Breathe In (Just Breathe, #1)(121)
“The wedding . . . I thought I knew what I wanted, but now I’m not sure,” she explains.
“It’s your day, no one else’s. Do what you and Henry want to do. If other’s don’t like it then tough,” I encourage. “What happened to the Maggie from Hawaii who said she doesn’t care what people say about having two out of the five bridesmaids being men?”
You’re right,” she agrees with some conviction.
“I love M?qīn, you know I do, but this wedding is about you and Henry. That’s it,” I remind.
“I know. I know,” she acknowledges.
“First things first, have you and Henry set an engagement party day and time with M?qīn and Mrs. Wú?” I direct to get her focused and on track.
“My head is spinning from them both talking to me this past weekend that I’m not even sure,” she discloses. “Is that one of the first things I need to do? How do you know that?”
“You’re looking at the queen of research, Mags,” I point out sarcastically.
“How could I forget a thing like that?!” teases Maggie. “Okay. Give it to me straight. What needs to be done between now and the wedding and can this be done?”
“It will be very time-consuming and stressful at times, but the key is to stay focused and decided on what you want. It can be done. Others have done it,” I assure.
“Okay,” she says chugging the rest of my tea. “Let’s do this!”
Maggie and I go over the different tasks and events that typically make up a twelve month wedding planning time frame that she needs to have completed by the day of her wedding which has yet to be set within the next three months. I instruct her to get on the phone with M?qīn and Mrs. Wú to pick a day and location for the engagement party, that needed to happen yesterday, then I start making phone calls to all of the wedding venues she has listed in her binder.
By the time Maggie gets off the phone, she has success with setting the engagement party to the following Saturday at the Wú Family house in San Marino. I, on the other hand, had to scratch every venue off of her list of options. Six of the eight were too small for a four hundred plus wedding guest list and the other two were booked solid. The two that could fit Maggie’s wedding size did put her on a wait list if there are any last minute cancelations. Maggie was sad to hear about the venues, but is eager to search for other options while waiting to see what M?qīn and Mrs. Wú find as well.
Before dinner time, Maggie and I are able to order her engagement party invitations with all of the necessary details Mrs. Wú gave us which includes additional information about local hotel accommodations for any out of town guests who will be able to attend. The invitations are set to be finished by mid-day tomorrow. For the engagement party alone, one hundred and fifty immediate family members and friends are being invited compared to the four hundred and forty-six who will be invited to the wedding.
The next day, Maggie and I pick up the engagement party invitations before connecting up with M?qīn, Nǎinai, Mrs. Wú and Amy for lunch at the Peking Wok. While we eat, the six of us discuss the save-the-date announcements options that I have on my iPad. We can’t order the cards until we have a date, but we have the design chosen which will correspond with the official wedding invitations and all of the necessary information aside from a few minor details. We also create the list of five different stores for the wedding registry before we all begin prepping the engagement party invitations to be sent out today. Amy and I both suggest sending out an email invite to everyone about the party just in case of timing issues with mail delivery. M?qīn and Mrs. Wú mention that they already called and sent notification to family in China.
Before Maggie and I head out to drop off the invitations at the post office, Mrs. Wú and M?qīn have three people joining us to be interviewed for the job of wedding planner. After some reservations, Maggie chooses a sweet woman named Amelia for the job. On the way to the post office, I mention that having an extra person to help with tasks and phone calls for the venue would be beneficial, which turns Maggie’s anxiety into excitement. I selfishly love the idea of a wedding planner. She’s another person to assist Maggie and me and can help take the burden off of both of us. Plus, I don’t really know the first thing about planning a wedding, so having someone who does this for a living will help make things go smoothly.
Wednesday, I’m temporarily free from any wedding planning needs since I have a full, pre-scheduled day of filming for Naturally Me with Jared and the crew. After the crew sets up in their usual location, we map out the needed footage that is required to be taken. I head to my bedroom to change for any shots that will include me. When I return to the living room, I find an extra person joining us.
“Hey, Jared,” I call.
“Yeah, Kitten?”
“I need you for a second,” I comment.
Jared joins me in the bedroom.
“What is he doing here?” I ask.
“Who? Joe?”
“Yeah, Joe.” I establish.
What the hell is Joe doing in my apartment?!
“He’s here to watch and see how we do things,” Jared explains nonchalantly. “He’s curious about the behind-the-scenes and all. Why?”
“I’ve got rules about guys being in my apartment,” I remind him.