Not in terms of weather. In Perth, the March weather is still pleasant and summery, if not actually hot.

No, it’s coming in like a lion in terms that it is intense and fierce.

Maybe it’s a bit like this lion in that it will incredibly fat–fat with scheduled activities and things that need to get done.

Most of those things are surrounding the event of my daughter’s impending nuptials. Very exciting, but very busy. See below for an overview.

(I write this, by the way, because it’s easy to do and also because it helps me to organise my thoughts about all of this and put it into context!). So…

Saturday March 1

• My daughter’s bridal shower (being organised by my wife, along with my other daughters)

• Our regular Soup Kitchen roster, at our church. This is something that my wife organises and that we do together about once a month. It happens to be this Saturday!

Sunday March 2

• Election Training – to help earn a bit of extra money to go toward the wedding costs, I’ve taken a one-day job to help manage a polling location for our upcoming state election, and the training for that job is on Sunday.

• My Mom leaves New York to travel to Australia, her first time here in almost 12 years

Tuesday March 4

• I’ve got work to do all through this, but I have a couple of particular meetings on this day which I really need to try to be there for.

• My Mom arrives in the evening.

Thursday March 6

• The vehicle access form for the park where my daughter is getting married is due into the local town office. This is mostly notable because it means that the wedding planning needs to be up to the level where we know the information that has to be entered into that form (ie drivers, car regos, etc)

• My future son-in-law’s mother arrives to help with the wedding.

• Another key work-meeting is happening this day.

Friday March 7

• In the evening, we have several hours of setup for the election on the next day.

Saturday March 8

• The election! I have to be there from about 7:00 in the morning until the location is closed and the votes are counted, and I’m not allowed to leave for the duration. So I need to bring my own mountain of coffee and peanuts.

• My wife’s cousins, from the Netherlands, arrive for the wedding and for an Australian holiday. This is quite a special visit–we were not expecting these guys to come for the wedding, so this is a real treat. They might stay with us for a few days as well, before going to an Airbnb sight when things get too crowded.

• Around here, the rest of my future son-in-law’s family who are coming for the wedding will all arrive.

Sunday March 9

• Either on this day or the next, we are looking at some sort of big family-only outing, with both couple’s families. Not sure what it will actually look like yet.

Monday March 10

• We are hoping on either this day or the previous one (depending on the outcome of the previous item) we are looking at spending some time with our visiting cousins.

• Arrival of our friends from Canada for the wedding. It’s a mother and a daughter–the mother was one of my wife’s bridesmaids (and vice-versa) and the daughter is going to be one in this wedding.

Wednesday March 12

• Another friend of my daughter’s (and another bridesmaid) arrives along with her husband from the eastern side of Australia. Not sure where they are staying yet, but I think we might be responsible for getting them around.

• On this day and the next, the keys which allow the vehicle access to the park where the wedding, and the other keys for the hall where the reception is being held, need to be picked up from two different town council offices.

Thursday March 13

• I think this is when my daughter and her future husband will be having their “Hen’s Night” and “Buck’s Night”, respectively. In America, I think I used to call them a Bachelor Party and Bachelorette Party. You get the idea.

• I think this is the day my brother-in-law and his husband arrive, but I’m actually not sure.

Friday March 14

• A whole bunch of other people arrive, including my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and her daughter, my brother and his wife, and another Canadian friend who lives in Indonesia and her son all arrive. They are all looking after themselves in terms of accommodation and transportation, except for my mother-in-law and niece–they will be staying with us.

• This is the scheduled day for the wedding rehearsal, followed possibly by a BBQ at the beach (the wedding is near the beach).

Saturday March 15

• More people arrive, including my nephew and his girlfriend, and my wife’s other sister and her husband.

• It’s the big set-up day! For the reception, we got a pretty inexpensive hall that is right next to where we live. This meant we could hire it for Saturday and Sunday. So Saturday is set-up day for the reception, and of course the last organising day for everything else that needs to be done the next day.

• After all the set-up, we are having a big dinner with all the family, bridal shower and other visiting guests at my place. This is likely to be a lot of people, so dinner will be pizzas and pre-cooked chickens, along with some salads.

• Also, it’s my daughter’s future father-in-law’s birthday this day, so they are hoping to squeeze in some sort of small family celebration this day.

Sunday March 16

• The wedding! Pray for a smooth and joyful celebration.

Monday March 17

• People begin to leave en masse, including pretty much all of my in-laws, my nephew and his girlfriend, and my daughter’s friends from over east.

• We finish cleaning up the reception venue (we have it booked until midday).

• We all do our best to recover!

Tuesday March 18

• More departures, including my wife’s cousins, and my brother and his wife, who live over east. Our Mom will go with them to visit their family for a few days.

• Keys have to be returned and probably other things have to be returned to various people.

• My daughter and her then-husband will be leaving from wherever they are staying the first couple of nights to wherever they are going for the away-portion of their honeymoon. Before they go we might have brunch together with whoever is left around.

Wednesday March 19

• Maybe we start trying to sell off the piles of special plates, glasses and cutlery we’ve bought for the wedding? It depends on how much energy we’ve got!

Saturday March 22

• Our Canadian friends fly out.

Sunday March 23

• My Mom comes back from over east to finish up her time in Australia with us

Monday March 24

• Our Canadian friends from Indonesia return to Indonesia

Thursday March 27

• My Mom flies back to the States, officially bringing this wedding season to a close.

Saturday March 29

• The month ends as it began, with us on our rostered soup kitchen.

And that’s…it? Maybe. Probably more to be added. We will see!

Hope you have a happy March too!