Doing it all...

14 days to go.

Who ever thought that with 2 weeks to go there would be so much stuff to do? Granted, having my initial venue catch fire 4 weeks before the wedding was no help, but I’ve been going a mile a minute these past few weeks and finally I have a moment to stop and take a breather (I’m waiting for Prince Charming to come home with supplies so I can finish my aisle runner) Just another thing to do on my list of last minute to-do’s. It’s amazing; I thought I was so ahead of the game but I guess not. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the week for me to finish everything. I’ve been eating crap and my skin is breaking out! WTF! Don’t get me wrong, I love my new venue; despite it all I truly believe that this is the wedding we were meant to have, but it sure came with an added to-do list. Prince Charming says I have to learn to delegate because taking everything on myself has begun to run me ragged and nobody wants to be a ragged looking Bride on their wedding day.

So that’s what I’ve done. We’ve made a list and are splitting up the to-do’s. It’s hard for a control freak like myself to let go and let someone else take care of it. My rational is that nobody else knows how I want it and picture it in my head….am I right? But then Prince Charming said something that really made me think.

Last night as we were out for dinner he said that if I don’t slow down, I wont enjoy the wedding and all this would be a waste. I told him I want to make sure that it’s the best wedding we could have and that I want to give us everything we want out of our wedding day. To which he replied; I just want people to have fun, celebrate and for everyone to enjoy themselves. Something so simple, we sometimes lose sight of it when we are (ok, maybe it’s just me) so consumed with planning the best event we can. I promised him that as of the day before, once everything is dropped off I will relinquish control; I mean at that point there really isn’t much more I can do right? Honestly, when this list is done and finished I am going to be so happy. I can’t wait to take the few days after the wedding to just enjoy not having to plan anything.

Till then, I will delegate, try to lighten up and hopefully eat better and with a little luck (and a facial) this breakout will pass and my skin will be back to normal.

Lemonade Made...and It's Goooooood

29 days to go

So today we officially have lemonade, good lemonade. We signed our new venue, and it's gonna be great! I will be honest, as you have read I have been up and down and this week; the whole situation if fact has really left me mentally drained. I know some people may not see the big deal of relocating your wedding venue, but when you have spent over 11 months planning something and you suddenly have to make drastic changes...let me tell ya, it messes you up. We knew we had to move fast so when Prince Charming and I looked at venues yesterday we knew we had to decide before we went to bed; and decide we did.

We opted to be married in a the Ottawa landmark known as the Canadian Museum of Nature.

L said to me last night..."Maybe things happen for a reason, maybe this is the wedding you were really meant to have"... with that I felt like myself again, ready to sign on the dotted line.

Now, hyper wedding planning begins...I'm in overdrive people!

Making Lemonade with Rotten Lemons

30 days to go

I'm not looking for a pity post here but really, this sucks!

They say when life hands you lemons you make lemonade, but what happens when those lemons are rotten?

Welcome to a snap shot of my day.

Call #1...*ring ring* "Hi there, I was supposed to have my wedding on the 28th of August but my venue is now closed due to fire....can you accommodate ?" "Oh, I heard about that.. yes we can but we require a $16,000 minimum spending"

Call #2...*ring ring* "Hi there, I was supposed to have my wedding on the 28th of August but my venue is now closed due to fire....can you accommodate ?" "Oh, we heard about that...we would have to scatter your party around, some on at the tables, some at the bar..."

Call#3...*ring ring*"Hi there, I was supposed to have my wedding on the 28th of August but my venue is now closed due to fire...I really hope you can help" "Oh, we have a booking that night, but we can do it if you change your date to the next day...." *insert Bantering Bride Scowl here*

Call#9...Voice mail- "Hi my name is BB and I was hoping you may have a room available for the 28th of August,you see my venue is closed due to fire and..." *ring ring* Hello Bantering Bride?Yes, we have a room that can accommodate you. Would you like to come and see it? Is your fiancée Prince Charming? I just got off the phone with him."

The wedding gods are smiling again...lemonade anyone?

Breathe

30 days to go,

OK, here it is. I have to relocate my wedding (insert look of shock here) I got the call last night from my venue. They provided me an alternative location which Prince Charming and I have gone to look at. It's our back up. Right now we will talk about our options and look around to see if there is anything else out there that is better suited for us.

Does this suck? yes. Am I upset? yes. But what can I do. Now that I know what I am dealing with I have to get my butt in great to re-plan my wedding around a totally different venue in less the 4 weeks. If I pull this off people, I will call my self a kick ass wedding planner of the year. Wish me luck !

I know that my wedding will not be my dream wedding. That wedding went up in smoke with my venue. But it will still be my wedding. I will still be there marrying the man I love; despite the fact that I've been nothing but a pain in the ass these past few days. Now I have to plan the best wedding I can with what I have, I only plan to do this once so I have to work double time. Once I finalize a venue I will be OK, I know it. Fingers crossed.

