What Your Wedding Actually Means | Wedding Planning
With wedding blogs, endless pages of Pinterest, Instagram hashtags, and stacks of wedding magazines it can become easier than ever to lose sight of what planning a wedding really is all about. I found myself scrolling through my Pinterest feed today annoyed. Which struck me as unsettling given the fact that it is usually one of the high points of my day. Where were the love stories? Where were the quotes taken from vows written from the heart? Where were the weddings completely unique to that couple's personality and love?
I was being bombarded by the same dress, the same tablescapes, the same props. All beautiful of course, but nothing extremely unique to a couple's story. Where were the centerpieces featuring Star Wars figurines representing the first movie the couple saw together? What about the headpiece worn by the bride that was originally worn during her grandmother's ceremony? Has everyone forgotten that men are getting married too?
What Your Wedding Is Not about:
1. The Dress: Not one of those brides who goes nutso over a $5,000 dress? Really that's OK. Wear an emerald gown, sew one yourself, heck wear a suit. Whatever usually makes your fiancé's jaw drop - go with that.
2. Everyone Else: Elope, go to a courthouse, say vows under the covers one Sunday morning before pancakes and coffee. A beautiful lifelong union does not require 150 people watching followed by an extravagant meal and a drunk Uncle Ted.
3. Debt: The average wedding costs $20,000. You know what you could do with $20,000? You could start a small business, put a down payment on a dream home, go to Europe for a month, buy a car, rebuild an African village - you get the point.
What Your Wedding Is about:
1. Your Marriage: This is probably one of the coolest things ever. You found the person you could honestly see talking to and being with every single day for the rest of your life. Their morning breath doesn't totally repulse you and the way they ask for Chipotle every other day is only charmingly annoying. Now remember that as you begin to argue over icing flavors.
2. Love: Whether it is love between you and your fiancé, the love you have for your family for supporting you all these years, the love you share for your dog who will be rocking a ring bearer outfit. Infuse love into every moment of your wedding.
3. Your Story: Everyone is there to celebrate your love story. Make them feel a part of it. Bring it to life for them. Don't get wrapped up in the DJ playing a bad song or your peonies wilting. Get wrapped up in your love story and the continuation of that story.
Still a doubter? My grandma and grandpa were married on a Wednesday. She never wanted an engagement ring and they exchanged whatever wedding bands they could afford at the time. The only people who attended were the maid of honor, the best man, her parents and sister along with his mother and aunt. They went to a "nice restaurant off the highway" after the ceremony in their wedding dress and suit. They were married over 50 years and are, to this day, my favorite couple.
About the photos: These are the actual photos from my grandma and grandpa's wedding. As my grandma likes to call hiring a photographer: "Another concession I made". She really did not want a big wedding, but she really did want to spend the rest of her life with that hunk in the white suit.
