I've got wedding on the brain! I thought it was going to be a bit tricky planning a wedding cross-country, but the internet has definitely made it possible to find vendors and look at customer reviews of services and products. With consumers driving the market these days instead of the other way around, businesses that want to stay ahead of the curve better pay close attention to customer service!
So I believe I've found the location to our wedding. I ran it by my Mom and she said she needed to process this information. Understandably. At first I thought it would be easiest to just have a Western ceremony and reception, and call it a day. However, with my Vietnamese heritage (Fiance is Irish-American), I have reconsidered and will try to incorporate the Vietnamese Tea Ceremony into the day... somehow. Hopefully not too half-baked. Did I mention this planning is done on the other side of the country as well?!?! Simply just became confusing. Oh, by the way, now my Mom is asking why there is no Catholic church ceremony. Oh because we don't have an extra month to spend in California to attend these classes once a week... Huh?! What I thought would be a simple day of family, friends, food, and drinks (did I mention the reception will have free flowing beer, wine, and champagne for the ENTIRE TIME?! LOVE!) has morphed into something else. Ut oh. It's very important that I pay respect to my family and incorporate tradition. Is there a manual on new traditions though? Like a modern Tea Ceremony version for a marriage that is multi-cultural? The nine yards might be a bit much. What was planned as an easy and sweeet 6-hour event could very well end up being 12+ hours. So a modified version would be perfect. Idea sounds fabulous. Execution? Um, I'm hoping for a much better answer than "Not so much..." I better muscle my persuasive skills on my darling Mommy...
Stay tuned as I figure out now not only planning a wedding remotely, but incorporating modified Vietnamese Tradition into the day. Of which I will have to don an Ao Dai. Anything beyond a size 0 and you end up looking like Orca in one of these numbers.
I forgot. Now add Catholic church ceremony. Of which I will need to go to pre-marital counseling for a month. The parish in California said it would be fine to have this pre-marital counseling done in Massachusetts, as long as the Catholic priest here approves of it as well. The good thing is, my vocabulary has expanded. I learned a new word: Pre-Cana. When I told my Mom "no" to the Catholic church ceremony and it would be held upstairs to the reception, she sounded sooooooo sad. After all, I want my son, Potato, to be part of the festivities and the venue is pet friendly (I just really hope Potato is people friendly that day!) I'm torn.
Now I know my Mom understands that I have very little time to plan and that I'm trying my BEST to bring this wedding home. But is my BEST good enough? If it isn't, my heart will absolutely sink. After all, I only have one Mom. Differences? Always. Love? Always. Sigh... Oh did I mention too that I'll be doing rotations during this whole time, studying for (more) board exams, and applying for THE MATCH to take place in March 2013?! Maybe with a bit of early planning, maybe things will fall into place. Maybe. Maybe I just need to stop worrying so much and just go with the flow and have fun... after all, in the end, when all is said and done, beyond the confusion...I'll be marrying my best friend... did I mention how I still feel like it's the first time I fell in love with him each and every time I look into his crystal blue eyes?
Pardon my whining. Although overjoyed and excited at finally setting a date(-ish), I'm finding myself a bit overwhelmed. I feel like crying. Eloping is sounding pretty fabulous. Vegas? I totally understand that concept now. How to make my Mom happy and how to not make myself go nuts at the same time... guess you'll just have to come to the wedding;)
XoX,
Marikym
