Rules of Engagement

When Mike first proposed and we called friends with our great news, for some reason they immediately asked, "When's the date?" or "When's it gonna be?"
Like we had any clue that early on in the game.

We promised ourselves a week of celebration, enjoyment of this new status in our relationship, and no wedding planning.

Until I went out 8 hours later and purchased a wedding magazine.

Then all bets were off. I considered every date on the calendar.
Mike ignored this, until  SNOWMAGEDON 2010 (when DC achieved record breaking snowfall status for a combined total of 52" in one winter).  This Floridian loved/hated it.

Mostly, though, we used our "staycation" to iron-out our guest list and entertain dates.

When it finally came time for us to seriously consider an answer to that aforementioned question, it went something like this:

March 2011, because rates are cheaper in DC (offseason) and Vicki can take advantage of time off during Spring Break.
For a split second (our neighbors wielding good advice to have a shorter engagement) we claimed August 2010 before school starts up again, then remembered my sister's due date falls in July (she had her baby!) and that would be just plain mean of us.  Plus, we needed more time.
September 2010 holds my birthday and the Jewish High Holidays.
We found no dates to work with in November 2010.
The snow scared any major winter date out of me.
Back to March 2011, oh yeah we decided against that.
Then it became April 2011, since we never bothered to check when Easter fell in 2011. 
Mike's birthday falls in early April so we focused on Late April.
Somehow May 2011 became the best idea and we even put a hold on a venue for Memorial Day Weekend.
Mike received his acceptance letter to George Washington University's International Affairs Masters program a few months ago and we realized not only are my summers free, but now his too!
June 2011 fit well with our schedules, and our attendants schedules.
The last day of school for me falls on June 17, 2011.

Let's be honest here: the last week of school serves as a great time to wrap up the year, do fun arts and crafts, and enjoy longer recesses and maybe a movie or two.  I can take days off and not fret about my students, or even worry the parents think I love my future-husband more than my job.

It was decided: June 19, 2011.
The whole decision process took about 2 months, or more. After waiting 3+ weeks for the Rabbi to confirm his schedule, we set the date! (you might remember my lovely first VLOG on the matter).

Some people are surprised by our "long engagement."  It works best for us, considering our schedules.  Sure,  6 to 9 months is plenty of time to plan a wedding, but not when one of you teaches 20+ second graders and the other is going back to grad school!

Honestly, if timing was right and everything fell into place, I'd sure as hell marry Mike tomorrow.  Now I get to plan, plan, plan to my little heart's content (and watch plenty of My Fair Wedding, Say Yes to the Dress, Platinum Weddings, and of course Bridezillas, all while taking notes on how my day will turn out).
And drive Mike crazy.  That's what really matters anyways.

That leaves me to wonder two things?  Do you want to see news video footage of our engagement? SURE YOU DO!
and
How long was your engagement?  Is 16 months long to you?

A Matter of Time

First and foremost, TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

And,
Yesterday we paid the deposite on the Carnegie Institution! (Squee! And Note: We found out we've been calling it the wrong thing, the Institute, when infact there's a 'tion to it! oops)

But now that we signed our contract for 5 hours, we wonder - is that enough time?!  Here's a rough estimate of how the evening will go (with pictures beforehand):

5p:  Guests begin to arrive ("event time starts")
5:30 - 5:45ish: ceremony
6:15 - ceremony ends, cocktail hour(ish) begins
7 - cocktail hour ends, guests move to seat
7:10 - announce couple (us!) and thank you speeches
7:30 - 8 seated dinner with first dance between courses
8 - 10 bestman/matron of honor speeches, dancing w/ cake cutting inbetween

(If we add an additional hour, how will that effect the cost of the band and caterer/bartender?)

Do we need an extra hour during the dancing time, logistically?
Ack! Help me, people with wedding knowledge!