Thursday, June 26, 2008

Eliminating the Laundry List via a Best Friend

The past few days have lead me down a slippery slope of wedding planning burn-out. As a matter-of-fact, I think I’m already at the bottom of the slope. With three months and one day to go it just seems that everything needs to be done and it needs to be done NOW.
So, tonight I told my friend (and bridesmaid) Kristen that I would come over and help her remove the (apparently hideous) wallpaper from the walls of her new house. She insisted that I didn’t HAVE to help and she knew how busy I was with wedding planning. Without hesitation I told her, "You know I think that a night away from wedding planning will be good for me." And then I got to thinking, I was going to order 241.5 yards of ribbon tonight, attempt to settle on an invitation design, work up a design for the map insert card, and start perusing the web for gifts for my bridesmaids….
But that doesn’t matter. Tonight I’ll be removing wallpaper, because that is what friends do. Apparently Kristen knows a thing or two about being a good friend too. I opened up my e-mail this morning to find this:
Jess,
So after reading your blog for today, I decided that I would love to
offer my services. For the total price of "zero dollars" I will help
with what ever tasks, research, set up, etc. that you may need.
Here are some of the items on your alphabetized list that I thought I
could help with:
1. Card box - I will make you a beautiful plum colored card box from a
fabulous fabric at no cost to you.
2. Table runners - Research of local party rental places and price quotes.
3. Sign - Comprehensive design and construction of a sign that will
lead guests from the parking lot to the reception hall complete with
your beautiful monogram.
4. Timeline - Create day of timeline. All I need from you is times you
want to start and finish the entire day and names of vendors. Pictures
before or after? This will be a work in progress and will be reviewed
by you several times before I finalize it.
5. Invitation/programs - Assist with putting invitations and programs
together. I can also research designs for programs.
6. Any other tasks that you need completed.
So, what do you think? As the bride you need as little stress as
possible, and lucky for you you have friends that are there to lift
some of the burden that comes with wedding planning. Jessica Lynn
will you do me the honor of lifting some of that burden?
Sincerely,
KTo

A HUGE smile came across my face and I thought about how blessed I am to have such amazing friends. I love you Kristen, but I don’t think you know what you have gotten yourself into. Besides the aforementioned tasks I think that you could:
7. Pick out the bridesmaids totes and earrings (since you're a bridesmaid you might as well have a say in what you're going to get!!)
8. Assist in cutting said 241.5 yards of ribbon once delivered to my house
9. Make friends with Kinko's people when it comes time to print the seating chart signs, napkin inserts, monogram squares, programs, etc. Achieve discount, if possible.
10. Continue to be one of the best friends I have ever had.

8 comments:

Erin said...

Two hundred forty one and a half yards of ribbon! Wow! That's 2 and a half football fields! What are you going to do with it all??

:)

-E

jessica lynn said...

sad as it is, I'm seriously going to use ALL of it. post to come with details tomorrow.

*Michelle said...

So i realize this may be a day late and a dollar short type of thing... not to sounds liekt he dad from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" but Windex works wonders on removing old wallpaper. Spray it on, let it soak for a bit, and it really softens to glue and makes it much easier to remove.

Wow - great friend! Make sure to give her a big 'ol hug!

April said...

Yea for great friends!

Cate Subrosa said...

Aw.... I had two reactions to this post:

a) What a lovely friend

b) I need to make my sister a to-do list! :-D

LegallyBoston said...

Everyone needs an awesome friend like that!

Tiffany said...

I'm getting married on September 27th also. Only on the other side of the country! I know exactly how you feel! There is so much that needs to be done right now!!! It is awesome that you have such a great friend and bridesmaid. Good luck with the rest of your planning!

Miss G said...

What an incredible friend! I saw plum shoes today at Shoe Pavillion and thought of you.

I don't know if you have a Ducky Bob's rental place near you but they have several locations around the country and I was amazed at their linen color selection. I also went to a quilt store for fabric for runners. They have a huge selection and some beautiful stuff.

Here are some timeline resources I found in case they might help: http://katystardust.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-friday-night.html

This post talks about help for seating plans: http://beaplanner.blogspot.com/2008/04/working-room.html

Hope your stress level decreases! I will say a prayer for you. Kelly