1 down, 21 to go

Weekends of wedding planning, that is.

Here are just some of the arguments my mother and I have had since I got engaged:

Argument #1: The bar
Trisha: We're going to serve beer and wine at the reception. Joe and I will pay because we know you're not into that.
Mom: No way. My LDS neighbors will feel uncomfortable around alcohol.
Trisha: There is alcohol at Chili's and Olive Garden, and I'm sure they eat there. It's not like we're going to do body shots off each other.
Mom: I don't care, I don't want it around.
Trisha: Fine, we'll put on the invitations, "Reception from 6 to 9, bar opens at 7."
Mom: No. I'm not going to advertise that there will be alcohol there!
Joe to me: Then tell her she can have her own private reception in her backyard and we'll make a brief appearance.
Trisha: I give up.

Argument #2: The officiator
Mom: You should really consider having Bishop Lang officiate your wedding.
Trisha: No way. I haven't been to church in 8 years, and Joe is Catholic!
Mom: He is a great man. He would do a really neutral, beautiful speech.
Trisha: No! I hated his kids growing up. I don't want him to be part of the biggest day of my life. Plus, the symbolism of that is just totally disrespectful to Joe's family. I'm planning to ask a juvenile court judge.
Mom: Well you should at least think about it.
Trisha: I give up.

Argument #3: The invites
Trisha: Mom, I saw these cute invites with a plus sign. What do you think about "Trisha + Joe"?
Mom: I hate it. The "+" looks like a cross!
Trisha: I give up.



Argument #4: The hair
Trisha: Mom, here are some hair pics I like (all updos). Which do you like?
Mom: I thought you were wearing your hair down. Why did you waste all this time growing it out?
Trisha: Because you need long hair for a cool updo.
Mom: You should wear it down. Why do you even ask for my opinion if you don't want it?
Trisha: I give up.

Argument #5: The centerpieces
Trisha: Mom, I saw this really cute idea of putting coffee beans in the bottom of the vases instead of dirt.
Mom: You know I HATE the smell of coffee.
Trisha: Mom, that smell is from GROUND coffee beans or BREWED coffee. Whole coffee beans don't really smell.
Mom: No. The smell makes me want to throw up.
Trisha: It's not like you're going to be sitting at the tables where the centerpieces are.
Mom: No. If I'm putting up with alcohol, I'm not putting up with coffee, too.
Trisha: I give up.

Argument #6: The dress shopping
Trisha: Joe's mom will be in town for my graduation and for "wedding kickoff planning weekend" so I want to go dress shopping with her and you and Kara.
Mom: This may sound selfish, but I have been waiting 25 years for this day, and I don't want to share it with anyone.
Trisha: Well I want them included. I've been totally stressed about this weekend and how to make everyone enjoy themselves and feel a part of this, and dress shopping is what I came up with.
Mom: Well maybe you can find a day to go shopping just with ME before Mary gets here.
Trisha: NO! I have a job and I'm not rearranging my schedule for your silly selfish requests. I guess we can do something else that weekend if you refuse to participate. I give up.

So you can see why I have been JUST A LITTLE STRESSED about "wedding kickoff weekend." Well I have to say, it was not as bad as I had expected. My mom relented on wanting solo dress time (due to the persuasion of her bank teller) so we shopped for that. I think Mary's presence helped to calm the storm between me and my mom because we ACTUALLY ALL GOT ALONG!! It was a small miracle, really. And we found a dress! (Can't post pics here b/c Joe reads the blog, but email me if you want to see them.) There was just one small issue...

Argument #7: The color
Trisha: Mom, thanks for being cool about me wanting an ivory dress. I really thought you would push for white and that would become a huge issue.
Mom: Well I think ivory is best with you and Joe living together.
Trisha: What?!
Mom: Yeah, I think the reason for ivory being more and more popular is because so many people cohabitate these days.
Trisha: I give up.

Eenie-meenie-miney-mo

Which one do you think it is, Joe?
You will never know...
Until the 10th of Octo'