So how does one prepare for a wedding?

Well, there's the usual ways of making lists and talking to people and buying stuff and making plans. And I've been doing that - sometimes too much, actually. But I've also discovered another way to prepare for a wedding: go to different weddings. And it just so happens that Matthijs and I have 3 weddings in October to go to. In my first four years of being in the Netherlands, I'd only managed to go to 3 weddings, and now, all of a sudden, 3 in one month! It makes it a busier month, but it also is fun to get ideas and perspective and have lots of fun, especially as I get to play honorary sister of the bride for the last one in October!

And if you ask, I'd tell you that I'm not stressed about the wedding. But last night I dreamt that I'd been brought to the wrong church, which started half an hour earlier, and I didn't even have the right shoes on (just my regular sandles) - and I blamed Matthijs for it all, even yelling at him. But I think after yelling at him, I felt better and I was still happy to have married him (even if it wasn't perfect). Eventually, probably when I kept being puzzled by how I could have had the wrong shoes on, I realized it was a dream and this couldn't be all happening - and I woke up. The only good thing about the dream was the realization that it's obvious that I'm looking forward to being married, even if it's not perfect :)