Oh dear hive. Oh, how I've missed you.
I know that I haven't been here for a week or so. And I feel truly terrible for those of you (even if it's just one) who anxiously awaited seeing more of the engage sesh
that I teased you with last week.
I guess just life came full force at me all at once and the wedding planning -- and sharing it with you dear hive -- came to almost a full halt.
In one week, so many things have happened that I'm just beginning to catch my balance from it all. Last week, there were tears of joy, tears of sadness and all kinds of emotions battling each other like the 15 round match between Rocky & Apollo Creed in the
infamous movie that Philly is known for.
Sadly, my uncle who has been suffering for some time passed away and the arrangements were made for his ceremonies. It was hard to see my aunt so sad and to have this time that we knew was coming for a bit of time be so real. Then, that very same week we got the news that a bouncing baby will soon be on it's way to someone super near & dear to both me & Mr. Sweets.
At the
very same time Cousin Sweet Cream wound up tying the knot(!!!) to her amazing finance. And I'd love to fill you in more about that... since that is what all bonds the hive together after all. Besides being great people around the world who seem to care the heck out of each other, we all get so excited about the idea of a wedding! :)
Cousin Sweet Cream and I grew up inseparable from each other. We were born just 11 days apart and spent part of our childhood trying to convince everyone that we were "Twin Cousins" just like Patty & Cathy. She was my rock, my defender, my entertainer, my confidant, my sidekick. She was my family, sister & pal, all rolled into just one girl.
I may have mentioned before the Cuz Sweets lives all the way across the whole entire country with her (now) hubby. She and her finance have been engaged for well over a year and with the busy life a full-time job, going to school and just living, she & her finance decided that they just wanted to make it official. They didn't want to plan an East Coast wedding from the West Coast. They didn't want to wait any longer. They just wanted to be husband & wife for cryin' out loud. She already had her dress & he already had a suit. So they picked a date. And decided to just make it happen.
As soon as she told me that they were just going to tie the knot the following week, I immediately got to work trying to figure out what to do that I could make her day even more special than she already had in mind.
I fluffed up some vintage champagne glasses and wood burned their initials into some hearts to tie to the stem with twine for her "Something Old." A pair of Vicky's Secret "Just Married" undies made for "Something New." I sorted through my vintage gloves and got two white pairs together (one leather with a pearl button and the other that came up past the wrist) for "Something Borrowed." Then Mama Sweets quickly whipped up a garter, made with our grandmothers veil and vintage blue lace, for Cousin Sweets for her "Something Blue." I packaged it all together and shipped it off to Portland so that she could know that even though we weren't there, she would certainly be in our thoughts all day long.
Cousin Sweet Cream told me that it was a super simple ceremony, but I am sure was beyond gorgeous. She is so creative and a genius at pulling together parties, meals, and anything else that takes some precise planning and prep.
Cousin Sweets & her (then) fiance wound up inviting a few super close friends that they've made since they've been living in Portland and had a simple, but amazing wedding. There were beautiful words to each other, toasts, yummy food that Cousin Sweet Cream made and a tent that they set up on the beach where they spent their first night as a man & wife.
Even though I wasn't there, I know that she knows I was there in her heart.
Cousin Sweet Cream's brand new hubby(!!) carrying her over the threshold.
(Cuz Sweets own pic).
So while all of this was going on, our wedding and wedding planning in general seemed to take a the back burner in my thoughts, mind, schedule and plans. And although I have always felt I had things in perspective with our wedding plans, I think that this past week put it even more into perspective. This will be a day -- a super amazing one at that -- that is meant to celebrate me & Mr. Sweet Cream's love.
If I do not get my big idea for a paper rosette mural to serve as a backdrop for the cake table, it will be fine. When the DJ forgets to play one of the many, many songs on the "must play list" (hive, I probably have close to a hundred "must plays"), we will live. If every person that we really thought could make it doesn't RVSP "yes" to our wedding, if I don't lose that stubborn 5 pounds that I've been trying to lose and if the weather isn't that out of a scene from the big screen on our our big day -- it will still be perfect.
