Wednesday, March 28, 2012

All Things Wedding

I've tried to keep too much wedding talk from taking over my blog, since I know that people don't want to sit and read wedding stuff 24/7 (well, unless you're going to be a bride soon yourself.... then it's more fun!). It has slipped in more and more in my quick takes, because I can write about it there without it taking over. Well, like an elderly person who realizes death is imminent and looks back on their life with longing and wishes for more time, I'm the bride who is realizing that in two weeks and 3 days, this will all be over and I'm already getting the post-wedding blues! Dramatic? Well, yes, but if I wasn't, Steven couldn't call me FussyPants McGee so I have to live up to the name. Yes, I know that married life is going to be amazing, and we'll have so much exciting things happening for us in the future, and yes, I'm 100% completely ready to marry my best friend but.... I would be fibbing if I said that I won't miss this time in my life a little. As stressful as wedding planning can be, it's also so much fun to plan one of the most important days of our lives, but then I get really sad that all that planning is for one day that we can never have again! I remember my sister saying that her wedding day went at such a good pace and she was able to savor, enjoy, and really be in every moment. I hope it's that way for me, too, and not over in the blink of an eye.

All this is to say that I decided to blog about wedding stuff a little, for two reasons. One, writing is an outlet for me so I think it'll help me really enjoy and savor these last few weeks if I write about it and two, I want to be able to look back on these posts with fondness, instead of wishing I had blogged more about it! But since I can write for pages and pages with no end in sight, I decided to do it in list form. So during the next 17 days (not that anyone's counting), you can look forward to some lists done mostly in Top 5 fashion. If you get wedding-ed out, I will forgive you for not reading and I promise shortly after the honeymoon my blog will go back to its' original purpose! :)

So first up is....


Top 5 wedding planning memories:


Obviously, the proposal! I’ve written about it before, but it’s what started all of this off and was such a special day for us. I really enjoyed being ‘unplugged’ that weekend and savoring every moment of that special time together. We had so much fun calling each other fiancĂ© and dreaming of what our wedding might be like.
Minutes after he proposed outside of Biltmore. This lion will forever be "our lion". Since we are crazy cat people, it's fitting.

Finding our photographer! We went to a wedding show in April, and I went mostly to get ideas and because I didn’t really know where to start. I really didn’t expect to find our photographers that day! They are a husband and wife team, and they are so amazing. They do great work and have such great personalities. The wife is cute, bubbly, and immediately makes you feel like an old friend and the husband is focused and makes you really confident in how he will handle the day. We just knew when we met them that we wanted to use them, so we booked them at the show. Or should I say, Steven  and my Dad booked them because I began bawling from happiness and stood in the corner snotty nosed and tear stained with my mom. 
After signing with our photographer, and taking a break before the David's Bridal fashion show began. Apparently dads don't typically come to bridal shows, because they gave mom a "mother of the bride" sticker but dad got "bride's little helper"! Lol! 

My dad helping me and my mom put together invitations: I already knew my mom is amazing and would be a great helper with invitations, but my dad surprised me. He was so meticulous and was taking a long time getting his job done because he wanted to make sure everything lined up perfectly (he was sealing the envelopes and putting the sticker seal on the back). He sat through all 150 invitations without complaint  (except for when we teased him for being slow). It was so sweet!
You look at that picture and TRY to tell me it's not one of the sweetest things ever!

This has happened a few times and was a it different each time, but is still one of my favorite memories… Sitting in church on Sunday and becoming overwhelmed with emotion when I imagine our wedding taking place. Yeah, sorry Jesus, I was probably doing this at inappropriate times, but I would be sitting in the pew and imagine myself walking down the aisle, or us sitting up on the altar and literally have to choke back tears. I’ll actually miss that, but maybe after the wedding I’ll be choking back tears remembering our special day when we are there on Sundays.

The decision making process with Steven: Honestly, I thought he was going to be the fairly typical absent groom. “You do whatever you want, Dear” and he shows up for the wedding. He has been the total opposite. It took some getting used to on my part, because I thought I would just pick it all, and suddenly had to give on certain things so the wedding would feel like it was his, too (imagine that!). He also frequently asks what he can do to help when he sees I’m overwhelmed, because we all know wedding planning comes more naturally for the woman. I give him honey do wedding lists, and he accomplishes them with no (ok, very little) complaint. It’s been so comforting to see how we work together to make big decisions and to get things done under pressure. I can’t wait to make even bigger decisions with him in the future. I mean, if we can agree on cake and icing flavors, we are set for life, right? 


Bonus:
How could I forget finding the dress? Do I have bridal dementia!?!?! I only took my mom with me because I knew she would be supportive of whatever I picked, and I wanted to keep it a surprise to most everyone else (only my mom, Steven's mom, and my sister have seen the dress!). I tried on 5 and knew #5 was the one because I started crying when I saw myself in it. It's classic and beautiful but with a hint of modern in it. Can't wait to show you pictures! My mom was so excited for me and was very patient with my need to stay in the dress for about 30 minutes and just stare at my reflection! She also helped me pick out the veil and accessories, which I was so glad about because I was sort of clueless! 
Smiling in the dressing room... that's a good sign! 




All you brides to be and wives, do you have a favorite wedding planning memory?

3 comments:

  1. Stacy, I love when I read about wedding stuff in your blog! I think it's because I do kind of miss all of the fun of wedding planning. I just read your engagement story too - I love it!!

    That's SO sweet that your dad helped with the wedding invitations! I was also the same way about going to church and tearing up thinking about the wedding approaching!

    My favorite wedding planning memories were our premarital counseling and retreat, definitely dress shopping, making stuff with my husband, and spending lots of time with my mom, sister, and grandma the week before the wedding baking and putting together last minute details! Weddings are too fun. :)

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  2. You mean you didn't want to make a say yes to the dress type scene in the bridal salon with 10 people with you? I don't blame you I don't know if I'll take anyone other than my mom and sister to buy my dress.

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  3. I'm not going to go into detail about each one, cuz I'm tired and this isn't my blog, hehe, but:

    1. when we found our venue
    2. the first venue we looked at, that let us stay in a room for free (in Provincetown)
    3. gathering sand in Montauk and at Horseshoe Falls
    4. dress shopping!!!
    5. our secret legal wedding
    6. eating lunch at the place we'd eventually select for our rehearsal dinner
    7. road tripping to CT for wedding errands
    8. engagement photos
    9. every moment that I said "OMG this is the only time in our life we're going to get to do this!!!" (I particularly felt it with the cake tasting, lol!)
    10. falling head over heels for our photographer

    I'm sure there are so many more...but it's already fading! And memories of planning have been taken over by sharper memories of wedding day and honeymoon. The drive up to Vermont with my feet on the dashboard, feeling SO CONTENT and feeling a year of (happy) stress drain from us, finally being completely by ourselves. Oh Stace, I'm sooo excited for you, it's all so amazing!

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