Wedding Weekly Activity Report

When I was in the Air Force, one of my jobs as the Officer in Charge, and then the Executive Officer, was compiling the Weekly Activity Report--or WAR.  I loved compiling the WAR because it was a list of everything that had been done that week and the status of ongoing projects in an easy to read bulleted list format.  I enjoyed keeping track of our own stats when I was the OIC and then I liked updated all of the information submitted by the squadrons weekly when I was an exec.  What can I say, I am a huge dork and this is why I enjoy admin jobs when most people would rather gouge their eyes out with a dull knife than sit behind a desk and file all day.

ANYWAY.

I have decided that as an homage to my military self (Since technically I am still in the Air Force--I received notification that I've been selected for the rank of Captain effective June 2008.  Feel free to congratulate me on my ability to breathe.) I will be reporting back to you weekly (and let's face it, probably bi-, tri-, and quad- weekly) on the status of wedding plans.  I know!  As if it weren't thrilling enough to hear me drone on about my wedding, now you have to associate it with camouflage and weapons!  How glorious!

ANYWAY.  Let us proceed.

Angela & Colby's Wedding WAR 7 Nov 2007 (That's how we do dates in the military for all you civilians out there.)

Recently Completed Tasks

• Book Saber Arch:  Both LSU and Keesler were unable to commit to our wedding date, so Colby contacted the Army ROTC department at LSU and got permission to pick up the sabers from them  the week of the wedding and our groomsmen and ushers will perform the actual arch.  I think it worked out for the best since now we don't have to stress about Keesler randomly not showing up (it's been known to happen) and we won't have to kick out any 18 and 19 year old cadets who think they can stick around for the free food and drinks.
• Confirm Wedding Night and Honeymoon Hotels:  Done and done.  We also made reservations for NOLA and Restaurant August for two of our nights in New Orleans.  I'm particularly excited about the latter since I've become obsessed with The Next Iron Chef show on the Food Network, and John Besh, the founder of Restaurant August, is in the final showdown and my favorite for the win.  Also, both menus make my mouth water.
• Programs Printed and Ready For Assembly:  Okay, we actually hit a snag here and the paper hadn't been cut properly when my dad went to Office Depot yesterday, but after I slowly and carefully talked the print shop manager through the process for the third time I think she understood and it's supposed to be done today or tomorrow.  Therefore it is no longer on my list of things to worry about.  We'll assemble the programs when I get home.
• Add Wedding Rings to Homeowners Insurance Policy:  Colby took care of this--that wonderful guy.  Now when the raging housefire rips through our neighborhood, we may lose all of our nearest and dearest possessions and sentimental mementos that can never be replaced, but at least our jewelry is covered.
• Finalize Wedding Ceremony With Officiant:  The Reverend who will be performing our ceremony is actually a very dear family friend, which meant that I felt very little compunction while typing up the entire wedding ceremony myself, emailing it to him and in essence dictating the entire thing.  Of course, he then went through it and made his own edits that made the whole ceremony much more lovely and "churchy", but I still tell people I wrote my own ceremony.  (Except that I mostly just patched together various ceremony bits I found online.)  (And I'm not being "given away" by my dad, I'm being "presented".  It's different!
• Order/Purchase Groomsmen/Usher Gifts:  All of the components have been ordered, dropped off at the place they need to be dropped off, and will be ready for pickup on November 15.  This is another one of those things that although it's not technically finished, I am no longer worrying my pretty little head about.
• Finalize Music Selections and Send to DJ:  Done!  And we did the ceremony music and sent that to our string quartet ages ago.  We are all over this!

Tasks Still on The To-Do List (I hate this list, and yet, it lingers as most of it cannot be done until I get home.)

