image via Bridal Guide, Photographer: Andrea Polito Photography
I can't believe the planning has come to an end. We have been planning since January 2013. In the midst of all of that, I made sure to enjoy being someone's fiancee. That only lasts for such a short time so I really think it's important to soak it in. And that is one of two reasons I am thankful for the long engagement. The second reason was so that we could afford the fete we wanted! If the money was already there, we would have been married last year and that's keeping it all the way real! While I'm excited about the big day and having my dream wedding - these things ain't cheap and why wait so long to marry your love? I'm no expert or anything like that, but I wanted to share some of what we did to get to today. I enjoyed reading other blogger's stories while creating my own so I thought it would be cool to share our story with you!
// Have a vision. Before Pinterest I had a MASSIVE SPREADSHEET with lists, images and links!! Then I trashed it all. And when Pinterest came I was all like you mean I can just pin all my ideas and they'll link to where I found them?? SUCCESS! I also used Evernote to store images in a notebook.
// Set a budget. And know that the budget is fluid. So when my sister got married and I talked to her afterwards...maybe it was when I got engaged, I asked about the budget. She said to me "We had a flexible budget." While I told her "oh, ok.", in my head I was like "What the heck is a flexible budget? A budget is a budget, that doesn't even make sense!" So today, I can tell you that I understand now. You'll decide what's more important to you versus what's not, you'll cut costs in one area and be able to put the "extra" money towards that pipe draping you wanted.
// Hire a planner. Saved. My. Life. With grad school, a challenging job, looking for a new job and just life, this was a must for me. My family usually does everything - we are crafty like that - so it was an interesting process for me to just turn everything over to someone who didn't know me. But at our first consultation, I whipped out my Evernote notebook and we were on the same page immediately!
// Pre-marital Counseling. With Aaron's schedule being different from mine, we took a while to get started. Finally I googled "Christian Marriage Counselors" and found a gem - I just had a feeling about her after reading the website. Really it was the Lord guiding me. We are still going through the process and I'm happy to keep going even after the wedding because she's already helped so much and given us some tools to communicate more effectively with each other and to have a wonderful marriage.
// Compromise + Sacrifice. Self explanatory here. When I tell you I need some clothes, I need some clothes!! Now, my stuff doesn't have holes or anything like that, but I haven't bought a new wardrobe in a hot minute and I am in desperate need of one. During this period of everything wedding, we've bought things when we needed it, I've scrambled to the store to buy an outfit for an event. I can't stand doing that, I want to have a built in wardrobe that I can just go to - but that's another post for another day. Compromising comes into play when deciding what we wanted for the wedding. He's pretty much let me have everything I want (thankful for that!!), but there are a few things he wanted which he's gotten as well.
// trim, Trim, TRIM the guest list. Still doing this as of today. I called someone because something told me to check. Turns out they aren't coming. So if I didn't call, I would have been paying for empty seats and plates full of food. Not cool. OK PSA right now!! If you RSVP, BRING YOUR TAIL TO THE WEDDING!!! Things happen, I understand. So if you find out you can't attend, SAY SO! That's just the respectful thing to do.
// Enjoy the process. Have fun planning your wedding. But I think it's more important to enjoy being engaged. Really soak that in. It will happen only once (prayerfully). Enjoy all the events - this will be the only time people will dote on you in this way. Yes, there will be baby showers in the future, but then it's all about the kid and rightfully so. I've had a blast and I'm thankful for everything I've had the chance to experience.
// Get Married! I can't believe I am 12 days away from my I Do's. I'm feeling joy, anxiousness, nervousness, giddiness, and joy again. I don't think it will really hit me until we're rehearsing though. I keep listening to our song because I'm trying to get all my crying out right now! And I've even instructed my parents to make jokes as they walk me down the aisle! I'm serious about this - no crying during the ceremony, at least not by me.
That's what we did. This is seriously a major overview and a majorly condensed list, but these are what's most important. The day is about two becoming one and starting a God filled marriage together. I admit, I'm excited about my fluff, but that's just it - it's fluff. I'm marrying my best friend and that's all that matters.
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