la conner flats

every now and then D refers to me as his "fiancé" it cracks me up. it also makes me blush. i don't know why, exactly; i know we're getting married, i'm excited about it, but hearing that word makes me feel silly and slightly retarded. at the same time, "boyfriend" just doesn't cut it anymore. i propose we come up with something else that is less french, easier to type, and less giggle-inducing to say out loud.

about two weeks ago we checked out the la conner flats as a possible wedding site. sure, i know the lady who works there (who is awesome), so i might be biased, but it was honestly a lovely place. we had a good walk around, saw some goats, checked out the garden and produce, and both agreed we'd go back nearer to october, to see what it looks like then. the nice thing about having all this time to prep is we can check out sites way in advance, and then actually see them in season. i did a little internet investigation as well, and found that the past five years have seen amazing weather in the skagit valley around october. mostly sunny and warm, with only one year seeing much rain.

i've also been reading offbeat bride a LOT. the posts over there are seriously inspiring. doing this wedding ourselves, making it what we want, and doing things a little differently seems a lot less daunting now that i've seen so many other couples do it. the site is really just a wealth of information, and it makes me feel so much better about how we want to do this. the past few weeks i've struggled with my sister making what i think are undue demands; feeling guilty that i'm not giving her what she wants, but feeling angry that she would put me in that position to start with. checking out offbeat bride stories one thing pops up over and over; brides saying they're glad they did it their way, and that it was hard to stand up for what they wanted sometimes, but in the end their weddings were about them and their partners and the families they were creating. that's all i want, a great big party and celebration of my commitment to D, the new family we're making, and to share it with the people i love most. essentially, that's what the day should be all about, and i just have to hope that eventually everyone else figures that out and stops getting hung up on the details.