Nixing Traditions And Making Your Own

A touching "first look" of a bride & groom

During wedding planning you often hear the phrase "because that's how it's done" or "every wedding has to have this." I questioned this line of thinking from the very beginning? Why do I HAVE to have a "surprise" bridal shower? Or have to do a bouquet toss and garter throw, or any other "tradition" associated with weddings. When did these so-called rules come into place and most importantly by who?? Ask an average person and they'll have no clue as to why showers have to be surprises or brides have to have "something blue" and any other tradition that wedding sites + magazines tell you are essential. Do what works best for your wedding. If a father-daughter dance or mother-son dance isn't your cup of tea? Skip it. If you'd rather see your groom before the ceremony rather than waiting till right before you get married, then do a first look. I chose to do some things differently and I'm a happier bride because of it. (I helped with my bridal shower planning and the world did.not.end. Imagine that?) Screw what people think. And yes some people will think you're being controlling or bossy so remember the saying "those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter." Though we are including many "traditions" into our wedding, we are doing so because we want to not because of the pressures of the wedding industry. So do things your way, everyone's got an opinion and you'll never please everyone. So why not make the most important people happy on your wedding day? You and your partner! :)


Photo via Simply Bloom Photography

The Wedding Dress Fitting

In less than three weeks I will have my first wedding dress fitting. After months and months of waiting, I will finally get to try my dress on again. As you may recall, the whole dress buying process was pretty tough for me. There is so much expectation with the bride's dress and this coupled with my incredible indecisiveness made for a difficult dress buying experience.

But alas, I made a deadline and I stuck to it. And with the help of my mom and sisters bought a dress. In crazy wedding world, if you buy your dress from a traditional wedding dress retailer you have to do so at least 6-8 months in advance. Yep, six to eight months or else you'll be stuck paying a rush shipping fee that can run you another couple hundred bucks.

So I bought my dress in October and will finally see it in April. In those six months in between, I've been going back and forth between nightmares of my dress not fitting, having second thoughts about buying it and excitement about finally getting to try it on. Whoever thought of the rule that there has to be SO MUCH TIME in between purchase and actual pick up of the dress is obviously evil. Don't people know girls will try themselves insane?? As Kanye would say "that shit cray." It's times like these that I wish I were a guy. Just gotta get sized for a tux and they're done.


Image via women24.com

Dealin with the Details

So I've heard that you shouldn't stress too much about the details of a wedding and just focus on the big stuff. Easy enough, except that all a wedding is, is a series of tiny, friggin details. So how am I supposed to not stress about them?? Impossible I say. My way of dealing with it is trying to break things down into manageable chunks, survey the scene and try to make sense of it all. Needless to say, if I could afford to hire someone to take care of it all for me, I would, but alas that's only wishful thinking. So I'm back to the drawing board and taking care of those pesky little details...

Love is in the air

When you're engaged, you seek advice from magazines, blogs, friends, family members, etc. But one place where you'll find a great source of support, inspiration and understanding is a fellow bride-to-be! It's so nice to have someone you know going through the planning process. Lucky for me, I have not one but two girls in my life who got engaged around the same time as we did. I'm so excited and happy for both of them and wish them all the best on their upcoming nuptials :)

I'm sure we each will have a unique way of approaching wedding planning (mine is venting through this blog lol) but it's a great feeling knowing that we're going through the same thing! Though styles, locations and guest counts may differ; the ups and downs of wedding planning are one and the same. We will have hiccups along the way as we work to put together meaningful celebrations for us and our loved ones, but at the end of the day we'll be marrying the men we love, the best part of it all. ♥

P.S. Can't wait to enjoy some nice strong cocktails and chat endlessly about wedding stuff with girls who hopefully aren't sick of hearing about it yet haha!