Denny and I had kicked around the idea of having i-Zone cameras at our guestbook (aka guest index card) station. Those are the Polaroid cameras that take tiny little pictures, and you can get film that prints out on adhesive backing. We thought it would be fun for guests to take pictures of themselves, stick them to an index card, write a note, and then we’d assemble them into a book later.

That was all fine and dandy, except that the film only comes in 12-exposure rolls, and it’s kind of expensive considering all the guests we have. The cameras themselves are cheap–they’re going for about $4 or $5 on Ebay, but the film was prohibitive. But then I stumbled upon a source where they’re only $2.99 a roll. Thanks, Froogle. So I bought 300 exposures. That should be enough for each guest to have his/her picture taken and enough left over for a few goof-ups. I think I might assign my ushers to do the picture-taking, though, so people don’t get crazy and wasteful taking pictures of each other’s butts.

Because, in all likelihood, I would take a picture of my butt in such a situation, if given the opportunity.

So, this is how I’m envisioning it:

1. Guest enters museum, is greeted by a friendly usher who welcomes him/her and snaps a picture.
2. Usher hands picture to guest. Guest progresses on toward ceremony location.
3. By the time the guest has arrived at the guestbook station (near the entrance to the ceremony room), the picture has pretty much developed. Guest sticks it on an index card, writes a loving note, and goes into the ceremony.

Sound good? I think it sounds good.

OH! I would also like to publicly announce that I was wrong and Denny was right. Normally I wouldn’t admit to such a thing, especially in such a tangible medium as the Interweb, but in this case I’m delighted to, because his smartness saved us $1000. We got a quote for a new air conditioner for about 3k, probably installed next week. Youch! But what are you going to do, you know? Then Denny was suspicious of the size of unit they wanted to sell us, because it was contrary to the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Energy or some such. He decided to get another quote, which was also around 3k, but for a more appropriate sized unit. I was all ready to fork over the money to the second person. I was sure that if we dawdled around any longer, it would be August before we got the thing installed.

Then, on the recommendation of a coworker, he got a third estimate. This estimate was for only $2000, for the U.S. Department of Energy-recommended size. They couldn’t get us in for a couple of weeks, but I figured I could sweat it out to save a thousand dollars. Then–then–get this–they called and said they think they can get us in this Wednesday.

Denny is so smart.

We had our food tasting at the Co-op yesterday. It was really fun. We had, and will be serving at the wedding reception:

• Piña-a-go-go: sweet and spicy fresh pineapple on a stick. It was fabulous–my favorite item of the lot. This is a definite keeper.
• Spicy chicken empanadas with sour cream dipping sauce: Also great. Heck yeah!
• Gougeres: little puff pastry things with a cheesey flavor. Yum.
• Chive pancakes with red onion confit: these were very nice, simple but not bland. The purple of the onion and the green of the chives looked pretty together.
• Corncakes with créme frâiche and mango salsa: these had potential, but I found them a little bland. They could have used some onion or jalapeño or something. Of course, we do need to cater to a variety of palates, so it’s good to have some non-spicy items. I suppose.
• Grilled chicken skewers with apricot-mustard dipping sauce: these were not so great. I found them very boring. I guess kids would like them, though.

I should have done this in reverse order, so I’d have ended on the best one. Overall, the food was very good. We’re going to be filling out the selections with cheaper options obtained from other sources, like shrimp and meat/ cheese trays from Hy-Vee and fruit and vegetable trays assembled from our local farmers’ market.

I’m getting excited. The wedding is exactly one month from today! I have my final dress fitting this afternoon. We pick up the marriage license on Friday. I’m looking forward to the point in the process where it’s all out of my hands and I can just relax.