40 days - Stop and Listen and Look?

Today is 40 days until Nic and I say I DO
Today I feel impatient


But much thanks to Nic, she knows how to calm to me down. My brain tends to race reasonably fast, probably would beat Ben Johnson back in '88. But she knows when to slow me down and work shit out.
Today I had nothing to work out as such, just to chill and stop my mind racing a million miles an hour and think logically. It's incredible when you do this, that stuff just works.
It's worked so much she's now got me watching some Kate Winslet gayness on channel Bruce. It seems her character will be lucky "eventually" in love. It must happen, especially when the film opens with her quoting Shakespeare that love is blind. She's bound to find it. Yep this film will be a ball tearer! Thing is, why is love blind? I got a mate Hayden who is literally so blind he see us as lego figures, what happens there? What on earth does he see if love is Blind? 
Love isn't blind. It's accepting, rewarding, welcoming, hard, fun, challenging, incredible, awful, ridiculous, contagious, addictive, painful, joyful....Fark is this a George Clooney moment out of The Descendants? (NB I hope that never happens, but good man tear movie)
Anyway I will let this movie called Holiday hopefully show whether or not love is in fact blind. Or have I had the answer to the question under my nose all this time?  
(Speaking of which, I can see under my nose, unlike Kate Winslet - she needs work)

41 days and the jigsaw pieces begin to click

It's 41 days until Nic and I say I DO

I feel like I need to touch wood

Everything seems to falling in place. In the last 48 hours I've had what I'll call jigsaw moments just click. Issues I thought would be issues are not, fires I thought may need to be put out are simply not there anymore. It's really sweet justice central. 
Today we've locked in the live tunes we'll have on the simmer for part of the day and with a little help from our friends that will run smoother than olive oil on a marble table. We received today we a pic of something we're having made in the states especially for the day and it looks awesome. And THEN those freaken lost vows, re-appeared again in my phone this morning. Not sure what happened there, but what I thought I'd lost, I found, and it was all sweet justice again. It really was a thank the F Bomb moment that one.  Couldn't believe it.
Bring on the jigsaw moments that click I say. It's a good feeling in life. 


 

42 days - Thats like 6 weeks

It's 42 days until Nicole and i say I DO
Today I feel my age


That's what the morning after turning back time will do to you. We had Ben and Sarah over last night, and as all good dinner parties go, we ended up doing the hour of power. Of course. 
This is a ritual Ben and I made famous back when we lived in Albury and here on the Sunshine Coast. 
60 beers shots in 60 minutes. We smashed it, well one of us did. I've still got it. Lets just say that. For all links to the event, ask Ben. I go hazy at about shot 35. While this will seem weird, what I loved most as we turned back time, was Nicole's involvement. She was on the clock, counting each minute down as we prepared each beer shot. Good times. Good future wife. 
Responsible? yeah not really, but a whole lot of fun.  
As I write this, 2nd coffee and berocca in hand, Nicole sits by me and we seriously cannot believe that in just 6 weeks we'll have enjoyed the real hour of power and tied the knot. (N.B Ceremony will not go for an hour, that would suck) Like last night, it's going to be an awesome reunion of sorts. People traveling far and wide to be there for the day. It's quite incredible how people do that, make such an effort to join the celebration. It's humbling.
So as we enter our 5th last sunday before march 10, today we need to check that list off a bit more. Officially must re-begin writing vows. Yes re-begin! The "Shakespeare gold" I'd started on was in my phone. And of course as it turns out, my iPhone died this week, and I lost data back to October last year. Dickhead for not backing it up, but it's a good way to de-hoard actually. Those words I'd crafted were something I didn't want to lose. But really, they mustn't have been the ones. Otherwise I'd have properly saved them. 
Blank page now. 

44 days - And I missed a day

It's 44 days until Nicole and I say I do.

Today I feel Slim Dusty

Missed a post yesterday due to creating today's hangover. You could say it's thanks to Triple J's Hottest 100, and these top ten songs;

• #10: Hilltop Hoods - I Love It {Ft. Sia}
• #9: The Jezabels - Endless Summer
• #8: 360 - Boys Like You {Ft. Gossling}
• #7: San Cisco - Awkward
• #6: Lana Del Rey - Video Games
• #5: M83 - Midnight City
• #4: Boy & Bear - Feeding Line
• #3: Matt Corby - Brother
• #2: The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
• #1: Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know {Ft. Kimbra}

Not sure if any will make play list we're creating for the reception, Number 1 would be perfect - not!

