With the smell of pine trees and cookies in the air, the crunch of snow on the ground, and the happy sounds of the Nutcracker Suite floating through my head, I have been focused [almost] entirely on getting ready for the holiday season. Everything seems to slow down this time of year, and yet, there is still so much to do. I clean so the house looks and smells good Christmas morning, I bake for my family and friends, and we all fight for mall parking spots when shopping for those we love. Usually that’s about all I focus on at this time of year  (because it’s enough!) – but this year I’ve been taken over by The Ghost of Wedding Future. In some ways it feels like the Big Day is a LONG time away, but there is this little voice in the back of my head whispering “six and a half months… only six and a half months to go!” That voice is beginning to stress me out.

We’ll have to see what really happens as the date grows closer, but I am pretty determined to not become a “Bridezilla” in planning this important event. Unfortunately (for my maid of honor) in an effort to not become a Crazy Bride, I’ve taken to my usual tactic of over-organizing everything. On the up side it means that in the end it will be a great day with few surprises of the negative kind… on the down side it means that my closest friend has already had to endure countless hours of conversation on the topics of dress, shoes, hair, bar, food, location etc. What she doesn’t know is that what we’ve accomplished is only the tip of the iceberg… Like many brides I have so many questions and things I want opinions on, I feel I am becoming an annoyance to everyone other than my dear mother.

So, as part of my self-imposed therapy, I’ll be writing this blog – at least once a month as we count down to the Big Day. The dress and location are picked and the Save the Dates have been mailed, but that’s the end of what I can check off the ‘to do’ list. There is a menu and bar to set, plans to be made for hair, makeup and jewelry, clothes for the maid of honor and the groom (of course he needs clothes!), flowers, decorations, invitations blah, blah blah… Anyone who’s been through it knows there are a million details to take care of, and then there are a million more that inevitably crop up. Oh – and did I forget to mention the 15 pounds I plan to drop before my dress fitting (one more thing to book) in the spring?

I will say now – thank you to my loving groom, my patient maid of honor and my excited mom… I couldn’t avoid total Bridezilla-dom without you. Stay tuned as we count down to the big day – I’ll give you exercise and eating tips that are working for me as well as insight on planning a wedding from the tulle-filled-trenches. Now – time to get back to planning Christmas and find some rest from wedding worries – at least until January 1, the 6-month marker.