My Bridesmaids

Here's the Welch's

There is love

Wedding-A little drama but no bloodshed.

It went pretty well. It is kind of a blur to me right now. I just want to post pictures and write later!

So four more days

Well its almost the big day. I have been consumed with wedding preparations and haven't kept up with my blog. Why does it take so long to coordinate an event that only lasts an afternoon?
Each wedding is a unique expression of the personality of the bride. The groom has an effect on the wedding planning but he really just sits back and waits til his cue.
It is so emotional for everyone involved because it is a huge life changing event. So all the participants and guests are kind of raw from the thought of it.
I am a bit raw from it. But I am officially declaring that my fun time has begun. I have planned every detail. I have tip toed and plowed through personality-crushing conflicts. I am ready to let it all play out gracefully. I am now going to join Dean and just show up and get married.

Called for wedding help

I have contacted a lovely wedding planner in training to assist me for the next two months and on the day of the wedding. I am having so much trouble staying on track with the planning because of the Meniere's & the treatment that I gave in and raised the white flag.

If I don't take care of some things there will be problems on the big day.

Wedding music- Dance of the Brides?

We are making great progress in choosing music for the wedding ceremony. I think there will be classical in the church and folk/country at the reception. If the reception was not at the church too, the music would be very different. This Baptist church will not allow the kids to have dances at the church so that means wedding receptions can't have dancing. Of course there is no drinking either. It will be a sweet and wholesome wedding. That is fine with me.
Dean is just glad that he doesn't have to dance. I like to dance but I don't want to do it in a big dress.
There seem to be a lot of sites with list of music choices. Since I can't tell what they are by the title, I go to Youtube and there is always a video of some orchestra playing the songs. Its kind of fun.
I told Dean I wanted to march down the aisle to Prokofiev's Dance of the Knights. I found a good recording of it at this site. http://www.goear.com/listen.php?v=4d37758 Take a listen and see what you think. You may remember it from the old Chanel ad for the man's cologne "Egoist". I thought it was perfect for me.
He got the joke. I am not going to use this for the wedding but it is a funny idea! I crack myself up.
I bet there are loads of people trying to choose wedding music. At first I was totally intimidated but now that I have been at it, I am ok. I have a big list. Dean has procured a pianist. We will get her a corsage. No one to sing though. No one wants to work on July 5.
Maybe I will sing? I couldn't sing before I went half deaf. I can't imagine how I must sound to other people. I sound fine to me, because I can't hear myself!!

When will the dizziness strike?

No reaction from the gentamicin...yet. I feel like I am waiting for a bomb to go off. But I guess I may not be dizzy with just the first injection. It may take several.
So is it working? I have no idea.
Its also hard to explain to people who ask me how I am. I say I'm not dizzy. They say that's good. Then I say no its bad. I am supposed to get dizzy so I will know the gentamicin is working. They just look at me like I am standing on my head. I shouldn't have told anyone I was getting them.
Other than feeling like I am waiting for the moment of doom, I am ok. I have not wanted to do much wedding planning though. Once I calm down about the Meniere's, I will get back to work in earnest. As far as I know, most of the big stuff is all set up. I have to decide on exactly what is happening during the ceremony. And what music will be played. We are having problem getting a live person to sing or play on the holiday weekend. So we will probably have recorded music during the ceremony. That is not great but at this point the less fuss the better.

Oh I wish I could distract myself from the ear thing. I have been working on the wedding program. I like that. It distracts me. Its one of the things I can focus on.

I joined a Meniere's forum. The posts still scare me but I figured I may post something someone is interested in some day. So far I have just read.

Hey tinnitus! Shut-up! People are trying to think around here.

Wedding Fog

I can't remember what I have done and what I still need to do. All I know is that as the day approaches I want to do less and feel more. I want to enjoy my wedding day. So I guess I will just stop doing anything? No. Got to keep marching along.

What's up with people sending RSVP's without any name on them? I thought everyone knew that the big "M" on the card is where the guest writes "Mr. or Mrs." and then their name. But I am getting lots of RSVP's back without names at all. So I have some people who are coming but I have no clue who they are. And I have some people who are not coming but I have no clue who they are. So I guess I will know how many people are coming but who they are will be a great surprise for me. That is OK. It will be fun. No one is getting a place card though. It will be stadium seating.

So-invitees-I love all of you- but please write your names on your RSVPs! I don't know if anyone reads this blog or if I am writing into a vacuum but maybe if I send it out there somehow they will know. I am too embarrassed to call every invitee and ask if they could put their names on the cards. But I may have to.

The big swirly "M" is not just a decoration. Put Mr. or Mrs. or even Ms. so and so. So I will know who will come. XXOO!

Wedding Preparations Continue

I haven't posted for a long time because all of my spare moments have been spent preparing for the big event. It will be 1pm July 5 at First Baptist Church in Kings Mountain. It is only one afternoon but for some reason preparing for a wedding can take years. Its like organizing the Olympics or something.

So I have been buying dresses, picking theme colors, making favors, choosing and sending invitations and many many other nutty tasks. I don't know what I will do when it is all over. I guess I will spend time changing my name to Welch.

In the midst of the frenzy I have also felt the effects of the progression of Meniere's. I have vertigo attacks nearly every day. If you have never had one, you would not ever be able to imagine what it is like. Let's just say it makes you only care about making it stop.

Briefly, it is like this. I am going to write about it once and then that's it. Promise. First there is an odd feeling that I am receding from the world. I am going backward in space as if someone has wrapped a rubber band around my waist and is pulling me back and down. Also- it would be like going down the tallest part of a roller coaster-backward.

Then everything I see starts to spin counter clockwise. If you spun yourself around rapidly for about a minute you would see what I mean. The spinning is so dramatic that it is impossible to focus my eyes on anything at all. I absolutely can't read when this happens. My ear screeches its own special vertigo siren(Chain saw with coffee grinder accents).

The top of my head feels weighted. So if I move it I feel like it is going to tip over. So I don't want to even move my head. I sweat, my pupils dilate and sometimes I throw up. (Sorry-that was gross) but I need to get this all out, so to speak.

I can't walk without staggering. The cats run for their lives because then think I am going to step on them.

This lasts for hours. It happens several times a day. Antivert sometimes works but sometimes it doesn't.

So Thursday I am going to the specialist in Charlotte who will probably give me Gentamicin injections. A series of these injections should deaden the vestibular nerve from my left ear. This should help with the vertigo.

So that is it. My description of Meniere's vertigo.