• Pack to Go Home: Yeah, this one is kind of a biggie.  And I'm terrified that I'll forget something vital.
• Final Haircut and Color: Booked for Friday, November 16.
• Finish the Guestbook Scrapbook: I'm so close to being done.  The only pages I have left are for the shower Lori threw us and about a two-thirds of the New York bachelorette weekend.  I'm also planning to bring all of my supplies home with me so that if I have time I can do pages for my Baton Rouge bachelorette party and the Rehearsal Dinner.  We'll see.
• Finalize Menu and Service Details With the Caterer:  I have tried.  Oh how I have TRIED.  Our catering is being done by the reception venue, since the venue is actually owned by one of Louisiana's most famous chefs, John Folse.  It's amazing food, and we have a delicious menu selected.  However, we switched up a few items from the preset level of catering that we chose and we're also doing a martini bar, which is something a little different from how they normally run their bar, and the venue kept telling us that they would confirm with us a month out.  I sent in the required final wedding report--about 5 pages of documents detailing every little thing about the ceremony and reception--weeks ago and included a note saying that once the report had been reviewed I'd like to be contacted so that I can set up an appointment with our Day of Coordinator when I get in town.  I haven't heard a peep from them.
• Attend Final Wedding Gown Fitting (And Later Pick Up the Dress):  Yep, can't do this until Monday, November 18.  Sure hope five days is all they need.
• Print Table Camera Scavenger Hunt Cards, Martini Menus, and Guestbook Cards: Monday, I'm sure.
• Pick up Sabers From LSU
• Assemble Ceremony Programs:  See above--will probably be done the Sunday or Monday before the wedding.
• Pick Up Marriage License: This will be another Monday task.  Monday is going to be so busy.  Shudder.  But family starts to arrive on Tuesday and I want to have as much done as possible by then.
• Call All Guests Who Haven't Yet RSVP'd:  This is going to be mostly Colby's job since the majority of non-responders are from his list.  I have two folks to contact, both of whom I highly doubt will be in attendance.  And I am so thrilled with our numbers for the wedding.  We had originally hoped for a small wedding, but over time our number invited ballooned to 216.  However, it's looking like our number attending is going to stay under 130 total guests.  It's still a little higher than I'd originally anticipated, but I'm just so glad that it won't be in the upper 100's.
• Wrap all Gifts for Wedding Party
• Give Final Headcount to White Oak and the Bakery
• Confirm All Vendors
• Send the Limo Company A Schedule and Addresses With Directions
• Buy Supplies For and Pack An "Emergency Kit" To Bring to White Oak:  The list has been made, and oh, it is extensive.  Anyone know where I can get smelling salts?
• Make Final Payments to Vendors:  This starts on Saturday and goes through the wedding.  My parents are thrilled, I'm sure!
• Drop Off All of the "Stuff" (Guestbook, Pen, Cardbox, Etc.) At White Oak:  I'm hoping that I can do this Friday when we have our rehearsal, if not I plan to beg a friend to bring it over for me on the day of the wedding.  White Oak is about 5 minutes from our house, so it wouldn't be a huge hassle.

That seems to be all I can think of right now.  I've got six spreadsheets made detailing the schedule for the week, the wedding day schedule, our payment amounts and due dates, the photo list, day of wedding tasks, and the supply kit list.  I have both The Knot checklist and my own personal wedding checklist that I've been diligently checking and complying with.  And yet I still feel like I'm forgetting something huge.

I haven't started to freak out yet.  In fact, I'm a little concerned at just how un-freaked out I am, but I'm fairly confident that when I wake up Sunday morning in Baton Rouge and look at my mountain of things to do, the nerves might just start creeping up on me.

Comments

[Girl, Dislocated]

Wow! I don't think there's been a more meticulously planned wedding in the history of the world! If YOU manage to overlook or leave something out, then the rest of us can just forget it!

Congrats on being selected for the rank of Captain!

[baggage]

Wow! I'm impressed! I can't believe it is so soon!!! Yay!!

[Caro]

The reason you aren't freaking out is because you have lists upon lists of everything you have to do and when it needs to be done by! You are on top of this! Go Ang!

[janet]

you are so on top of it!! v impressed. make sure you ENJOY the last few weeks/days! :)

[Bre]

My lord! If I ever get married I'm coming to you for ALL the details!

[Brittany]

Don't worry! You've got it under control--and hey, the title of your blog is "Tomorrow is Another Day"... and what else is Scarlett famous for saying? Yes, that's right! "Fiddle dee dee, I'll think about that tomorrow." Of course, I don't know how much you want to follow in the footsteps of Mrs. O'Hara-Wilkes-Kennedy-Butler...

Though I think all of her weddings went off without a hitch!

[M]

Hey there! Sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on things... can't wait to see pictures and hear about the wedding! ;)

[Lisa]

It's a great idea, insuring your wedding rings. The husband lost his before our first anniversary. I swear I went postal.

It sounds overwhelming but you seem to be on top of everything. Good luck! :)

[The Incubator]

Wait a minute, as I remember you have already been presented in Baton Rouge once -- wouldn't this be redundant? Does this mean we technically should paint the chimney white or just stripe it red, white and blue -- congratulations!!!!

[Cat]

Thank you.

I am no longer feeling nostalgic for my wedding.

UHG, the planning!

Sounds like you are on a roll, though. Keep up the good pace, you'll feel good up through the last week (when inevitably, 14 million little details will need your attention) and then you can just put everything on cruise control from your rehearsal-on, and enjoy the ride!

HOORAY!

[Fraulein N]

Wow. That is ... a lot of stuff. But it sounds like you're on top of everything, Cap'n!

[RisibleGirl]

Captain! Wow! I think that's how they should announce you at the wedding.

Did I ever mention on my blog that I had the high school graduation people convinced that I was a IIIrd? As in [insert my name] the third.

Yup! So, that's how they announced me when I picked up my diploma. My parents wanted to kill me. I still think it's rather funny.

Oh, speaking of killing me- how on earth are you doing this- working full time, keeping up on your blog AND planning your wedding?

Mad skillz baby, you have mad skillz!