It’s started. The wedding planning has begun and already it’s becoming stressful. Girls, start planning your wedding NOW! I always told Dusty that I needed at LEAST a year to plan a wedding. He told me anyone could plan a wedding over a weekend but I disagree. How do people decide where to have the wedding, what to eat for dinner, what colors to use, how many attendants, what DJ is the best, what florist is the nicest, what flowers will look the best, what photographer, and what day to have your dream wedding. We’re still stuck on what day to have our wedding. People keep asking me, “What day have you picked?” I’ve decided I no longer get to choose what Saturday I want my wedding on, unless I wait another TWO years to get married, because other couples have either chosen that day as their wedding date, it’s a major holiday weekend, the facility we want isn’t available, or people are graduating that weekend. I want to warn couples, check out the calendar, talk to your friends and family, call some locations and reserve your wedding date now, even if you’re not getting engaged for a couple of years. So, as of today, we haven’t chosen a date and we don’t have a place to hold the ceremony or reception but I have faith that we will find somewhere beautiful. Another thing to mention, don’t forget about any major events going on in your city such as the COLLEGE WORLD SERIES. We are finding these two weekends are available BUT you have to compete with a lot of people and the traffic. People have suggested paying for a block of hotel rooms NOW because they won’t be available next summer when out-of-town guests need them. One event planner suggested we purchase enough rooms for the out-of-town guests that we think might need rooms and then have them pay us back when the wedding gets closer. Interesting idea. I don’t think the CWS is such a big deal but since we want our wedding downtown and the stadium is just a few miles away it can create a few difficulties.

Today I went to visit our first florist. They were recommended to us by Alyssa, a friend of ours that got married the day before we left for Europe. I’m not sure how couples do it but we’re having the most difficult time choosing from the variety of service providers in Omaha. I know that we shouldn’t just choose the first florist or the first photographer or the first disc jockey that’s listed in the phone book but how can you tell who’s better. I have a list of at least ten different florists and I know that I don’t have the time to sit down with all of them and discuss what I want and then decide which one is the best. I know it’s good to get recommendations from people but I don’t know a lot of people who have gotten married in Omaha.

I went to Mulhall’s to meet with Frank Piccolo. Alyssa said he use to own Piccolo’s and his children took over the business. He decided to go back into the business and started working for Mulhall’s. He was great and I don’t think we can find a better price or selection anywhere else. I do have a little bad news. I was hoping for tulips because I think they are very elegant, simple and are my favorite flower but it looks like June might not be the best month to get them. Instead of having a bouquet of tulips I’ll have a mixture of tulips, roses, and other flowers in bloom. The centerpieces will be a mixture of tall, medium and short arrangements.

After meeting with Frank I did realize that I like ivory and pale pink for colors. I also like the idea of lots of candles. In the end, I’ve only been to one florist, don’t know who else to call and don’t know what do next. I do know there are a lot of things I like, and a lot of things I don’t like. We’ll see what we end up with.

The ring has a princess cut diamond with five little diamonds on each side. Everyone, thank you for the great support! It’s so good to hear from so many people. If you’ve sent emails or left messages I’ll try to respond or call as soon as possible. We haven’t made any real decisions about anything but when find a date I’ll make sure to let everyone know.