Wow - what a past few months it has been!!! A roller coaster of emotions, a plethora of things to ‘check off the list’ and can we say Drama Queen? And that’s just Mike so you can imagine how I am!! Ok, so perhaps I am exaggerating a bit, but wow - it’s been wild!

Now with the final countdown here I am beginning to get very excited, nervous and sad that one day soon it will be all over. Although, from time to time it has been very hectic, stressful and full of drama and suspense, A perfect Hollywood script and Mike and I daydream for the days to be back to ‘normal’ - here’s hoping!

Lot’s of details to sort out and things to do, but I haven’t forgot what this is all about. I am so excited to be Mike’s wife and now that we’re so close - you know what I am most excited about? Spending the most meaningful day in our lives with all our friends and family. With none of our parents living near us and having friends and family scattered all across the globe, to have all of them in one place together is cause for celebration enough! We are so fortunate to have so many people traveling over. The thought of so many going to so much trouble and expense to celebrate our wedding really chokes me up. As any bride would do, I also get choked up too at the thought of those who want to be there but can’t as I begin to receive the regrets. I know and I hope they all know, that they will be in our hearts and on our minds on the big day and after - no doubt about it. I truly feel so blessed to have so many friends and family and feel so loved. The best wedding gift of all!

When it’s all said and done, at the end of the day, I won’t be thinking about how the cake tasted, or how the music sounded or what the flowers looked like - I’ll be elated to be a Missus and I will hold close to my heart all the memories and stories that the day created with the people I love and care about the most. Money can’t buy that!

AND I have to say - we couldn’t have cast a better bunch of Actors for our Hollywood script! My Leading Man has been a HUGE help with a strong shoulder to cry on and sometimes punch on. He truly has been heaps of help in getting prepared for the wedding and this event surely has involved his blood, sweat and tears and for that I am truly thankful for and happy that he was a part of it all. Our Supporting Actors (Chief Bridesmaid and Best Man who are married and will celebrate their 1 year anniversary 27 days after our wedding!) threw brilliant Bachelor/Bachelorette parties (as we call them here in the States) for us - and have not only been helpful in every stage of planning but genuinely interested in our wedding as well. Our International Stars (Best Man and Sister-in-law to be who is also a Bridesmaid who both live in Ireland) have REALLY taken a lot of the stress off of us on any bit of organization and planning for things on that end for the pre/post wedding stuff and bits and bobs that we just would prefer not to lug back and forth on the plane. And our ‘Extras’ include close friends also in the wedding; friends not in the wedding and of course our family. All the listening to our long-winded tales and dilemmas and providing support in every way possible - I know we were hard work! For lack of a better Hollywood Star Word… they have been EXTRAordinary! I cannot find the words to explain how helpful, how appreciated and how supportive they all have been in all ways imaginable. (Imagine that - me not finding the words to write?!?!) Seriously - Mike and I will never be able to thank all of our friends and family enough for all that they have done for us - we feel so loved and lucky.

Once I realized all the work involved, (or all the work I created) in planning a wedding, I continuously joked and said we should have eloped. I thought I was serious. I know now in hindsight and in anticipation for September 1, that I wouldn’t have changed it one bit. Planning our wedding in Ireland has been an experience that Mike and I will never forget. The past year has taught us so much about ourselves and as a couple. It’s been very reassuring to both of us that we can really do this and it’ll work - WE CAN LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. We know how to handle the ups and downs, we can argue healthy, we can listen, we can laugh and most of all we can love with all our heart and all our soul, no matter what situation we are in.

So this will most likely be my last entry before I head down the aisle - I promise to come back with a full report, pictures, tips advice and anything that I can offer. If I could leave any of ye B2B’s with any ‘words of wisdom’ before I head down the aisle… I guess I’d have to say…

It’s all worth it, every bit of it! Stress if you must, laugh or you’ll rust - and now for me it’s Ireland or Bust!