final preparations

In 36 hours, we'll be whisked away in a town car to catch our flight to Puerto Rico. Man, how quickly this time has gone by. It has, but it hasn't. I'm definitely ready for this and can't wait for next Tuesday.

Weather report is looking a little ominous -- showers/thundershowers all next week. I found a webcam of the beach there and have been monitoring to see what that really looks like. Sporadic sunshine at best, but the wedding coordinator assures me that of the 20 weddings she has each month, only a handful are affected by the rain.

This week has been dotting I's and crossing T's. Contracts signed and deposits made to the photographer, wedding coordinator, florist, and bakery. Now if I could just get the Blue Parrot hotel/restaurant to refund my $450 deposit for the rehearsal dinner that's not happening in Playa del Carmen. I sent them an email today trying to understand how I can be held to their 3-day cancellation policy/no refund on deposit when their country is in crisis and it's all completely out of my control. I could understand if I canceled because of personal reasons, but seriously, doesn't a global pandemic nullify the terms of the contract. At minimum, they could make me a happy camper by giving me a credit at their hotel and that would entice me to visit them AND spend more money. And only goodwill for them if they gave me a "credit" and I never set foot down there. But at least I'd feel like I had the option. Ah well...

We're mostly packed. Went shopping this weekend to fill in the gaps on Rick's wardrobe. And after cramming everything into a duffel bag, we decided it would be in our best interest to invest in another large suitcase instead. Down side is we can pack way more now and need to be careful not to exceed the 50 lb limit per bag.

I think I've also convinced Rick to wear white linen pants for the ceremony. He really wanted to go with khaki linens, but I'm feeling that's a too "just off the street" look. We found some nice white linen pants that he likes, so that has closed that discussion now.

It's the finish touches on the beauty regime now -- hair has a fresh cut and color, eyebrows and lashes are tinted and waxed. Need to get in for a last minute mani and pedi tomorrow night and if time allows, another "bronzing" session before we get on the plane. Now that we're going to be in PR several days before the ceremony (and more importantly, pictures), we need to be super vigilant about not getting sunburned. Of course, that may be mute if the weather really does turn out to be stormy most of the time.

Need to run to the bank to get cash on hand. Found out from my lame bank (WAMU) that there's a surcharge for ATM withdrawals and transactions in Puerto Rico. And I thought being a US territory would alleviate the international fees and headaches. Having dinner with Marc tonight -- he's going to do our ceremony, so are excited to sync with him. Rick and I really aren't into the formal stuff. We're wanting it to be humorous and fun and not stuffy. I definitely think Marc will deliver on that front. On that note, we're not even incorporating traditional wedding music for the processional/recessional. I downloaded onto my iPod Jason Mraz "I'm Yours" for the processional, and Rick will probably kill me for this one, but thought it was cute and funny -- for the recessional song, Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell/C'est La Vie."

And with that, I need to go fax a contract...