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So Lashawnda and I have finally settled in Brooklyn (for the time being), thankfully we have a friend that is letting us stay with him until we get on our feet because we basically packed up everything in less than a month for this move. It was stressful to say the least, folks say that you bond through stressful situations (hopefully) then we have enough to last us until we decide to have children.

At the same time, we are extremely happy to be given this opportunity.  There are some learning curves and figuring out how having a car SUCKS (even in a more “suburban” area) in Brooklyn. However, with the recent passing of the same-sex marriage state wide has opened up all types of possibilities for us. Which is nice because we bounced around so much ESPECIALLY before we knew where we were going, so it is nice to at least have the bulk of the situation figured out.

So, where does that leave us? Well, finding a place indoors to hold a wedding. We are still planning for March 2012 and NY winters are no joke (I’ve been here to witness part of it) but we want something where we won’t have to deal with traffic (HA) and crowds. We’ve been here for close to 2 weeks, so we are at the point of getting acclimated because it is LOUD here and not having central air is taking me back to my days overseas, so it’s an adjustment but it’s all new and fun.

Not to mention that with the passing of the bill that there are heaps of wedding things to get into. So, I’m taking full advantage and will report back. I plan to be at the Pop-Up Chapel on July 30th, which is gearing up to be a huge, FREE, lovely and did I mention FREE event. Basically, they have it set up that all you have to do is bring yourself and your other half and the marriage certificate and they’ll take care of the rest. They’ll marry you and provide cupcakes in lieu of a cake. Supposedly it is going to be held in Central Park – so I will make sure to take photos to share with you guys.

Being that I’m getting back into the swing of things, is there any questions or topics that you’d like me to expand on? Let me know, I’m pretty much an open book at this point.

I know it has been awhile since my last post. So long, in fact that I can’t even remember when I last posted – I know, the shame of it all. Hopefully, you all still remember me. For the newer readers, allow me to refresh a little.

Basically, I’m part of an black, quirky, somewhat femme-y, awesome couple that is going to be getting married in March of 2012. Now if marriage becomes legal in New York, that date will probably get pushed up a bit. What? Marriage? New York? Aren’t you in Atlanta? Well, I am until next week – that is. Afterward, my fiancee and I will be in the New York City (well, Brooklyn), starting our lives over and getting back to our wedding planning.

So, as you can imagine things have been hectic in our lives. As I’m typing, I am surrounded by lists of things to complete at my job, stuff that needs to be donated or sold (my car included) and things I need to wrap up at the office before I leave. Did I mention my last day is “tentatively” tomorrow and I’m knee-deep in Excel trying to fix a spreadsheet that someone mucked up. That is another story all together.

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Before proposing to my lovely boo, I never realized how huge the wedding industry was. To put it simply – or at least attempt to – it is like you know that the sun is a big, massive star but you don’t get the full depth of it because you aren’t close to it, that’s how I felt about anything wedding related. I hope that made sense!

Once I proposed to my girl in December and we started our journey figuring out all the ins and outs of getting married, we both realized how much we really didn’t know. If I had it my way, I would just roll up in whatever I felt pretty in that day, have Lash do the same and we just go to the nearest ordained person that could marry us. Renting a place, finding that ordained person, compiling music, finding dresses, colors, attendants, making sure the family would support the cause, finding a state where we could legally do the deed, etc. etc. Suffice to say, our list is now hella long. We are slowly ticking off the list but we still have WAYS to go.

Thankfully, we have the internet, books, friends and the like to see what others have done with all kinds of budgets, which makes me happy but at the same time – it is slightly bittersweet. I guess I have that silly fear about whether our wedding will be captured so beautifully in pictures. I wonder, if I can get married with $10,000 as my budget as the maximum amount; I know others pull it off effortlessly but that’s them – not me!

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I will admit that lately it has been hard to write about wedding planning. Not because we aren’t getting married – that is still the plan but because (right now) I’m tired of talking about it.

I am not trying to rain on anyone’s wedding parade but right now comparing wedding dress shapes to how I’m going to sell or donate most of my belongings for the move to NYC seems to take up the bulk of my mental energy.

So for the past couple of weeks, it has been hard for me to focus on wedding planning for too long. I actually feel somewhat guilty because this is a wedding site, IT IS, ya know, what we should be talking about so delving too far from that path, I feel like I’m wasting others time.

Even though, I am working on the wedding and I still want it to happen – I just didn’t realize how much the move would take its tool, especially with it getting closer everyday (the plan is to move in June).  Lately, I have been thinking maybe we should elope and then throw the wedding another time, when things aren’t so stressful and up in the air.

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