It seems as though there are at least 15 people I know planning a wedding. There are wedding countdowns everywhere, and it’s hard to ignore the signs that my own wedding is just around the corner. These little reminders lurk everywhere, looming over my head and reminding me that I still have so much left to do. For example, I have a countdown on a social networking site, my Google desktop and my iPhone. Where will a countdown pop up next?
With only a few months left until our “big day,” there are so many little loose ends to tie up. My main concern in all of this is that it may be too early to purchase such things as favors, wedding shoes and any other little details to be featured in our nuptials. I started making lists, though lists seem to make everything seem so much more pressing. My first list of what still needed to be purchased looked like this:
• Wedding veil
• Wedding shoes
• Wedding rings
• Hair accessories (Bride)
• Bridesmaids’ gifts
• Groomsmen’s gifts
• Parents’ gifts
• Flower girl basket
• Feathers for bouquets and boutonnieres
• Guestbook and pen
• Cake pulls
• Wedding jewelry
• Canisters for candy buffet
• Candy for candy buffet
• Framed photos of grandparents who have passed away
• Brooches for bride and bridesmaids’ bouquets
• Garters
• Honeymoon clothing
I got about this far before I began second-guessing everything on the list. How many canisters do I need for the candy buffet? When do I order the candy so it’s fresh enough? What am I doing to the buffet to dress it up enough without looking tacky? These were just the questions associated with one item –– believe me, I experienced indecision with many more items on the list. I also began to wonder where I’m going to put everything once it’s purchased, which led to the biggest spring cleaning frenzy I’ve ever had in my life.
About two hours into throwing away items of clothing I haven’t worn in two years, I stopped. Why does an event like this hold so much stress? It certainly doesn’t need to be this way. We create a great deal of our own stress because we want our wedding to be perfect. It doesn’t help having so many wedding shows on television that demonstrate only the most positive aspects of every bride’s dream day. I’m certain that many of those brides were where I am right now –– worried that they won’t get everything done, worried they will forget something, overall worried about the wedding in its entirety, not to mention that many of us have full-time jobs during the day, preventing us from running around and getting all the loose ends taken care of. It’s important to stop and take a breath and then tackle the list with your significant other (or whomever is helping you with your big day). Having another perspective really helped me to calm down. My fiancé helped me categorize all of the future purchases as to what needs to be done now, what can be done next month and so on. It definitely lessened my stress, though it didn’t make it completely go away. I am a bride, after all.
When completing this list, I realized I still needed to choose a cake. I had been putting this off because, to me, it is one of the most important elements of the wedding next to the dress. It is the centerpiece of many of our photos and needs to be beautiful, but it also needs to be delicious. My fiancé and I are also not big cake-eaters, so I want to make sure it is a cake that we will both enjoy. I narrowed my selection down to three bakeries and made tasting appointments for the next few weeks. Hopefully, I’ll have news to report in my next blog. Cross your fingers!