The Black Keys could get a run though as we wait for Nicole to arrive on the day perhaps.

We're off to Brisbane tonight to hang with Mandi and Chris and their daughter Alissa tonight. Mandi is our MC for the wedding, so we'll be rolling through stuff for her to mention, and check whether her jokes are funny. No pressure, but she has a tough crowd. A strong mix of radio people...who are all quick witted comedians, then of course friends and family on both sides - who's she's never met before. Yep no pressure. What do they say, an MC unnoticed is a good one? Mands will be great.

Then tomorrow night we're catching up with Benny Clayton and his girlfriend Sarah as well for dinner. Ben is set to sing a few tunes for us just after the service on the wedding day. Basically just when that awkward moment hits, you know the one of "what to do now?"  after the ceremony is done, he will begin playing. Weather dependent guests are outside for about an hour on the day before we head in and sit down for a meal, so hopefully the live music sets the mood for good times.

Is it though bad to ban the singing of generic wedding songs like Brown Eyed Girl? I hope not.

The wedding is going to trigger an amazing 5 weeks of wine consumption, so liver wise I need to begin preparing. This said it's been pouring rain here for days now, this is called red wine weather in our house. So operation AFD will begin after the weekend!

46 Days - Cash Drop

It's 46 days until Nicole and i say I DO
Today I felt sick


Sick in the guts as I hit Confirm transfer funds for the payment of our European trip after the wedding.
Never before have i committed so much cash to one single event in my life. I've always wished/joked/dreamed to bet 7k plus on a horse race before, but at least with this payment today I'm guaranteed a return.


We've done well on the saving front, I know certain people who may've been getting married once before and hadn't even booked a flight on their honeymoon at this stage. 
We've done it. 
Flights, Accommodation, tours, Car hire, train travel....we've locked and loaded it today. Very exciting times. All paid.
And when I told Sally Tobing down at Westminster Travel in Richmond - lets pay this sucker, she was just as excited. And why not, we're going on the holiday of a lifetime with the best blocked in brick wall views in the world. Well you'd hope we get some scenic views, I'm sure Sally will hook us up. In fact she has. It's all good.


Fact it is, we've saved so hard for this day, it's just freaken awesome it's getting close to the time for our friends and family to actually live the day.
Black Caviar does run this Friday night though - so please quietly watch that race with me and imagine you had 7 large on her. Even when she wins her 17th straight, for the return we'll get on our O.S trip, I still think we'll get better value on our investment.

47 Days and time to go faster or slower?

It's now 47 days until Nicole and I say I DO
Today I feel cautious.

Cautious in the fact I need to slow down. Not because I am going 1 million miles an hour, but to soak up life. Soak up what we're experiencing. There's moments that remind you to do this.
When your driving to Landsborough station to pick up your fiancé in pouring flood rain then see police cars and a tow truck, it stuns you back into action.
I appreciate life moves quickly, and we live in moments, but why rush?
There's a lot to look forward to in life, and it's moments like this you must remind yourself to do a Ferris Bueller, Stop and look around every once in a while, otherwise you could miss it. 

So it's a cliche (or is it) but on our wedding day I will make sure we get to take a moment and do a Ferris.
Look around and soak it up...with a warmed piece of crusty ciabatta. 

48 days - The ingredient for Vows

It's now 48 days until Nicole and I say I Do.

Today I feel energized.

We received draft 2 of the ceremony back from the celebrant over the weekend. Yep there's drafts apparently. So this week, it's  vow writing time. Nicole isn't looking forward to this process because I'm the "writer" of the duo.

But is there pressure on what you say when you do vows? Pressure on how you write them? Like is this gear meant to be Shakespeare? Am I meant to write better vows, 'cos I write for a living? Unless it's in the form a 30 second radio script - then I hope not.

I think on the day what ever we say will be awesome. The thing is though, how do you brainstorm up vows....sit in a room with incense burning, Enya on in the background, and then hold hands and talk about your feelings?

