The Final Week of Planning

Andrew and I returned to Pennsylvania on Saturday, October 27, to begin preparing for the big day. Foolishly, we thought we’d spend much of the time packing up our voluminous belongings that keep building in the attic to prepare for the big move West in the next couple of months; little did we know how much wedding work remained to be done. Really, for being more or less organized and staying more or less on top of things over the past few months, the sheer amount of things to do was staggering. Of course, a lot of the work was self-inflicted—like the multi-step process that went into assembling all the little details, including the escort cards, cookie name labels, guest hospitality bags, favors, ceremony programs. It took a small village, gathered around the kitchen table, to get it all done. But it was all worthwhile—things turned out beautifully.

My birthday fell amidst all the craziness; I was surprised anyone remembered it at all. Indeed, Andrew baked me a cake, seizing a rare minute when the oven wasn’t being used by Mom for cookies; and we went out to a celebratory dinner of wings at Lynn’s, a small neighborhood bar/restaurant.

As the week progressed, Connellsville began gaining visitors. Molly and Ian arrived; Barbra and Chris arrived; Andrew’s family arrived. There were carloads of things to bring to The Summit; there were deliveries to make; there were last-minute errands to run. And then, Friday morning, we were all on our way to The Summit, the rehearsal dinner only hours away—it was time for it all to begin.