i'm getting married in three days. it's not my first marriage (though it is my last), but it is my first big shabang wedding (i eloped last time, in a far away land, with very few friends and family willing to make the journey - fine by me!), and it is _the_ most stressful party i've ever planned. and i've planned a shit-ton of parties.
i've spent a huge chunk of my career planning giant parties: those with the backing of the corporate sort and for the corporate sort, those requiring fundraising endeavors (see begging for money) to feed and imbibe the hundreds of attendees, those with themes, those with costumes, those with a murder to solve, and those with a tad mix of all of the above. but none, not a single effing one of them, as stressful to coordinate or as difficult to execute as the grand shabang i'm pulling off this saturday.
the details are infinite and minute, the expense boggles the mind, and the amount of booze makes me as giddy as it does nervous. i've been dealing with a dozen vendors for a dozen plus different services. from venue providers and party rentals, to dresses, tuxes, rings, and jewelry. from hair and make-up to invitations, thank you notes, programs, guest gifts, registries, and a limo. photographers, cake-makers, caterers... all of which have to be confirmed in these final hours.
on top of all that, i'm juggling bridesmaids (including those who quit mid-game and those who stepped into that vacant space), out of town guests, family members from far and near, and my fiance (whose outward stress outweighs mine by 10).
one of the craziest things about it all, and something i'm almost afraid to admit, is that i'm thriving in the midst of all this madness. i'm calmer than i am on a typical day, despite all of these details, the butterflies that've taken up residence in the pit of my belly, and that my non-profit kicks off tonight with a soiree of its own. everyone at work keeps commenting how great i look, how calm i seem, how crazy it is that i'm even at the office, all whilst i find being this overwhelmed almost refreshing.
maybe i really am as crazy as you always thought...
~k
