Pre-Anniversary

Yesterday, James and I celebrated our "pre-anniversary" - perhaps an event that I made up, but I love it!  We are 365 days away from our wedding!  After a few days of worry (more about that in a second), we headed to Richmond for an afternoon and evening of fun!  We headed to the Science Museum of Virginia for the BodyWorlds exhibit.  A bit nerdy, sure, but I loved walking around, playing with the different exhibits and re-connecting with the medical side of me!  It was great.  I highly recommend the exhibit.  We then headed to Havana 59 for happy hour drinks then dinner.  This place was phenomenal!  I can't say enough about the drinks, food, and service.  We truly enjoyed every minute of our experience there and would recommend it in a heartbeat.  An interesting ending - they give you your bill with a postcard that you can fill out and they'll mail - for free!  What a cute little extra.  


So, what made us worry this week?  It's the church.  We still haven't gotten our official confirmation from the pastor at our church.  I thought perhaps they forgot to notify us that we were good to go, so I just emailed to check in on it - it has been about 8 weeks since we requested the date!  Well, we got a response that our marriage has not yet been signed off on by the pastor.  Nothing wrong with us as a couple, but there were "other factors" that were being considered.  That was as detailed an answer as we got...  I panicked!  What could these "other factors" be?  A double booking?  Church construction?  A church festival?  ...something else????  Of course, by the time I received this email, the church office was closed.  I could ask no more questions (well, I could ask questions but not get any answers)  I was left to ponder this for a whole day!  My mind was everywhere...will we need a new venue?  A new date?  
Finally, the next day, we were told that as our priests are being transitioned, one of the new priests will have to agree to preside over the ceremony.  The church can't officially approve the wedding ceremony until there is someone signed on to perform it.  Makes total sense and seems more like a technicality - in all likelihood one of these two will be available and there will be no issue.  On the off chance that neither can preside, we can provide our own officiant from a neighboring church.  So, after much worry, I feel better that we will not have to start over at square one!


So, we are now less than a year away!  I am excited to continue planning...We're in the middle of shopping for DJs; I'm thinking of some centerpiece and decor ideas.  What to tackle next?