Jude, the groom's family decorated the hall and cleaned that all up except the kitchen. They actually like to drink and dance. I don't drink and I don't dance, and I was trying to avoid the "reserved" table as I'd rather wander around, sit with my friends and do as I pleased. The groom's family did come back the next day and finish cleaning the rest of the hall. I made all the desserts and 27 dozen dinner rolls ahead of time, so those just had to be taken from the freezer and plated on serving trays. Appetizers were nachos at a make your own nacho bar, so that was done ahead of time too. The dinner was a pig roast and the rest was pot luck with family members bringing items, so they just had to be put out and dishes kept full, but all the roasters and serving dishes needed to be washed afterward and most of them came from my house because the hall came with no cooking utensils. I did hire one friend to help me with that and my cousin Patty helped by scrubbing pans, but 300 guests kept us hopping. I hired a bartender, so I didn't have to do that, but we went through 19 gallons of punch and finally at 10:30 I tore the punch fountain apart because the kids were just playing in it. I haven't even washed the iced tea container yet! I don't sit around well and I'm pretty hyperactive, so I'd rather be doing something, anything. The groom's mother even went to the bachelorette party where they took salsa dancing lessons then went to a comedy club, I begged off because I have absolutely no interest. So, did I enjoy the wedding? Not much but I usually don't attend receptions because I don't like parties. I did what I was comfortable doing, and the alternative was to sit around and do nothing, which makes me crazy. The person who was supposed to make sure the coffee urn stayed full didn't and the one that was supposed to run the CD player for the wedding march was no where to be found so I quickly pressed an ex BIL into service because he is in a band and I figured he could run the blasted thing. Everyone comes to me with the questions and problems because I'm usually the one solving them and making sure things happen. Amanda was sitting in the foyer of the church in her dress and veil as the guests were coming in. She was passing out string cheese to the 6 children in the wedding party (all under age 8) while her sister Ashley was polishing Amanda's toenails, LOL. It was pretty relaxed. At the reception, Ashley sang a song for them to dance to, although it wasn't the song they'd picked out for their first dance. Then they had the "official" first dance, then Amanda danced with Bud while Dave danced with Makayla, then Amanda had a father/daughter dance, first with Bruce, then with Elery. So, it wasn't structured, it wasn't a sit down catered meal and everything went fine. I avoided my ex-husband and his girlfriend and was home in bed by 11 pm and got to visit a little bit with Sherry and Peppi, so it was all good. And I'm back at work today to rest! Annie

I used to wonder why, when my boys got older, I had so much time left before guests came for dinner. Then I figured out that all that free times had been taken up years ago by 'fixing' all my preparations that the boys had undone.

Hey girls, I've been busy working enough overtime so that I can take a WHOLE MONTH (WooHoo!!!) off from work (1 week before and 3 weeks after...) so I'm sorry I missed this post earlier! We're trying to get everything ready at home. Gotta clean the carpets, get the guest rooms ready, clean out the fridge, etc... Wedding wise, DF and brother are working on the "privacy screen" (to make our wall taller so people can't stare at the ceremony from the street! We don't have fences, we have ~4 ft tall concrete block walls... so we are building a lattice scren that will be decorated/painted white) as well as the arches (2 for the walkway from front to back yard and 1 for the ceremony). I'm sewing the table runners, ceremony runner, and flags for the decorations (It's windy here most of the time and my fabric has this iridecense that is beautiful when it flaps in the wind, so I decided to make flags for the screen wall!) as well as maybe some curtains for the house (we don't really have any... I'll see how much time I have!) My mom is making the boutineers and mother's corsages with silk flowers that we bought when I was in TX last month (they look real!)... Still going to have fresh flowers (hot pink/orange roses) for my and MOH's bouquets as well as the centerpieces and buffet tables... She is also making kissing balls with silk roses to hang from our trees as well as one for the flower girl. That's it for this week - we sent out the newsletters on Monday and our RSVP date is next Monday (05/24). So far we've only gotten 4 back!! Oh, and we're worried because our mailbox (it's a community box) was broken into on Monday, so we don't know if anything was stolen!! The post office is supposed to be fixing/rekeying the box today!! (Scary!!) Anyway, at this point, I am just trying to get through all of these hours at work so that I can get focused! That, and waiting for everyone/everything to show up from TX (half of my stuff is there!! LOL!!) Oh, and we are going next Friday to get the license - CA doesn't require any blood tests or waiting periods... have 90 days, but we put it off (*shame on us* LOL!!) It's getting close!! Have fun these next 3 weeks!! :-) -DuckyHead

Thanks to all you wonderful ladies for your time and responses. I will try to touch on a few things now... mom2emall - If this wonderful man and I do decide to get married in the next couple of years, his DD9 and DD5 would be perfect ages for to be a junior bridesmaid/flower girl, respectively. I would definitely hope they would want to do this. When he discussed with them previously how they would feel if we got married, being able to be a "flower girl" was their only concern! LOL. Also, my boyfriend's family *all* lives overseas (his mother, brother, friends, aunts, uncles and cousins do, his father is deceased) and I don't know how they would even be able to afford to come...another painful sticking point, let alone take care of the girls. fiveinall - I have heard of the family ring exchange, sometimes I guess it's with necklaces or bracelets too. This is a must! imamommy - I agree that leaving from the wedding right to the honeymoon might make the girls feel a little dumped-off. As much as I would love to take a limo right to the airport...point noted. JNM - The girls have never met anyone from my family and have never traveled to the west coast (they live in the south and we live in the northeast). My family has only ever seen photos of them. So...the expense and logistical issues are enough to give me many sleepless nights and I think would challenge any wedding planner...and we aren't even formally engaged yet! Thanks again =-)