a) I have a binder already full of ideas, clippings and already coordinated half of it before Chris and I got engaged
or
b) I am so over the wedding industry that I shun it in disdain
I thought I was leaning over the option B bride. Hm.
But Carrie Bradshaw was right.
In the days approaching their wedding, Carrie begs Mr. Big to take some time out for them to go over the guest list. Of 200 people. Mr. Big's eyes widen. 200? What happened to 75? She smiles coyly and says, "Yes, but that was before the dress."
The dress being the beautiful Vivienne Westwood work of art. If you're a dude reading this, you're thinking, so what of the dress? Its easy - let me explain it to you. We don't get beautiful for nothing. So if we're going to go through the trouble, let's have a few more people see the end product right?
Apparently, I am being rolled right into the wedding mill as well. I got a dress -- and I thought, I can still do the backyard wedding. But then the guest list grew -- as it always does due to friends husbands, friends wives, girl/boyfriend du jour, and other unknown reasons, Rule #1 in the Bridal Bargains book came true: Your wedding will become twice as big as you planned it to be. Amen.
So now, I am on the heels of getting a location I really love. And its so beautiful that I can't pass it off lightly, have a 8 minute ceremony, eat cake and go home. I think of Carrie Bradshaw and her Vivienne Westwood dress and remember my lesson: "I just need to know its about you and me." Mr. Big looked into her eyes as he said that, begging for the promise that nothing would get in between them. Not 200 guests, not even a dress. Indeed, no big production was needed.
So at the end of the day, as I am sitting here marveling at the fact that I found a way to shave $1.24 off each place setting, it is essential to remember what is most important to me about this wedding. And that is, its just a wedding, and I am way more excited about the marraige itself. I am still so thrilled to be marrying Chris, so thrilled to spend the rest of my life together with him and utterly thankful to God.
So Mr. Big had it right. Except for Chris and I, its really about what keeps us together and what has kept us together for four years, and that's God Himself. So while it is about "us," we'll think of it as three fold cord. Three fold. And well, don't forget the dress.
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1 comment:
So great - thanks for sharing.
For what it is worth, there are two things that I take away from my own wedding not so long ago, which come as insights from the fact that you realize that this is a party ultimately that you are throwing for yourselves:
1) Invite the ones who mean something to you - this is not a popularity contest but the last chance you get to assemble the people together that count, save your funeral (which you won't be in earthly form to participate in quite the same way)
2) Make sure it reflects you, not what the magazine says or what your parents tell you or friends or whatever (not that they don't have good ideas that remind you more of yourself than you realized and probably should be incorporated in the end)
We had so much fun and were so grateful to have that day be a celebration of love, family, and friends. Which brings me back to that comment and what it boils down to:
1) A couple utterly being themselves
2) A couple that lets you know - and not necessarily in words - that the guests are so much a part of the equation and will forever be
3) An event that is timeless and worth spending the money on
Good luck - I look forward to following along for the ride, as usual :)
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