No title ... Less shock...Wish for more information

32 days to go

So these past few days have been a real emotional roller coaster. Have you ever felt so many things that you just didn't know what to do with yourself? welcome to my past weekend, and I'm sure my next few days.

When I got news that there was a fire at my wedding venue my heart dropped. I swear if felt like someone just killed my cat or something, I was honestly numb. So numb that I tried to call my venue. What was I thinking? there was a fire there; but I guess I really didn't know how serious it was. Calling didn't work so I emailed them. I was so numb I couldn't even type the little letters on Bedazzle (my Blackberry). Once I finally managed to compose a e-mail I texted Price Charming, I was close to tears, but none came. All the while I had to clean myself up and look happy and stunning since I was late for my dear friends book launch. I told myself I would let this disturb her night to shine so I kept it to myself...OK, I told my BFF who was waiting for me at the party. In true male form he had no words to comfort me.

My only comfort came in the form of comments posted on this blog. Comments that told me things would be ok and others who let me know I was not alone ( Sofia if you are reading this I would appreciate and update on your wedding, I hope is was beautiful). Today at work all I could think about was any sort of back up plan I could think of. I've called around a few places but they are either booked or are way too expensive. I have heard that they are trying to relocate weddings to neighboring restaurants that have the same owner but really, you know it's not the same no matter how much you try; but this has not yet been offered to me. I have only received one email from my venue which is this:

Thank you for your patience, I understand how frustrated and worried you must be. I am sure that you have heard by now that there was a small fire at the Courtyard Restaurant on Thursday July 22, 2010. The fire started in the kitchen and was quickly contained, however the kitchen has sustained damage that will require repair.(blah, blah, blah)... We have back-up plans in place should we need them and will continue to work with you during your wedding planning process. Until the power and phone lines are reinstated at the Courtyard Restaurant the best way to contact me is via email; I will do my best to respond in a timely fashion. Although I do not have too much of an update, I can let you know that the owner and Management Team will be meeting with our contractor and NCC Property Director Monday and Tuesday of next week. We hope by that time we will be provided with a better understanding of what is going to be taking place and what type of time line we are look at for the future. I hope to have a more concrete update for you early next week and will be in contact with you again once I know more. I sincerely apologize for any distress and inconvenience this may cause you. Thank you very much for your patience and understanding, I will be in touch very soon.

As you can see it's pretty general and vague. I've been trying to do my own investigating and have found out there is a hole in the floor of the second floor . This is where my ceremony and reception was to be held. I don't know what is next. All I know is I have no control over anything right now and it drives me crazy. I feel sad, angry, fustrated and anxious. I'm super stressed out that my fingers are tingling and so deleted that the wedding planning that once brought me joy now makes me want to to scream. I know I can't stop planning since the wedding will happen no matter what, but this whole thing has really just kicked my ass and taken everything out of me.

Stay tuned for updates.

Still no title...still in shock

36 days to go ?

So I’ve had about 10 hours to try and digest this shit. Yes, I’m cursing because I’m still in shock. The thing is, I can’t control this and that in itself is driving me bonkers. I have e-mailed the venue and tried to call. Obviously unanswered since they are surly tending to others who have their weddings in the next few days.

On the venue website it says this:

Minor Kitchen Fire Update:

Our upcoming wedding clients will contacted within the next 48 hours by a member of our Events Staff. We will continue to aid you through your wedding planning process. Please send all inquiries tomiranda@courtyardrestaurant.com.

All upcoming personal and corporate reservations will be contacted within the next 72 hours by our Events Staff with a reservation update.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

But it still doesn’t change the fact that inside I AM freaking out. On the outside I am calm. Maybe because I’m in shock or maybe because a part of me is holding on to hope that it really was a minor fire that only caused smoke damage and can be cleaned up in a few days. But really, if it is a major thing would they really post it for the fear of 100 crazy brides stalking them to try and get answers?

I know it’s wasted energy to obsess over this, but anyone how has ever planned their wedding will tell you, this is a frigg’n big deal.

I know I’m driving myself crazy but I can’t help it. I know there is absolutely nothing that can be done on my end all I can do is pray that it all works out. At this point if it doesn’t I have no idea what to do.

No title ...just shock.

36 days to go

I want to cry. I just saw on the news that my wedding venue had a fire this afternoon.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Update...9602/story.html

I’m out of town right now and obviously I can’t get in contact with anyone at the restaurant.I

am praying to the wedding gods that it will be all right.

Birth of The Bantering Bride

These past few weeks have been pretty good. We told everyone we needed to tell, we had engagement party and I managed to set a date, book and venue and secure a photographer...and may I say all under budget. Then it hit me, these past few weeks, it's been wedding this and wedding that. In the few short weeks Q and I have been engaged I have managed to allow it to consume me. It's all I've been thinking about; I had to take a step back I went to my PC and logged into Female Madness; then I had a thought. Nobody wants to hear about wedding stuff all the time. What to do, what to do ...SNAP! welcome to The Bantering Bride. This is where I will release my thoughts about marriage and wedding into cyber space. I'll ponder, vent and complain my way down the aisle. Thanks for joining me.