Since getting engaged in October 2015, I have been going through the same kind of journey all brides-to-be probably face, from guest list woes to budget meltdowns, been there, done that (getting the t-shirt printed)!
I decided to jot down a few thoughts on planning a wedding that I wanted to muse about, including things I think I am doing right and things I already quite amazingly messed up. This post will focus on the “do!” part of the equation.
The first thing I did right was saying yes to the right person. I remember a conversation I had with a friend about a year before getting engaged. She told me that you fall in love with your partner again after getting engaged. In my experience that is true, and I also think this is key in a successful relationship. Falling in love with the same person day after day, in which ever way is what has kept our relationship healthy (this, and tons of praying and growing together). When falling in love you overlook small issues and focus on the great aspects of your partner, and that is how I keep falling in love with my fiancé over and over again.
Secondly, we decided early on what the most important aspects of our wedding would be and focused on those things. If something went wrong and it wasn’t on our “big things” list we made due with the next best thing. So what if we couldn’t have the exact date we wanted? We picked the Saturday closest to it and moved along swiftly. This gave us time to spend on important things that matter to us.
Thirdly, we decided to make our special day OUR SPECIAL DAY. In other words, we did away with traditions that we didn’t like or want. Some of these choices ruffled other people’s feathers, but they eventually get over this and you end up being better off by sticking to what makes you happy. In our case we ditched the wedding cake, crazy expensive flowers and parental wedding bill, instead opting for a selection of our favourite desserts, huge wreaths of gorgeous smelling foliage and we paid most of the wedding by ourselves.
Some more of the “do!” moments I would recommend to any engaged couple:
- Do not give in to the hype! All sorts of people will start telling you what you should be spending money on and what is important (just like I am doing right now, ironically!) Choose carefully who you listen to and make sure that you plan your dream day your way
- You can be as traditional, modern, weird or silly as you want on your wedding. If you have always dreamed of a 5 tiered cake, white doves and red roses then make it happen even if you think its not fashionable or trendy right now- it doesn’t matter! Your wedding will probably end up being hideously out of fashion in a few years if you follow the latest trends, so you may as well do it on your own terms.
- Save money wherever you possibly can. This may sound harsh, but weddings are overpriced at the best of times . Just because you choose the “budget” confetti or “silver” photography package doesn’t mean your wedding will look cheap. You just need to find a way to keep the costs at bay without compromising on the important things
- Do not invite people just because you feel you have to. This is always easier said than done, but be hard on yourselves on this point and you will be happier for it. My sister-in-law (to be) reminded me that you don’t want to walk down the isle and see a face that will make you say “ugh”
As the planning goes, I will keep adding things that we did right (and wrong) to the various posts. These will be rounded up in one massive “I do” post once I did!
I want to give credit to the amazing contributors on Pixabay.com for so graciously allowing bloggers (and other users) like me to use their images. This image was contributed by “Unsplash” and can be found at: https://pixabay.com/en/couple-wedding-dressed-holding-768619/ (all credit and rights belong to the owner of the image)
Happy planning and never forget to show the world your love!
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