The old toilet flusher

I'm going to a friend's wedding this Saturday and I'm going to be an usher! This is probably the biggest role I've ever played in a wedding before (never been a BM nor a flower girl, though I've always wanted to do both). Over the years, I've mainly been a guest, which I have to say, is quite enjoyable. A few times I helped out setting up/serving at the casual reception after the ceremony and even such a minor role was stressful. But besides being able to help out a friend and to being close to the 'frontlines', I'm pretty psyched to do this. I'm so excited and happy for this friend and to see her get married. I think our relationships/lives have taken somewhat parallel paths: she started dating her fiance about a year before I started dating mine, our fiances have the same first name, all four of us used to work in the same area (my friend and I worked in the same building while our fiances work about ten blocks away, within a block of each other), our birthdays are within days of each other, we got engaged in the same year, and now we're getting married in the same year. The other day when I thought about her upcoming wedding, I got really nervous -- for her (it's just a few days away!) and for myself (it's getting really close and in just a few months I'll be feeling the same butterflies, but for me -- gulp!). And as those emails from the WeddingChannel and the Knot keep pointing out, I only have a few months left! And yet so much to do!! More things to do:

In the immediate future (next 2 weeks):

• Finish map/directions & print them out
• Make veil
• Finalize cake design/flavors
• Assemble invites

Farther down the line:

• Makeup
• Decide on flowers
• Decide on decorations
  
• Decide on honeymoon
• Make/decide on favors
• Scout photo locations
• List must-take photos
• Compile songs to be played at ceremony and throughout banquet
• Make menu holder/table numbers?
• Get shoes for qi pao
• Get alcohol