Yes, I’m starting to feel it.

First off, I am absolutely “over the moon” (I love using old school phrases) about marrying my best friend. Tim is fabulous- I have very few complaints about that wonderful man. But wedding planning can be STRESSFUL.

I have really tried and my friends better agree to not be anything like those bridezillas I see on TV. I  have gone all “you better shape up and help out” on Tim a few times but I don’t think too many members of my family or my friends have felt that same pressure that poor Tim has but certainly they know that this thing requires some planning.

So since I hit my 3 month mark I thought I should do a “what I’ve learned about wedding planning”. I figured this outta be fun to come back to come October when all the “hoopla” (score for another old school comment in the same post) dies down.

Things I love about wedding planning

1. You find out who your friends are. It  has been truly amazing to see who steps up in your time of need. Which friends go above and beyond to do things (or at least offer) for you. Friends that make that phone call just to say “hey are you going crazy yet” and to give you a pep talk when you need it. Hopefully most people are lucky that this is something they LOVE and not HATE about wedding planning. For me, it has been just been a blessing to see how many people I have in my life who love me and want to be part of this special day. Sure, there have been some let-downs and disappointments along the way but it has been a really positive thing to experience
2. You get to have a whole event that reflects you and your soon to be significant other. Do you ever have those days where you’re wearing something funny or you have your hair differently and you think “this is nice, but it’s just not me”. Well a wedding is all about finding the things that can express you and what your relationship is all about. For example, our locations looks kind of fancy and formal but for those of you that know Tim and I well we aren’t really fancy and formal so we are finding other ways to make things a little more low-key (like fun programs, table numbers, and CUPCAKES)
3. It’s just plain out fun research! People getting married today have it easy I think… compared to those that got married at this time last year and that is for one reason alone. Pinterest. Seriously, think about it… for those of you that got married pre-pinterest think about how much easier and more fun your wedding planning experience would have been if you had a website to just look through for hours for ideas?! For those of you that are getting married now- go ahead and act like you haven’t spent hours on Pinterest… and if you have NOT then you should!
4. I love my family. Weddings allow you to reconnect with family members that you haven’t seen in a very long time. It really can even bring families together! I am really excited to see my family and Tim’s family and my family really come together- this is the first time in my life (and I would assume most) that something like that has really happened.

Thing I don’t love so much about wedding planning

1. Gosh it is TIME-CONSUMING! Every little details takes many hours to work through. Questions come up at weird times during the day (like in the middle of the night while I am sleeping) and with work, grad school, and the every day life stuff wedding planning certainly takes a lot out of your schedule.
2. I love everything. I love colors. I love black. I love white. And I am in love with Grey. I love cakes. I love candy. I love cupcakes. I love to dance fast. I love to dance slow. I love to dance like I have never danced before. I love serious pictures. I love silly pictures. I love black mascara. I love red lips. I love pink lips. I love my hair half up. I love my hair down. I love everything. That is a lot of decisions to make. I’m just glad at the end of the day it won’t matter which of those things that I love are present. The one MAN I LOVE will be there and well that is sort of all that matters.
3. It dominates your discussions. I’ve been trying not to let this get out of hand but now that we are closer I’ll tell you what- our conversations at home really are all about the wedding. First dance music, gifts for bridal party, cupcake flavors. All things that are EXCITING and need to get done which means you have to do a lot of talking about them.

Wedding planning has its pros and cons- no one would argue that. But honestly I am a firm believer that at the end of the day all that really matters is that in that moment the two people committing themselves to each other have open hearts and open minds as they merge what could be very different lives together. The process may be stressful but I think it is sort of a great test of how well a couple can handle stress from the beginning. This is the first BIG event I have planned in my life and I have a feeling that Tim would say the same so for us it’s all new. We get to experience it together. We get to work together to make our visions come true. That to me is an invaluable experience for two people to have with one another.

So as I just wrote that I realized that sure- I have committed myself to be engaged AND running but gosh I have committed myself to a lot more than that haven’t I?

Looking forward to it.