Post Christmas Update

Future father-in-law and future son-in-law ponder Dan's idea that Mike (future father-in-law/our wedding officiant) arrive for the ceremony from the sea by jet ski. I think the idea is, as people say, on the 'back burner'.
What a wonderful Christmas! I shall not name names without prior permission for fear of bringing unwelcome attention upon reticent New Englanders, but the upshot is that the tent and furniture for the wedding has been taken care of. Our biggest expense and our biggest worry has been dispatched with admirable and loving efficiency. Grateful and humbled don't even begin to describe how Jess and I feel about this. Thank you.

We also had a first glimpse of the lovely parting gifts contestants guests will be getting on May 28th- I won't say much more but they are beautiful, personal and unique. One word clue: harnser. I also got to see the full scale outlines of the tent and tables lovingly shuffled by Jessie and future-mother-in-law Val in the snow on Val's lawn a week ago. Snow: the oft-overlooked wedding planning tool. How do they cope in warmer climes?

The next two tasks on the schedule are to lock in the post-wedding digs down the coast on the Pemaquid Peninsula (we are not going on honeymoon per se, as wise Maine residents we plan to save our "flee-to-the-sun" funds to when they are really needed and take off the following winter when the snow is deep and the air frigid) and to discuss the reception menu together and then with Ken the Super Caterer.

We have been to two weddings where Ken has done the food and really enjoyed both his culinary skills and creativity. he's also a friend to both of us- I know people say don't mix friends with business but this is Maine and the counter-argument to share the wealth locally is much better. We sort of know what general themes we want; its an afternoon affair and food will be served about 3ish so light and multiple seems to be the appropriate order of the day. However, to date I haven't got much further than endlessly repeating "shumai". This might make for a good driving activity when we head up to Bar Harbor for New Year's Eve. If you want to play along at home, make your non-binding, not-guaranteed-to-be-adopted-don't-get-all-pouty food suggestions below in the comments section (those without blogger accounts can sign in as anonymous and just leave a name somewhere on the comment).

Introducing the Team for the Wedding of the Century...

So here we go. The official launch of the wedding blog. Thanks for stopping by and checking out what's going on with the Dan and Jessie wedding- five months and change to go. It's odd; we thought we would be more subsumed by work and tasks, but are discovering that once every three weeks or so we have a decision to make, and then its like we hit snooze on the wedding alarm clock. No doubt things will become more hectic and those of you out there with wedding battle scars will be able to enjoy vast doses of schadenfreude as the day approaches.

First our current team members: Jessie is the bride, Dan is the groom, and Barry (aka "P. Mendham") is the best man. Hopefully all of us will drop by once in a while to jot down thoughts and progress.

The links bar explained: the 'official' web page is sort of a handy, unchanging place for directions, logisitics, etc. Blogs are great but the big downside is that posts slowly move down the page and into the archive. This page allows us to keep the most important information in one static place.

The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce (and my friend Mary) is a great place to find out about places to stay and things to do if you plan on an extended visit in Jessie's home town (and venue for the wedding). Although there are only 4,500 year-round residents, the town is on the edge of Acadia National Park and as a consequence is well stocked with every lodging arrangement imaginable, from 4 star hotels, through individual rental units, to I dare say at a pinch crashing on my old roomie Boo's couch.

The registry is where we shamefacedly highlight the sort of presents that might be handy if you are so inclined. As the coming together of old and New England we are both culturally squeamish about this sort of thing and want to say that anything would be nice really and you shouldn't feel compelled to bring anything, honestly. But if you want to, this is our "most needed/desired" list. Gosh, I'm all embarrassed and flustered for talking about that sort of thing.

Now to the state of play. We have a caterer, a venue, a celebrant, a guest list, a slowly expanding registry, a best man and maid of honour, an insider at the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce to help out-of-towners find lodgings, a tent and fixtures reserved, a general decorating theme ('Garden Party'), the raw materials for invitations, and a day after brunch in hand.

Still to do: buy rings, Jessie's dress, Dan's outfit, plan the menu, sort out babysitters, arrange the family rehearsal dinner and the "all-arms lobster bake", buy Muppet stamps, make and mail invitations, talk to my insider about booze at cost + 5%, and probably 52,000 other things that haven't struck us yet.

Onwards to Christmas. Visiting with Jessie's family will help clarify our timeline to no end. Let's see what happens next.

Here We Go...

Welcome to Dan and Jessie's wedding blog! The day is fast approaching, and we are quietly confident that everything will be ready. As things progress, we'll do our best to keep folks updated with our wedding plans, and most importantly resources that will make for the best guest (or virtual guest) experience possible. Check back often and we'll do our upmost to keep things cracking on....