We interrupt your regularly scheduled existential blogging for something a little more light. Or should I say, white?
With that poorly executed pun, we make the leap to all things wedding.
Since we got engaged in October, it's been full steam ahead with the planning. We had twelve months, almost to the day, to get this thing planned. Initially, I pictured myself as HBIC (Head Bride In Charge), calling the shots and planning from the table settings to the trail lights.
Which is why I balked at the idea of a wedding planner. I pictured someone tossing my ideas away and running with her own. I can do this on my own. I can plan a wedding. How hard can it be?
Fortunately for my sweet, naïve, newly engaged self, my mother-in-law insisted that we use one. We went through several before landing on The Hired Hostess. Roughly 7 minutes into the Zoom meeting where we met her, I knew she was the one for me. We had asked how she prepares for a wedding day and she had the most beautiful response. She told us that she spends the drive listening to worship music, thanking God for the opportunity, and praying for the day and the couple. Right that second, with happy tears and a warm heart, I knew I needed a wedding planner. This one in particular.
Since we booked Abby, the Hired Hostess herself, it's been a cake walk. After some brief paperwork outlining our style, budget, wedding size, etc., she told me all I have to do is fill out a Pinterest board and she could take it from there.
Being the chronic overachiever that I am, I did just that. I made a Pinterest board. With fourteen subsections, organized alphabetically. It's truly a masterpiece. After I passed it along to my fairy godmother of a wedding planner, we had the most fun phone call of my life, talking this-or-that's, rustic or chic, indoor or outdoor. She asked until she felt like she had a good feel for my taste.
A few weeks later, I gathered in the conference room of a local coffee shop with my mom, my fiance's mom and Abby. With piping hot lattes, we sat in awe as she went slide-by-slide through my dream wedding. She had thought of detail that never would have crossed my mind, but fit like a puzzle into my style. I left that meeting feeling as giddy as I had on the day of my engagement. First over the guy, now over this fairy tale wedding that ignited a girly spark in me that I didn't even know existed.
Since that pivotal meeting, I have placed my full and unadulterated trust in my planner. She is organized, intuitive, and understands my fine line of balance between irony and romance. I've even opted out of some the more specific vendor meetings and let her handle them all on her own now that I know she knows my taste better than I do.
So, I'm not the powerhouse bridezilla I expected myself to be. I've been calm, I've been cool, and I've been over the moon. It's been a dream watching it come together before my eyes. Now, with 200 days left until the big day, I am just as excited to see the table settings as I am to run away with the love of my life. Is that normal?
Anywho, let's talk about where we are now. I meet with the florist on Wednesday with my entourage of momma bears to see what I get to carry with me down the aisle. We've also been working on collecting addresses for Save The Date cards. In my eternal effort to work smarter not harder, I was introduced to Postable. Essentially, you send the link to your guests, they fill out a teeny form, and the app creates a digital guestbook that can be exported to excel in seconds. A dream. 10/10 recommend.
The hardest part for me has been picking my bridesmaids. I am eternally terrified of disappointing or hurting anyone in any way, so making a choice between all the ladies I love had me stressed for a good four months. When I finally got to the point where my planner was insisting that I couldn't wait any longer, I did it. I through a Galentine's Day brunch, complete with themed cookies on a dessert tier, a white feathered outfit, and bottomless mimosas. My best girls said yes, and seeing all my people in the same place was like a crossover episode of all my favorite TV shows.
According to my guiding light, the ultimate bridal binder, I'm ahead! I'm thankful for my planner keeping me on track, the support of my mom squad, and my bridesmaids being the best cheerleaders for this whole process.
I die and go to heaven at every time I think of walking down the aisle to Austin. Now, my head gets lost in the clouds when I think of all the details of this dreamy day. It's surreal to see all of the details come together, painting a picture of a day I've wondered about my whole life.
I can't wait to show you the final product.
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