I just absolutely love Kristin. I'm sure most of you reading already follow her blog, but if you don't and you're even remotely interested in DIY projects or wedding planning in general you MUST check it out. She and I call each other wedding twins because we had so many of the same ideas, but she has some super cute ones that I wasn't able to get to that you need to see. She has wonderful tutorials too! And she's one of the sweetest people I've ever met. I feel like I could've written this exact post, so definitely take her advice to heart - Like she says, you probably won't believe it until you're on the other side, but every single thing she says is true! Enjoy!
Hey guys! Some of you might know me from over at my blog, Happily After All, or maybe you've stopped by my Etsy shop, Weddings by Kristin.
But for those of you that don't, I'm Kristin (aka Laura's wedding twin!). I just got married a few weeks ago on May 22nd, and I'm just beginning my recaps. So head on over and catch up on all of the DIY projects I had going on and look at all the pretty pictures, because if you're like me...that's my favorite part!
I had Laura do a guest post for me while I was gone on my honeymoon, so now I'm returning the favor while she is gone on hers.
I just wanted to share a little advice about what I learned on my wedding day.
If you're anything like I was, I spent a year planning my wedding, wanting to make sure that it was the absolute perfect day. I was planning projects that no one but myself would probably notice, and I was starting to get stressed out towards the end of it all. In the last week or so, I was having to scrap projects that were half finished or that never got started, and I really had a problem letting go of them. I thought that if I didn't get everything finished, somehow it wouldn't be just perfect because it wasn't my original vision. I even managed to stay up until 4:30am on the Thursday before the wedding, 1 am on Friday before the wedding, and I was still working on a project the morning of and running around doing errands in town. I didn't get to enjoy time with my bridesmaids and I felt like the day was half gone before it even started.
Well you want to know something?? And you probably won't even believe me until you're out on the other side...but it really doesn't matter! Honestly. This is coming from a type A, super control freak. It didn't matter one bit that I only had enough cake picks for 1/3 of the cake or that none of my OOT stuff even got to the hotels, or that my grand plans for the kids bags never got finished, or the number of other things I scrapped. Once I woke up on Saturday morning, the day just flew by and it didn't stop until the reception was over. I didn't even have time to think about the things I didn't get to do. And you know what? Everyone loved it! I got raving reviews, and not one person thought that a thing was missing.
So here's my advice. Don't overdo it. Don't kill yourself during your wedding week finishing up last minute projects. Set a cutoff date by at least that Wednesday so you have time to just relax and enjoy family that is coming in from out of town, and take some time to be excited about the whole process! If you get to that point and you haven't finished little extra things that won't make a difference in the long run, just forget about it. It might be hard, but after the wedding, you won't even notice it wasn't there. Everyone is going to love your wedding because they're there to celebrate your marriage and love....not to critique your decorations and extra little details.
If you're anything like I was, I spent a year planning my wedding, wanting to make sure that it was the absolute perfect day. I was planning projects that no one but myself would probably notice, and I was starting to get stressed out towards the end of it all. In the last week or so, I was having to scrap projects that were half finished or that never got started, and I really had a problem letting go of them. I thought that if I didn't get everything finished, somehow it wouldn't be just perfect because it wasn't my original vision. I even managed to stay up until 4:30am on the Thursday before the wedding, 1 am on Friday before the wedding, and I was still working on a project the morning of and running around doing errands in town. I didn't get to enjoy time with my bridesmaids and I felt like the day was half gone before it even started.
Well you want to know something?? And you probably won't even believe me until you're out on the other side...but it really doesn't matter! Honestly. This is coming from a type A, super control freak. It didn't matter one bit that I only had enough cake picks for 1/3 of the cake or that none of my OOT stuff even got to the hotels, or that my grand plans for the kids bags never got finished, or the number of other things I scrapped. Once I woke up on Saturday morning, the day just flew by and it didn't stop until the reception was over. I didn't even have time to think about the things I didn't get to do. And you know what? Everyone loved it! I got raving reviews, and not one person thought that a thing was missing.
So here's my advice. Don't overdo it. Don't kill yourself during your wedding week finishing up last minute projects. Set a cutoff date by at least that Wednesday so you have time to just relax and enjoy family that is coming in from out of town, and take some time to be excited about the whole process! If you get to that point and you haven't finished little extra things that won't make a difference in the long run, just forget about it. It might be hard, but after the wedding, you won't even notice it wasn't there. Everyone is going to love your wedding because they're there to celebrate your marriage and love....not to critique your decorations and extra little details.
Remember the big picture. It's the day that you get to marry your best friend/soul mate/better half/what have you. It's the day you say I do...forever. That's what really matters. So enjoy yourself, take time to laugh and have fun. Make memories, take lots of pictures, and kiss your husband.
Great post, you are soo right! I just got married on May 22nd as well! Congratulations on your marriage.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you were able to see this (unfortunately on the other side) :)
ReplyDeleteIt's so true. Everyone thought I would be a total stress case running around trying to finish last minute things the week of and days before the wedding. But that is exactly why I wanted a long engagement. People laughed at me when I had my wedding favors all purchased, boxed and tagged like 3 or 4 months before the wedding. :) And then the last 2 weeks before the wedding, I did nothing! I had to update our seating chart a few times as we added or removed last minute guest changes, but other than that, nothing else was going to be worried or thought about. I truly wanted to just relax and hang.
Besides, there's things that will absolutely *HAVE* to be focused on in those last days - like fittings, and getting jewelry and accessories together and last minute communication with vendors to be sure that everyone has the time line and such confirmed. So why worry about DIY projects and such...not worth it! :)
LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog! I have got so many ideas from you for my own wedding in just a couple of weeks! Thanks for sharing your talent :)
ReplyDeleteYou know what the funny thing is?? I was engaged for just over a year and had so many projects done last summer! I was also the crazy person that had things finished way ahead of time because "I wasn't going to be stressing out and worrying about it at the last minute." But what do you know..the last minute rolled around and I was! But I loved every minute of it, and that's why I took on so many projects. I just wish I would have worked on some of the smaller stuff the months before instead of sitting around watching TV/etc.
ReplyDeleteBut oh well! Lesson learned. So take our advice ladies!
Great points, great post. Although I might freak out a lil if I found out that OOT bags weren't at the hotel so you rule. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI had all of the OOT bags opened up, with labels on the fronts of them all and stuffed with maps and brochures for our downtown and surrounding areas. I also had all of my door hangers made to go in them as well.
ReplyDeleteAbout the week before, my mom said it wasn't REALLY necessary to do it, and we just totally ran out of time to go buy all the snacks and drinks to put in them.
So it was one of the things I had to let go of, they didn't actually get forgotten or anything like that.
It was pretty disappointing though!