Wedding Prep Frenzy...

Does wedding prep have you feeling like this? ^^^^

Believe me. I was there. For a couple weeks before the wedding, but more so the week of. 

You see...I got married October 8, 2016. You know. Hurricane Matthew day. 

The whole week before, people were asking me what we were planning on doing. Were we still getting married? What was our Plan B, and Plan C, and Plan D, etc.?

So my stress level kept going up. Until I had a HUGE blowout the Tuesday before. HUGE. 

But then...something amazing happened. My now husband and I had it out (yes...unfortunately, we did). But he helped me see that no matter what was going to happen, we were going to get married that Saturday. It didn't matter if the only people there were me, him, and our 3 kids... We. Were. Getting. Married. 

And THAT, in the end, was the important part! 

So let me give you a couple tips to help you get through the wedding prep without pulling all your hair out. As a caveat, I am not an expert, but I've lived through it. And we planned our wedding in 3 months!!

I know you can read this over and over again, but believe me when I tell you that stressing over how many people are coming, whether you have enough food or not, how the weather is going to be is POINTLESS. You can't control the weather, so there's no sense worrying about it. And leave the worrying about how much food there will be to the caterer! They are the experts! I stressed about this and we were eating leftovers for a WEEK afterwards!! We had WAY more than enough food!!! 

And that whole number of guests coming? Invite who you want there, dependent on the total number of guests you and your soon to be spouse have decided on. Send the invites, wait for the response cards, and then realize that even when people have said YES, they may not show up. And for those that didn't respond or said NO, they may show up. So in the end, it all evens out anyway. 

Here's another tip that planning a wedding in 3 months helped me stick to: Make decisions and move on! Don't second guess yourself or go back and forth with what you want. We selected our caterer very quickly and left the details up to them...it was gorgeous, and the food was DELICIOUS! I changed my mind 3 times with the florist, but once I made the decision, we stuck with it and didn't worry about it again. I found my dress after 3 visits to dress shops; and once it was selected, I didn't look at any other gowns or wonder WHAT IF. I knew I had found MY dress!

Bridesmaids' dresses were easy...I wanted dark purple and told them to select one that was long and of similar shades of purple. That's all I asked for...and they were GORGEOUS! Honestly, picking out the men's attire was harder! Scott and I went back and forth about the colors of the ties and vest, which was actually pretty funny! We knew we wanted gray suits with a vest and no jacket, but then it was back and forth on the ties. Thankfully, Men's Wearhouse made it easy with the colors so we didn't spend too long fighting! 

Oh...and about centerpieces? Don't stress out over what they look like. Nobody's going to remember what they look like anyways. I stressed myself out wanting to make my own and kept changing my mind and flipping back and forth. Thankfully, my matron of honor had recently gotten married and had beautiful centerpieces that she let us use. Once that decision was made, I didn't look back! 

Stick with your choices. You'll drive yourself crazy going back and forth, not to mention driving your soon to be spouse, bridal party, and family crazy! I know it sounds easier said than done, but trust me, it will help keep you sane. There are so many little details to tend to, so make the decisions, then move on to the next! And check those bad boys off your list!! 

Here's another HUGE tip that I struggle with in general, let alone when it came to planning our wedding. ASK. FOR. HELP. 

I hate looking or feeling helpless, and for some reason, asking for help makes me feel like I can't do it all alone. But duh...I CAN'T!!! There was so much going on with family and friends coming into town, trying to figure out who all was coming with the weather, getting the house ready (since we got married in the backyard), and ensuring all the vendors were still coming with the impending storm. 

And in the end, the only thing that matters is that you are marrying your best friend. It doesn't matter what the weather looks like, how many people show up (yes, it's nice to have all your guests there, but you won't have time to spend with them like you want to anyways), or what the centerpieces look like...at the end of the day, you will be husband and wife (or husband and husband, wife and wife...whatever the case may be). 

Yes...right around the start of our photos, the rain started. And it pretty much rained the entire afternoon and into the evening. But we had a BLAST. We laughed and joked around and had the best time of our lives! 

The most important tip...enjoy the planning process. And enjoy your wedding day. It will all fly by so fast, and it will be over in the blink of an eye! 

I hope you take something away from this...and of course, message me if you want to chat or have any questions. We all have different experiences with wedding planning, but I can tell you I was happy it was planned and accomplished within 3 months! Done and done :) And now we are happily married with beautiful memories and pictures to remember our day! 

Have an awesome week! 

With love and wellness,
Whitney