I don't think that's the answer. Actually it's 100% not the answer, but what is? 

We deliberately didn't want to use the ones out of the book they supply. We've quickly gathered it's a pretty huge thing trying to write them for yourself. It's affirmation of the largest kind. How often do you actually stop to think about how important a person is to you, and how much you love and value them?

It's not something you sit down and do deliberately very often is it? 

Can you say thanks for letting me watch horse racing most weekends and having a separate gambling "budget"? 

Probably not. I think I need to try and work out what that translates to, then I could be on the right track.

Speaking of tracks, they race at Flemington the day of the wedding.

I'm on my back screaming "49 DAYS!"

In 49 days time Nicole and I will say I do.

Today I feel happy.

Watching a C'mon Aussie four set victory has made me consider ways blokes show emotion.

Lleyton Hewitt he wears the little Aussie Battler tag when he walks on the tennis court. He shows anger, passion, excitement, courage. Yet after last night's celebrations when he won he'll get pasted on social networks for overdoing his celebration for a 3rd round win.

I think Lleyton has surprised himself in this tournament, if he wins his next match the whole nation will be on their backs celebrating. In fact the flat on your back scream would become a nationwide craze known as 'doing the Lleyton'.

The tennis court is different to life, but it's important men show emotion. 

On the day when we say I do, I won't be rejoicing screaming in joy on my back in front of guests, but I will be sharing genuine emotion on the day. For me, making that commitment is in fact more than a simple ceremony of love, it's a massive pledge you'll be open and honest.  

Communication and sharing emotion, I haven't been married before, but I'm tipping that will help Nicole and I to a happy life. 

Thing is a lot of men in this world bottle things up, more due to pride I guess, but also fear. It's important to be open, and share your voice. Important on an individual level, but especially in a relationship.

And while we've been planning this wedding, if I hadn't shared my thoughts along the way, well the wedding wouldn't be what it will be. We've got a main menu with an online vote for guests, a tiny Hawthorn twist somewhere on the night, and a day n night to remember forever.

It's all come along for Nicole and I by having no fear in sharing our thoughts to how we see our big day. 

C'MON!!!!

50 Days - It's on the list

Negating the American calendar quoted above, TODAY is Saturday January 21st, 50 days until Nicole and I get married.
Today I feel calm.
In 50 days we will get to say  I do and make a commitment to one another for a lifetime.  It's the beginning of something incredible, a life we build together. Where we'll end up or what will happen, we don't know, but that's exciting, we take a of leap of faith together and take on life. 
For the remaining 50 days, I'll refer to this blog as the Groom Eye View. Trust me if I'm on the couch too much in these final weeks, that's not going to help get the job done. 
Preparation has been on since Xmas Eve 2010 when we got engaged at Nobu in Melbourne. We'll have it at a winery, no church, close friends and family, have it on a long weekend so we can hit up the Sunday session the day after, do what we want on the day and enjoy.
The word 'should' becomes a prominent term when planning a wedding. You fast learn, everyone has a view on what should happen. You should invite this person, you should do it this way. For this groom to be it's been a cleansing experience, as I'm normally the one living in the world of "should". Because things have been a done a certain way before, that's the way I should do them too, yeah?
No.
This is where Nic has guided me with the reminder we're creating something for us. We stamped out the 'should' very early in the process. Without trying to sound selfish here, you almost have to be selfish in planning your wedding. It's that part of letting go of the should, and creating the we.
If there's too much should, one forgets about the us.
More than a bucket list of things to do goes into a wedding day that's for sure. Thankfully as the 50 day countdown begins, we can confidently say we're on track. Tiny little things that make the day big is all that remains, you know little things like flower combinations, vows, that kind of gear. Little. But we have the location, the honeymoon, the guests, transport, music, food, wine, we have us.  We've ticked this off, ticked that off, we've planned it, we've paid it, we've booked it.... 
One day of celebration for a lifelong journey, so much goes into it. I wonder what we'll remember of the day ourselves? Only time will tell.
I suggested before, we don't know where life will take us after our wedding day, but I do know one thing. We'll have a blank page and probably feel a little lost with nothing left on our list to tick off.
Maybe we should create a new one on our honeymoon?
....We'll work that one out.