Drumroll, please...

I think we have a wedding date. We finally found out Mark's brother will be able to come home for a visit [from fighting that shit-ass war] the first two weeks of May. Since we had already decided we want to get married on a Friday, May 9th, 2008 is going to be the day.

That means we don't have a lot of time.

That also means I'm sorta freaking out, people.

I don't know a whole lot about what we are going to do. Things I do know (for today, anyway):

Our color theme: Buttercup Yellow and Grass Green

Our attendants: my 2 sisters & 2 best friends and Mark's 2 brothers & 2 of his best friends

Favors: Possibly a candy table, as well as personalized CD's with our favorite love songs on them

I know where we want to have the wedding and reception, but I don't know yet if we can afford it or if it will be too cold that time of year in the good ole' Midwest to reasonably consider it. Michigan State University is known for their horticulture gardens and you can rent them - along with a glass greenhouse - by the hour for the wedding ceremony and reception. I figure if it rains or is too cold, we can just have the ceremony inside the reception-ready greenhouse.

I see lots of white Christmas lights and some simple white rice paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. I see twinkling lights and love and happiness.

I also see $dollar signs$ and only 7+ months to plan a wedding. I hear my best friend - who herself got married almost 4 years ago and had 18 months to plan WITH a wedding planner - laughing and telling me I'm crazy for trying to plan in such little time. I feel my heart pounding fast when I allow myself to really think about it all.

But mostly I feel so absolutely excited to know that no matter what, the making-the-marriage-work part is something that will come naturally. I feel so lucky knowing that no matter how tough the planning of the wedding is, the reason behind the wedding is a pure one; a gift from God. I feel confident that I'm marrying the most perfect-for-me man in the Universe.

So I'll be fine.

A paper bag to breathe into wouldn't hurt a girl, though.

To hyphenate or not to hyphenate?

I love Mark's last name. I can't wait to make it my own. From the second we got engaged, I assumed I would just drop the D and take on 'B' - his last name. But just like anything, if you give me time to think about it, I. SO. WILL.

I have also come to love the hyphenated version of what could be my new last name(s), too. It sounds really great. It flows, people. Amy D-B. Yep, still loving it. But then I got to thinking about what D-B could stand for, if people wanted to get mean about it:

Dirty-Bastard?
Dumb-Bitch?
Dookie-Balls?
Doody-Brain?

Hehehe...

*sigh*

Mark really doesn't care one way or the other. He was honestly a bit surprised and very flattered when I told him I was excited to take on his name. He isn't one to tell me what to do, after all. Ever. A friend later asked me if I was planning to hyphenate and I said, "Um...I hadn't really thought about it!" And then I did think about it.

Let's get to the real issue at hand. My last name is one I'm proud of (despite the fact that it's sort of rare and really easy to make fun of if you're an asshole). My descendants came over on the Mayflower; I/we are derived from pilgrim blood - I even have paperwork from the Mayflower Society to prove it. That's pretty sweet if you ask me. What isn't sweet is the fact that my dad was one of only 2 boys to have children and he, along with my uncle, had all GIRLS. You know what girl's can't do? Carry on their damn last names!!!

I already plan to give our first born son - God willing - my current last name as his middle name. But is that enough for me?

I also tend to think that adding another name to my current one would make the transition so much easier. Like all that mail and account mumbo-jumbo (ICK).

So what are your thoughts?