WEDDING WATCH: THE LEXICON (SHOULD I HAVE MY DOC COME TO THE RD?)

For my DW the MOB and I have been arguing about how many people we can have on the guest list. Obviously it is an OOT event, so I want to get the STDs out early. I have chosen my BMs and of course my sister is the MOH. NWR, TIA for reading my blog!

Read on below for your decipher code to all the wedding lexicon you can handle!

So far, gathering ideas for my wedding to Ben has been fun. There are some confusing things that I'll get to in a minute, but I have enjoyed the folks who email me from time to time, asking me about my planning. I heard from Stephanie in Leonardtown, MD (that's her to the right) today and before long she had me laughing out loud -- just the thing this slightly overwhelmed bride-to-be needed.

Stephanie shares these words of wisdom for the rest of us making plans to tie the knot:

I can almost guarantee you that as the wedding approaches you are going to go crazy worrying about all of the details, but don't stress too much about the small stuff ... Shortly after Brian proposed my Dad came to me and said "I'll give you 5 grand to elope and just come back home married." I knew that he was joking but I still thought he was crazy. As we were setting up the reception hall the night before the wedding and my head was spinning, I looked at Brian (my fiance at that point) and told him that we should have taken the 5 grand and run. We were both very stressed because we wanted everything to be just right. I will tell you that I woke up the morning of my wedding and did not have a single care in the world. All of the things that had been making me crazy for months were gone and I was just excited to become Brian's wife.

Side note: Stephanie shares some of the things that went wrong the day of that she laughs about now:

• The guys picked up their tuxes and one was completely wrong
• Her fiance's shoes were 3 sizes too small!

Thanks Stephanie!

As I flip through a dozen bridal magazines -- HELLO -- THEY COST $4.95 EACH!!! WHAT GIVES???

I come across all these wedding planning acronyms. Now, I'm a meteorologist (Duh, no really Kim, tell us more...) Reading weather acronyms is part of my job. Just a simple weather discussion at our local National Weather Service Forecast Office in Sterling VA can have any of these acronyms: AWOS Automated Weather Observation System, AVN Aviation Model, APSG After Passing, AFDK After Dark, AC Altocumulus. And those are just a few of the A's ! I can usually figure them out or look them up. But these wedding acronyms? Where's the manual? Here is what I have figured out so far:

BM Bridesmaid

BP Bridal Party

CP Centerpiece

DH Dear Husband

DOC Day Of Coordinator

DW Destination Wedding

Epics, Eparty, Ering Engagement

FG Flower Girl

FH Future Husband

FI Fiance

FMIL Future Mother-In-Law

GM Groomsman

GTG Get Together

HM Honeymoon

IL Inlaw

MIL Mother-In-Law

MOB Mother Of the Bride

MOH Maid Of Honor

NWR Not Wedding Related

OOT Out Of Town

RD Rehearsal Dinner

RP Repost

STD Save The Date

TIA Thanks In Advance

How do you like the wedding cake topper of me and Ben? A special thanks to Patrice in graphics who made it for me -- LOVE Ben's comb over! Thanks for giving me a Scarlett O'Hara 16" waist!

Ladies (and gentlemen?) Feel free to share with me any funny stories about your wedding planning or big day. Include pictures and I'll share your stories in my blog. I plan on having one blog dedicated to wedding planning about once a week. Have a great weekend!