The list keeps getting longer....

The days are becoming fewer and fewer, I cross a million things off my "to do" list every day, yet it continues to get longer and longer. I knew that wedding planning took a lot of effort but I wish that some things would just take care of themselves. Below is a list of the Top 10 most obnoxious tasks that I have to take care of AS QUICKLY AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE and/or things that are bothering me that I have zero control over:

10. Why God why did my future in-laws think that it was acceptable to give us dance lessons for Christmas? Neither of us can dance very well but we can certainly fake it for 2 minutes while the band plays our first dance. They did not give us one dance lesson or even two, rather, 3 private lessons, 1 group lesson, and a DANCE PARTY. Holy crap. After our first lesson last night (which I could not have been more embarrassed by) Deaner is more robotic and more rigid than ever. I'm assuming this occurs when you are trying to count in your head ect. Anywho, we are having our 2nd lesson with Jose next week.

9. Isn't all wedding ceremony music the same? A little Cannon in D here a Wedding March there....Why must I trek over to the church after work next week and meet with the organist for him to play me some "examples"? Dude, I have been IN 10 weddings, just pick something. But while I am on that topic, why do you charge $400 for a 30 minute ceremony? Maybe I can just ask guests to hum loudly.

8. Why don't invited guests return their RSVP cards? I mean, it isn't that hard. They are already stamped for crying out loud! Now I understand that some people don't immediately know if they will be able to come or not. Example: Deaner's friend who is currently living in Rome, Italy. That example does not bug me. Example that does bug me: Deaner's GROOMSMEN who haven't returned their RSVP card. Guys, you know you are coming, just put the card in the mailbox!

7. I tried on my wedding dress in October and it fit. I have lost 20 pounds since then and now it is too tight. Yes, you read that correctly. It might seem like a physical impossibility but I swear it is true. It was back to Priscilla of Boston this week to start over. There is not time to have several ribs surgically removed.

6. How come everyone is available to come to our wedding? I swear I really wanted all 358 of you to come but I really did think that 158 of you wouldn't be able to. We have had 9 regrets. Seriously, what am I going to do if 349 guests come? (and by "I" I mean, my parents). Maybe all those people NOT RSVPing can't come.

5. Hostess gifts/bridesmaids gifts/groomsmen gifts. This probably only worked against me due to my anal nature of gift wrapping perfection. I am super lucky in that my mom took care of all of this. This Saturday I spent 3 solid hours, sitting on the floor, wrapping 13 hostess gifts and 8 bridesmaids gifts. I love to wrap but that is a lot. And I still have to figure out the best way to wrap 10 soft side coolers for the groomsmen. Ideas?

4. Scanning baby pictures for the rehearsal dinner slide show. Children of the digital photo era are going to have it a lot easier since their baby pictures will already be stored somewhere on a CD.

3. Choosing readings for the ceremony. I don't want to seem like this has no sentimental value to me, because it does, but more than likely I am not going to be able to concentrate on the readings.

2. Writing thank you notes. Whew! I have a personal rule. When I give someone a gift all I ask for in return is that they let me know they got it. Please do not feel as though you have to write me a thank you note. I am personally releasing everyone I ever give a gift to from thanking me in writing. I know you love it so go enjoy it! All that said, I ordered some REALLY cute note cards to write my thank yous! I'm trying to stay on top of them!

1. The biggest pain in the butt to deal with has been the "after party". Since we are getting married at noon we wanted to plan something for that evening where we can hang out with our friends and really get to visit. We wanted it to be within walking distance from the hotel/Fox and casual. When I called Gordon Biersch to inquire about an event like this I was informed that we had to guarantee a $5,000 food/beverage minimum. Hmmm, let me think.....no. That was about six months ago. Yesterday we were at the end of our rope and really had no options. Deaner called Gordon Biersch one more time and now we have the whole upstairs private bar, 5 pool tables, and a plasma TV for the evening all for $100. WTF? Where was this sweet deal for the last 6 months? I'm going to try not to think about how much easier this would have been had we been offered this upfront.

And there you have my woes of the week! 44 days and counting!