Stupid tuxedo shop

Said tuxedo shop will remain nameless but let's just list the issues I have had with them since we originally reserved our tuxedos back in December:

1)  Have had to make several calls to confirm the cost of the tuxedo rentals because every time a new groomsmen/ring bearer/father went in to reserve and pay for their tux, they were given a different amount than the discounted price we were given for the rentals.
2)  They charged my sister for my nephew's tuxedo rental which was supposed to be free!  Then said they would fix the mistake and refund her when we pick the tux up.
3)  They didn't charge one of the GM the full amount of the tuxedo when he came in to get fitted even though the notes in the computer were made VERY clear so that every guy would pay in FULL when they got fitted so that we would not have to pay any open balances since we are picking up all the tuxedos for them!
4)  Their computer screwed up on one GM's tux info and only charged him $40 instead of $140 to which they told us to 'consider it a free gift and pay it in full immediately so we'd get the cheaper rate.'  Only we found out this week, the computer magically corrected it's problem and is now requesting the balance of $100 due (sigh)
5)  My dad went in to get fitted this week and was told that the pants we reserved do not 'match' the jacket we reserved.  Um, hello?  Not true!  So I had to call the store *again* to have them look into it.  They indicated that wasn't true and the pants were fine.  However, they did note that the ring bearers did not have the same type of pleated pants reserved as the rest of the wedding party!  So they had to fix that mistake, too.

Every single time I call them to check on the status of something or ask to make sure everything is correct, they find some other problem or something wrong.  WTH?!?

Seriously - I'm getting over this wedding planning and these stupid vendors real quick!

14 days to go - THANK GOD!!!

Can't you just do one thing for the wedding?!?

Well, here we are...just 23 days away from our wedding day.  Holy smokes!

I have been busy for sure and am so bummed I have not been able to comment on many of my fellow blogs I follow.  I have noticed that comments here on my own blog have been dwindling due to my lack of visiting other blogs :(  Please bare with me...it has just been crazy busy.

The good news is, that my house is almost completely packed up.  We are moving the furniture on Saturday.  I've applied for our marriage license online so we will pick that up in a week or so.  My programs are being shipped to me right now so I can assemble them (post coming tomorrow).  I finally got the pictures from my bridal shower (post coming next Tuesday).  I will be putting together escort cards in the next week or two.  I got me and Mr Fix It's Australian visas.  I am in the midst of final planning meetings and picking out our menu tonight.  Things are definitely getting done.

Overall, I've been feeling good.  Not anxious, not stressed, not feeling dizzy or sick.  But now things are getting all drama again.  My mom is seriously losing it.  She lets every little thing get to her.  Understandable since she is working like crazy and also in the middle of a move (she's moving back into the condo I am about to move out of).  And of course her mother (my grandma) is dying and continues to go down hill each week.  At this rate, we are fearful that she may pass the week of our wedding.  Please pray that does not happen. 

And this past week, my daughter had a melt down over having to move 25 minutes away.  It is a long story but basically, her dad lives about 10-15 minutes from us and he has her a few days out of each week.  So on the days she is with dad (2 during school week), he drives her to school which is near our current house.  Well, I told her that she won't have to switch schools once we move into Mr Fix It's place...we'll just make the 25 minute drive to school each morning on the 2 or 3 days she is with me.  Not a big deal really.  But she thinks it's the end of the world and she is going to be 'isolated' from her friends.  Granted, she will have her license in a year and I am sure will have a car to drive herself around.  But it all came out yesterday and she and I got in a big fight about it.  My fear is she is going to go running to her father wanting to move in with him and I will be devastated.  Not what I want to be dealing with 3 weeks before our wedding (and move).

So yesterday, when I told Mr Fix It that our venue is going to require us to rent a generator to play the video on the tv's I rented for our ceremony, he flipped out.  I asked him if someone out of the 15-20 people who will be staying at his house (and mostly in our wedding party) from his family could pick up the generator on their way to the venue on the day of the wedding.  He went off on how none of them has a car to do this or whatever.  I stayed calm for a while.  And then I snapped at him:

"I have been doing EVERYTHING for this wedding and I ask you and your family to handle one simple task of picking something up when they are on their way to the venue and you can't just handle it for me?!  I am paying for it, I reserved it, I can handle getting it returned the next day, and I got the DJ to agree to unload, load and set it all up for us." 

He finally calmed down and said he'd see if his brother could help out.  I kept reminding him how we have not asked our family or wedding party to do anything at all regarding this wedding other than pay for the clothes we picked out for them and show up in their dress or tux on the day of.  Is that so difficult to ask ONE person to pick something up for us?   ARGH!

Then, after he left, his sister in law happened to call me and I told her about his little blow up.  She lives about 5 minutes from me with Mr Fix It's brother (her husband).  She said that since her hubby and son (our Jr Groomsmen) were going to be getting ready for the wedding and the pictures, she had no problem driving 15 or 20 minutes to pick up the generator for us and bring it with her when she comes for the family pictures.  I was so grateful and glad that was easily handled.  Of course, *I* am the one who got it handled...not Mr Fix It.  Whatever.

At least it's done.  I have a feeling most of the posts leading up to the wedding are going to be more of my rants and full of emotion rather than full of all of the ideas, items, and plans I've been blogging about for the past several months :)  Bare with me!

The need to review the wedding details

So at dinner with a bridesmaid a while back she asked if I would have a shorter engagment if I had to do it over again.  I told her maybe by a couple months but definitely not anything less than a year (our engagement will be 16 months total).  I have so many little things that I have been researching and creating and coming up with, I just can't imagine rushing to handle all of these little but personal and big impact items and surprises.  Either I wouldn't be able to do half the things we've been planning or I would be a manic stress case and not enjoy the planning process or the big day.

As organized and anal as I am, I love taking the time to think things through and then make a well thought out decision.  Now don't get me wrong, I work well under pressure for sure...but this is my once in a lifetime opportunity to plan the most amazing event of me and future hubby's lives!

About a month or two ago, I had taken on the task of reviewing the catering and rental item contracts.  I want to be sure to hand my caterer and coordinator a very detailed, easily read plan of attack that shows them where everything should go and how it should be set up so there is no confusion.  And it's a good thing I went over everything because I found that we had not ordered a guest book table or the 2 chivari chairs we will need for the bride and groom at the sweetheart table!  On top of that, I realized that the round table I reserved for our memorial table was too big and too tall and so I decided to switch it out for a smaller one and move it's location.

The cool thing about my rental company is they are the required company for our venue and so they are super familiar with it and provide these black and white floor plans of how you want everything set up for when they arrive.  I took that little image and used some computer programs to add in some color and text to show where all of our linens and such should be placed.  Here is a little image of what I came up with (though it is obviously not finalized):

If you click here you can see the large version with all the details :)

So what about you, ladies?  Are there any items you're glad you revisited or took a second look at?  Or are there any concerns you have about what might get missed or overlooked come wedding day?