Wedding planning is in full swing. And I’m totally loving it. I messaged a friend on Facebook early yesterday morning, “What did I do with my free time before this?”

I’ve called my mom probably twice a day since our engagement. When I asked her if she was getting sick of this, she gracefully responded, “Absolutely not!” Whether she meant that is another story.

I have a spreadsheet in my head of all the weddings I’ve been to and I’ve been e-mailing friends about certain aspects of their weddings that I loved and want to replicate. Everyone has been so helpful and resourceful, and I am incredibly grateful. Instead of writing a toast for the rehearsal dinner, I’ll have to write a list of acknowledgments. “I’d like to thank… for making this possible.”

So far I’ve received two lovely engagement cards and a tank top from Kola. I nearly fainted when I read it. It has blue sparkles that read “The Soon to Be Mrs. F.” That really made it sink in. Especially because I was sitting across from MainMan’s mom, who will always be the one and only Mrs. F in my mind. Ay carumba!!

I read on The Knot about the high potential for being pestered by friends/family inquiring about dates and places. I haven’t had that experience. I only have a few e-mails coming in asking how wedding planning is going. And I’m happy to share our progress (or lack thereof) with friends who want to know. I just don’t want to be that person who’s discussing it constantly. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.

This weekend my mom and I head to Sonoma. We have tours booked at Sebastiani and Jacuzzi wineries, and Nicholson Ranch on Saturday. Friday evening I’m meeting with Julie Atwood of Atwood Ranch. I am thrilled to have the chance to fly up there and meet my mom and the planners at these great places. In addition to Sonoma spots, we are also considering having the wedding in Carmel. Though for fear of jinxing anything, I will keep those locales to myself until we know for sure.

Following the Sonoma adventure, we pick my dad up in Carmel on Sunday and drive down to Los Angeles, where we’ll have a few days of continued engagement celebrations. Dinner at Shutters, a day in Catalina. I love riding the wave of fun.

P.S. Yesterday I indulged in a spanking new camera. I’m now a proud Nikon owner. I felt it was high time I ditched depending on my cell phone for life-altering, memorable pictures (I snapped a few of our engagement only to wake up the next day to find they never took/saved to my phone). Argh. No more of that!