

How do Jess and Seth handle their growing wedding to-do list?

By Jessica Solloway

This past Friday, Seth told me to stop by the store and buy two bottles of wine. I was curious as to what these bottles were for, because as far as I knew, we didn't have plans to have friends over. When I asked him what the deal was, he said, "Well, I think we should stay in tonight and do wedding stuff." Apparently my fiance thinks we each need to drink an entire bottle of wine to tackle our overwhelming wedding to-do list. While I decided not to get tanked because I had my trainer the next morning, I do think Seth had the right idea...
As I am learning, it's really important to set aside time (sometimes even a Friday night) to really focus on the nitty gritty. And I am very lucky that I have a fiance who is actually keeping track of what we need to do. I know lots of guys that just show up to their wedding as if it's a surprise party. But Seth is totally into it, which is great. As our big day approaches, the list of things to do is just growing and growing. From writing the copy for our programs, to choosing songs for our rehearsal dinner slideshow, to coming up with ideas for gift bags for out-of-towners, there's always something that needs to be done, researched or ordered. And during the week, it's much harder to devote as much time to it. So if you try to have a little fun with it, it's not so daunting.

I decided to get a head start on the music for our slideshow before Seth got home. I am trying to avoid the obvious/cheesy/predictable songs that always come up when you google "best wedding songs". It's definitely hard to find unique music without doing a lot of digging. But I'm not giving up. Of course my mailman came when I was listening to a particularly lame song on You Tube, full blast so I'm sure he heard, and now I have anxiety that he thinks I have bad taste in music. Seth and I have already started pulling together some pictures and getting the slideshow organized. I'm so glad that all 200 of our nearest and dearest friends will get to see the hideous bangs I had from 2nd-6th grade. I still haven't forgiven my mother for that.

And speaking of my mom, she spur of the moment decided to come to DC for a few days this past week. Aside from my genious idea to walk to Georgetown in 95 degree heat, we had a really great time. She arrived armed with her "wedding folder" and homeade brownies. In between my less than stellar tours around town and a few shopping expeditions, we both stressed out a little about the wedding. No matter how hard you try to keep costs down and everything organized, there's just so much to do and think about all the time! But we are really doing the best we can to stay within our budget. Aside from wedding stuff, I helped my mom set up a Facebook account, which I do NOT reccomend doing if you want to stay sane. But luckily she figured out how to stop writing on her own wall, so I consider that a small victory.

If you have any good song ideas for rehearsal dinner slideshows or for our first dance, send them my way!