Your engagement announcement was probably met immediately with questions about your wedding date, where you will tie the knot, or the size of your wedding party. It happens fast. It’s hard as a bride-to-be not to get overwhelmed at some point during your engagement.

 

There’s blogs and magazines dedicated to helping brides plan. There’s Facebook groups of hundreds and thousands of brides and their questions. There’s Pinterest – which is an endless sea of ideas and suggestions and nearly impossible standards. It’s information-overload out there, and while those are all helpful tools, it’s hard to know where to start. Plus, everyone and their mother seems to have ideas about how your wedding should look.

 

This isn’t going to be a checklist, or how-to article. This is just a reminder to you about keeping you & your fiance at the heart of your wedding planning.

 

Some days, it will be about family. It will be about what your in-laws or your grandmother wants. It will be about who they have to invite or whether they want alcohol there or not.

 

Some days, it will be about money. What you can afford, what you wish you could make happen for your wedding. It will be discussion over who is paying for what and when. It will be frustration over finances, and gratefulness over generous engagement gifts.

 

Some days, it will be about creating the perfect event. It will be about your DIY projects and the lovely flower arches and donut walls and mason jar trends.

 

But every day should be about your relationship. Remember to continue to date each other. Don’t just plan a wedding, but plan a marriage. Pick your battles with your wedding plans by prioritizing the few things that mean the most to you. Don’t settle on those top priorities, but be flexible with the rest.

 

I’ve seen every kind of wedding under the sun. A tent in a field, vineyard weddings, a barn wedding, a historic manor, pretty farmhouses, a campground wedding, and everything in between. Some with decadent details and custom made decor, and others with just a couple strands of lights and flowers on the table. Some with guest lists of 300, and others with 25 close friends and family there to celebrate with them. Budgets from $2,000 to $20,000 +.

 

You know what they all had in common? Happy people celebrating the start of their lives together. The perfect event does not exist. Your wedding will not be the picture you have in your head of your ideal wedding. It will be even better.

 

And the pictures I have taken at these different weddings don’t showcase any frustration or budget woes or the fact that the bride didn’t get to invite as many people as she may have wanted initially. They showcase the happy and the celebrating and the friendships and the love! They’re equally beautiful and wonderful and sentimental albums.

 

The most memorable details from my wedding were not the ones I planned at all. It was the fact that my groom had no voice and all three of his sisters took turns reading his vows to me. It was the first time they had heard them too, so they couldn’t help but choke up. It was the moment when I heard to song my daddy had picked out for us to dance to during the reception. Or, the moment when my new sister-in-law told me she was pregnant! (whispering in my ear and not trying to steal my thunder of course, but I couldn’t help but do a little happy dance!).

 

Whatever kind of wedding you are planning, and whatever your frustrations or pain points with that are… just know that it’s going to be perfect!

 

PS –
I just got my wedding prints up on my walls, and I’m feeling much “more married” now. I LOVE looking through my photos, and do so whenever I have some down time in the evenings. They allow me to see the moments I wasn’t a part of – to watch my friends and family experiencing my wedding and relive that night all over again. I can’t describe the feeling of being on that “wedding high” during the day… it’s a bit euphoric, and afterwards the little details aren’t so clear. I couldn’t tell you about what the officiant said or anything about our toasts. But, I will tell you I remember the energy in the room and the friends who shared the day with me. It was truly the happiest day of my life, and I’m so glad I not only have my pictures and prints, but my video to rewatch for years to come!

 

 

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