epitome of overthinking

well ladies & gents,

this week i began a pesky little list item i have been avoiding. i even scrapped the half-done 'save the date' postcards (and let me tell you, they were CUUU-UTE) to prolong the inevitable....

caterers? sure. cake samples? bring it on! bridesmaid dress shopping, engagement pic taking, DIY website and wedding blog stalking....check, check & check.

guest list?

dun dun dun.....

first of all, let me preface this by saying that typing out a guest list with proper names, street numbers, zip codes, and childrens' names is no easy task. throw in the fact that you only have a laptop with that mystery pad that shoots the little cursor all over the place? cue random temper tantrums by this bride-to-be.

i digress.

i was (by the way -- it just did the mouse thing to me again), no joke, given a typed guest list by my mother the first weekend we were back in columbus. Neatly, next to each name in her perfect penmanship, was the respective address.

the first trip to iowa by joel's parents following the proposal, roxanne comes prepared with several pages of yellow loose-leaf paper with perfect (cough cough, ahem) penmanship spelling out names & address of their friends & family. (i have a lot of highlighted items in the spreadsheet after going through this sucker - on a mission for NO typos!) ;)

alas, nearly three months later, i am compiling this little beast of a spreadsheet.

for those of you unfamiliar with the engelbert/kurtenbach family....it is large. throw into the mix that i am a late (SURPRISE!) child & my first cousins are in their mid forties....well...that means the cousins i grew up with are my first-cousins-once-removed. thus adding an exponential tier to the possible guest list. needless to say, minnesota family & friends....get ready for nebraska overload. you're going to love them. :)

then you start to go through all the weddings you've been invited to & those whom you want to invite because you obviously value their friendship & want to share the news, YET, you don't want them to feel obligated to (a) make the long journey & (b) purchase a gift. co-workers, neighbors, facebook friends, the mailman.....what if we miss someone?

and you know what? my darling groom thinks i'm getting a LITTLE too stressed about the guest list.

as if him dissing my favorite shirt for the engagement pics wasn't enough...

sigh.

:)