A Wedding to Remember Part II: Secret of the Booze

So, she said 'yes!' We rode Space Mountain, and relished in the fact we were more than just girlfriend and boyfriend. Our friends, who were so supportive, hugged us, and cried with us, and shared a moment that, at that point, would be the best of my life. It wouldn't hit us on the Rock and Roll Rollercoaster, or Tower of Terror, or Margaritaville later that evening. It didn't hit us the next day, either, as we soaked up the Orlando fun. In fact, it didn't hit us until we came back to reality, and someone asked 'so, when are you getting married?' I just had the most stressful, amazing, beautiful moment of my life, and you already want an encore? Now what?

We decided, the first thing to do, as the weight of a wedding came dropping down upon us, right in the middle of the engagement honeymoon was that we needed to ask that question. "Pick a day that means something" the Facebook status said. I guess I never thought about that. You just don't pick the third Saturday of the month that you save enough for the bill. I'm learning all kinds of stuff! So, we picked the date I asked her to be my girlfriend. It was now the second best day of my life, and it had a certain symmetry to it. That was easy, right? Where's the beer...

My fiance is amazing. Nothing phases her. She looks normal stress in the eye and gives it a big, Cuban middle finger. She is my rock, among being so much else for me. I've never seen such a strong, beautiful woman. But at some point between deciding when to have a wedding, picking a brides maid, juggling locations, trying to find a budget, debating when to move in, and dealing with my normal social clumsiness, she started to get stressed. It was mainly my fault, I had no idea what to do. I used the term "table thingys" for the love of Zeus!

So, I decided I had better be her rock, as she always was for me. I tried to be caring, and loving, and let her know that I truly wanted to help, not just relieve her stress, but help plan our wedding. It was an unusual moment for us, because neither of us knew what we were doing, and both were too proud to say we felt scared. We realized we needed each other more than ever.

The first bit of drama with all of this was the "you're getting married already" remark. Here I am, saying this is the woman I want to be with forever, I even have the ring, and you are asking if I am sure? Maybe you could get your foot off my man parts while you're at it! It was tough. I knew what I was doing, and the people who were claiming to be friends were questioning me. I am not an idiot, and I didn't go around giving women rings. Quite the contrary, here I am, near 30, and I'm planning a wedding for the first time and dealing with stupid remarks.

After friend drama, we both became closer. We had each other, and it was obvious that was all we needed. We also had a date, and my fiance had done hours upon hours worth of research. We were worshiping at the shrine of the Google, as we tried to soak up everything we could. I even read a book my fiance's sister-in-law got me. There was nothing I wasn't reading, and there were more links than a chain, and more talk of food, and money, and clothes and money, and people and money than I could deal with. We narrowed down what we wanted, we just had to work out the details.

The devil is in the details. Apparently, they charge for dresses, and alcohol and food, and the right to have a ceremony. The time was coming to have the most stressful conversation of all. The money conversation. Let me tell you, having alcohol nearby, like a kid with his teddy bear is a good thing. It's a terrible conversation to have. But, like so many others we had, my fiance made me feel at ease, as we tackled every monetary barrier. So, we had a budget. There weren't as many zero's as I had hoped, and no one would be confusing our number with a phone number, or even a zip code, probably not even an age, but, hey, it's a step, right?

During this whole thing, my family was so supportive. My sister, who is always there, and my brother-in-law giving me advice, and my family being so comforting. They all told me there was too much stress for so early on. They were right. They also said "do what feels right for you, not what someone else wants." It's truly great advice. That took a lot of crap, and removed it from the table and made things clear. Now, it's time to check locations, think about clothes and plain colors.

NEXT: A WEDDING TO REMEMBER PART 3: REVENGE OF THE COLORS