30 July 2013

Wedding Advice

I'm a newly wed. Nothing feels different today as it did last month or the month before. But WE professed our love in front of our close family and friends and had the most wonderful, special, amazingly, perfect day.

The weather, did not cooperate at all. But I ignored mother nature and just enjoyed my day!

Now, saying this... I have some advice for future brides. Things, I wish I knew or things I wish I thought more about. You will get a lot of advice and I'm going to avoid the common stuff and get down to some of my experiences and things I wasn't told. lol.

Photo © 2013 by Bernadette Pollard. All rights reserved

1. You lose your mind! Seriously. About 1.5 - 2 months before the wedding, I lost my brain. I had so much going on up there I couldn't keep anything straight. I would start something and quickly get distracted and have 10 other things I thought I needed to do at that moment too.

ADVICE: I don't think you can avoid this. Matt & I used Wunderlist (on my phone & ipad). We shared a To-Do list and it felt so so good to cross things off. I could check this list on my phone and my ipad. Matt could check that SAME list as I shared it with him, he could also add to the list. So make lists. They really do help.

2. The week of the wedding and especially the DAY of goes by super fast. This one I struggled with. I feel like I didn't get to spend the time with people like I would have wanted to. I know there were people I never said hi to and I felt depressed about this. I wish the day lasted longer. The long time building up to it and it's done in a flash.

ADVICE: Everyone told me to just enjoy the day and not get caught up on any drama and don't worry about a thing. I can truly say I enjoyed my day and didn't let things get to me (that usually would) and I enjoyed my moments, my moments with my friends, my family, my dad, my mom, my bridesmaids, my personal attendants, the fun car rides to locations, and of course my groom! So, just enjoy those moments. You will hear that from a million people, take their advice.

3. After wedding depression. I naturally get depressed after seeing and spending time with friends and family for an extended period of time. I miss them, I want to be around them, and I just feel lonely when I go home. The wedding depression was intensified as I spent 10 months preparing for the one day! It was over and I felt completely lost. Now what do I do with my time?!? I've had breakdowns of the day is done and i don't get it back. My amazing HUSBAND, said that was just the beginning of our awesome life together. In that moment he walked me outside of the house and carried me over the threshold. This man seriously makes his bride beyond happy!

ADVICE: Let the emotional process happen. Let out your tears of joy and of sadness. Yes, you do not get your "day" back in terms of a wedding. But you get a lifetime with someone incredibly (hopefully) special to you. In my case, my forever man, my husband, my best friend, Matt.

4. You will feel like you didn't say hi to everyone. There are quite a few people who I feel I didn't spend time with. You are pulled in so many directions and want to do so much.

ADVICE: This is okay. People understand. I know when I go to weddings, I completely understand if I talk to the bride and groom briefly it is okay and I"m not offended or upset. So just remember, it is okay. People understand that it is hectic. I let it bug me on Sunday after the wedding (naturally), but the more I thought of it, I realized this happens and people understand.
Now I know these seem like, "oh, this won't happen to me" type things. And they may not. But at least you know in advance of these moments and can at least "sort of" prepare for them. Like everyone tells you ENJOY the day. I know it sounds silly, but don't stress over things the day of, there is nothing you can do about it. We had a few hiccups (weather, a underneath layer of my dress tore - this still cracks me up, and the music at the reception was a little bumpy), but I didn't let these things ruin my day or get to me. I just wanted to enjoy the moments with my groom, my family and my friends.

So happy FUTURE wedding day to you!
♥ Newly Married - Mrs. Lacey Gasper ♥