Because although the little details, the perfect dress, the most delicious food, etc. could make "the perfect wedding," it really has nothing do to having a super-amazing marriage...and that is what me and Mr. Sweets are
really excited for. To continue to make plans to live the rest of our lives together.
Last week brought me a whole new sense of calmness and although there may have been a lot of stress -- it certainly wasn't about our wedding. And as the grieving process happens, bellies get bigger with a bouncing baby on the way and I chat with Cuz Sweets about what she is making her brand new hubby for dinner (she has told me that she LOVES being a newlywed, even though nothing has changed, except for the fact she purposely calls her love "Husband" and "Hubby" at least 20 times a day), I am overcome with a calm about the big day even as it inches closer into reality.
In closing, I'd love to share the "speech" I included in Cuz Sweets wedding day package. I made her promise she wouldn't open the "speech to the happy couple" until after they were hitched (which I knew that she wouldn't be able to do... and I was right).
I so cannot wait to see her when she flies to the East Coast in 2 months to celebrate our big day with us. We get 3 whole days of prepping and catching up live and in person before me & Mr. Sweet Cream's wedding day. I can't wait to see
MRS. Cousin Sweets and her Mr. now that they are all "official" and all.
And I also can't wait to make it just as official with Mr. Sweets. And continue to share that journey with you.
SPEECH FOR THE HAPPY COUPLE:
I remember when we were little, me & Jamie had the wildest imagination possibly put upon two little girls. We would make believe that we were high society women from Fifth Avenue, shopping in the most prestigious store in all of New York, a little shop we liked to call Alexandria’s.
We would pretend that we were teachers, marking tests and rewarding stickers to A+ papers that only a Cabbage Patch Kid could be so smart to earn.
Many late nights were spent creating a special newspaper that had deadlines for print time late into the night and you would think that we – two little eight or nine year old girls – had all the pressure to get our story wrapped before dawn, like we were real live reporters at the New York Times.
Another thing that could – and often would – go on for hours would be our time playing Barbies. Barbie was never named “Barbie,” we called each one something much more exotic… but the fact never changed that she could do it all. Jamie could get several story lines going that would rival that of an award-winning soap opera and would dutifully play the part of “Ken” too. What can I say… perhaps an actress was her true calling.
When Jamie played “Ken” he had a lot of great traits. He took Barbie to the best concerts and he would listen to her when she cried about her hectic schedule balancing being a sister, a daughter, a friend, a vet working with sick animals, and her long hours on set of her TV drama. With her new clothing line showing at Fashion Week in just a few weeks and her national tour for “The Rockers” starting quickly after that, “Ken” was there to cheer Barbie up and he made her laugh a lot too. He believed that she could do all these things, but assured her that she didn’t have to if she didn’t want to. While Barbie was friends with all the other Barbies, it was Ken who she looked forward to seeing after her long day and it was Ken who she could have an amazing time doing pretty much nothing. All the other “Barbies” were so envious of what a great guy that that little plastic doll snagged.
I don’t know if either one of us in our little girl heads knew if we would ever find a guy quite like that. One that could be depended on to make us laugh, cheer us on, not think – but know – that we could do anything that we put our minds to. One who would love us unconditionally and make us strive to be even better than we already are. One who we could truly call our best friend.
Jamie has seemed to find that guy in you, John. And you in her.
Who knew that the scales could be set so high with hours of playing with plastic dolls, but it was.
Both of you seem to be so happy and in love. You both are there for each other, not only as a couple, but as a rock solid couple who is there for each other in good times and in bad. You believe in each other, root each other on and onlookers can tell that you both entertain the heck out of each other. You put the childhood fantasies of what a relationship could be through the lives of Barbie & Ken to shame.
So on your wedding day, I wish you all the love, luck & health that a young girl could ever even try to dream of. And I just know that you two have amazing years ahead of you that even the little Jamie never even knew was possible.
To you – the both of you – on this super special day! I love you with all of my heart… CHEERS!!! xoxoxoxo
