Marry Me Monday

As you already know this Modern Day Southern Belle is getting married!  And while we have only been engaged for a little over a month, we have already booked the church, reception site, caterer, baker, and photographer.  Ed is impressed with how quickly I booked everything. Bless his heart, he thought I just came up with that stuff over night. However, as I kept producing ideas, I think he realized that this plan had been formulating in my head for some time which is why it appeared in such a well executed strategy.  Although I well let him believe as long as he would like that I came up with all these plans overnight. Why should he know that I have been daydreaming about this big event for a few months...or a year?

While all the major venues and vendors have been booked, there is still a long list of all the tiny details to be addressed.   That is where Marry Me Monday comes in.  Inspired by a fellow blogger (http://www.thingsthatsparkleblog.com/) who does a weekly blog titled Wedding Wednesdays, I will share my inspirations, tips, and ideas each week for all you Southern Brides to be or just you girly girls who love a good wedding!

Being that I will only be engaged once in my life, I am having fun with it and refusing to get stressed.  Although, I can see where stress can easily enter the picture. However, I truly believe the wedding day is just one day and I choose to focus on what is important which is the marriage. Therefore, I will start off the series of Marry Me Monday with some of the best advice on being engaged that I have been given so far!

Accept the wedding won't be perfect
My friend Lindsey and her husband, Tyler, agreed that their focus was on having a fun reception with good food, drinks, and people.  She told me that she was glad she had this laid back attitude because when her chair covers arrived the day of the wedding in a color that was not what she ordered, she did not panic like some other brides might have.  Because really - who really cares about the color of the chair slips if the party is good?  The overall result was she just let the day be and it was beautiful.  Ed and I agreed we wanted our focus to be the same thing: surrounded by our loved ones eating, drinking, and having a great time. 

Enjoy the planning but don't forget the rest of your life too
I enjoy every phase of my life and being engaged is an exciting phase I get to experience. I am truly enjoying the process of planning a wedding as well as planning our future marriage.  I want to experience every aspect of it because this is the only time we will be engaged.  However, I have known couples who only focused on the wedding for their engagement and I wondered if they did not even know what to talk about after the wedding was done.  I love the advice to set aside some time to just enjoy each other and forget about all the wedding talk.  I think we have done a good job with this so far...hopefully Ed thinks the same thing too!

Set a budget and stick to it
Weddings are expensive but this bride is on a budget.  Even if I did not have to be, I still would not want to spend a ridiculous amount on one day.  I have to admit that while it would be easier to just go out and get whatever we need, it has been fun negotiating prices and finding good deals.  I will share some of my ideas in upcoming blogs for the many of you who are not planning on going into debt for your wedding!

Most importantly, focus on the marriage preparation The most exciting part of being engaged has very little to do with flowers, dresses,and cakes. For me, I have always been most intrigued with the marriage preparation.  I love the idea of discussing the tough stuff and getting to know Ed on a much deeper level.  I anticipate some of the conversations will be more difficult than others but all will result in a new understanding of each other and a mutual, loving approach to our new life together.