shelter

I've got some fun stuff to share with you all this week, but first, I have to take a moment to declare:  I reserved a 30'x30' tent today.  We have officially checked off what has been--physically, anyway--the biggest thing still looming on our to-do list.

I'm kind of hoping that the tent looks a little bit like this:


(photo from grandlaketentrental.com)

The stripes on top remind me of a circus--which, coincidentally enough, is a word I've been using pretty frequently to describe this whole event.  I'm pretty sure, though, that our tent will be all-white.  Sigh.  But it will keep the sun--or the rain--off which, aesthetics aside, is actually the point of the thing.  Maybe I'll try to specifically request the striped-roof tent, just to see.

This is one of the first situations where we've been dealing directly with what the wedding industry would call a "vendor."  So far, we've managed to avoid caterers, florists, bridal salons, wedding cake bakeries, DJs, and rented "venues."

I'd conveniently forgotten that "wedding" and "bride" are words that carry certain connotations for folks working in the rental industry.  In our first conversations, the (wonderful) gentleman at Grand Lake Tent Rental offered me plenty of options--matching linens and disposable trash cans, for instance--that any bride in her right mind would probably reserve without hesitation.  I politely declined most of the items on the list, choosing not to waste anyone's time by trying to explain the bed sheet tablecloths and compost/recycling bins that we have in mind for our Big Day.

I did rent some lights, though.  And the most amazing "Restroom Trailer" that you have ever seen.  This is the real deal:  Two sides--one for men, one for women--each with two stalls.  Granite countertops.  Porcelain fixtures.  And--get this--piped-in music!  I haven't been inside yet, but it sounds absolutely decadent.

(I certainly didn't take this particular decision lightly.  My parents weren't wild about the idea of eighty wedding guests tramping in and out of the house all night to use the bathrooms.  We'd had some crazy plan to just rent a couple of Honey Buckets, but after attending an event a few weeks ago and visiting said Honey Bucket in my fanciest crinolines, I decided the cheaper idea just wouldn't fly at our wedding.  So here we are.  We're trying to come up with an appropriate name for the powerful powder room.  I'm leaning towards The Taj Mahal, but my man wants to call it The Throne Room...)

I know I've said it before, but I do have this overwhelming sense that things are falling into place quickly.  Securing the tent was the last big piece of the puzzle.  At this point, we pretty much have everything we need for an outdoor June wedding in Ohio.

Pretty much.  There is still the matter of food.  We've got another fifty-five days to figure all of that out.  Fifty-five days sounds like plenty of time...