Suddenly in the last week I’ve been having trouble sleeping. It seems that as I crawl into bed I suddenly start thinking about all of the wedding stuff I haven’t done yet! The day before yesterday I realized there is less than 4 months to go and I hadn’t even started looking at invitations, didn’t know what our budget is going to be and therefore don’t know how much I can spend on a Welcome Party, don’t have bridesmaid dresses picked out, didn’t have a proposal from an independent wedding planner, was giving up hope that I’ll be able to find the kind of decor I want…

This last weekend we were ready to take at least one matter into our own hands – We were shopping and we found some lanterns we love on sale at Restoration Hardware and almost bought them on the spot. We figured we’d have them shipped to Aruba. Well, RH doesn’t ship to Aruba. Turns out shipping items like that isn’t easy thanks to customs. I’m told we would need to ship to an ‘exporter’ in a ‘port city’. Then they handle the product and customs and get your shipment to the island. So, lots of extra time and cost. Our other idea was to have the large floor lanterns made in India and shipped from there, but again, expensive and shipping hassle and what would we do with them afterward (except try to sell them to the wedding planner)?

Well today there may be a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve maybe found a wedding invitation – not one I’m totally in love with but one that will probably be close enough. My maid of honor is coming into town this weekend to look at wedding dresses. And most important, it looks like the independent wedding planner we adore may pull through for us! She has put in a lot of work trying to find solutions for us. Today she gave me options of TWO different kinds of canopies which she is going to invest in for us. She has also received her folding chairs and priced their rental, AND a big bonus, she may have found the lanterns we want! So, it looks like by the end of the week we may have a budget put together!

So now I get to take a breather for a couple of days while I wait for the wedding invite sample to arrive and enjoy some time with my maid-of-honor, bridesmaid and flower girl. My fiance is going to work on the budget and I’ll try to be a good sport when reality sets in and he needs to reign me in. =) But for not at least, a small ‘lanterned light’ at the end of the tunnel…