STDs Mean Something Different & Other Things I’ve Learned (So Far) From Wedding Planning
Hey! I got engaged recently; did you hear? (UM YES ALLISON, WE KNOW). Also, this is exclusively a wedding-themed blog now. Sorry.
Kidding! It’s bad enough I don’t even recognize myself lately — for example I’ve been watching marathons of TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress” on Hulu, WHO AM I?!?! — but I certainly don’t need to inundate you all with real-time updates as I plan my upcoming wedding. And yes, UPCOMING — as in, this fall.
2019.
*Gulp*
But I am in the thick of planning this shindig and as someone who NEVER:
- Thought about planning a wedding
- Had a Pinterest page dedicated to their dream wedding
- Did, considered, or even imagined ANYTHING wedding-related, ever
…I certainly have a lot to learn. And I am learning, every day. I mean, let’s keep it Benjamin Franklin one hundo here: whenever I’d been asked in the past what style of engagement ring I liked, I’d say “I don’t know, circle-shaped?”
I was the anti bride.
But my love of party-planning, OCD organization and lists has made this process pretty fun and hell, I’ll say it — even easy — so far. We booked our date and venue within 48 hours of getting engaged (#NotPregnant), I got my dress the following week, and quickly after those things were done, we: secured a Reverend to marry us, got our DJ, set dates and locations for my bridal shower and bachelorette parties, and sent a deposit for our mini-moon.
DAMN I’M GOOD.
There’s still WAY more to be done and I know it won’t all be seamless, joyful and stress-free, but I wanted to pause for a sec and share with you some of the things I’ve learned this past month as I plan for the big day. Starting with:
It helps to be decisive & know what you want. I’m a Libra, and Libras are known for being indecisive. Um? It ain’t me. I don’t mull over anything; I typically make a choice, am happy with the choice, and don’t second-guess the choice. Well, turns out that’s REALLY helpful when it comes to wedding planning. Guess what? The venue we booked was the first and only venue we looked at. My dress? After a not-so-great experience at the first bridal place, I found a dress online I LOVED, went to a place that had it, tried it on and that was it. Done. People have been telling me to give myself plenty of options for things and even if I love something, keep looking elsewhere so I have something to compare it to. Nah…I’m good. If I love it and there’s no hesitation: we’re gonna go with it.
THANK U, NEXT!
Online bride groups are scary. Uh, not much else to add there. I was warned about this, joined a few on Facebook anyway and IMMEDIATELY left them all. There was too much hysteria and insanity and drama and I was beyond overwhelmed. Bye.
You’re gonna get a lot of advice. From everyone. Advice…can be good. Great, even. I’ve had really helpful conversations with friends and family where they’ve given me clarity or even caused me to changed my mind about something and I’m SO glad I did. But the second you get a ring placed on your finger, the unsolicited, occasionally unwanted, and sometimes even downright unhelpful advice starts being thrown your way. If someone suggests that I do something and I don’t agree or don’t want to do it, I simply thank them and leave it be.
Shit is expensive. If you’ve ever experienced planning a wedding, you know this. Hell, even I kind of knew this. But there are certain things you expect to pay a pretty penny for, and then there are things like invitations and you’re just like — it’s paper? That people throw out? Can’t I just send an Evite or something?
Also, to the photographer who told me their rates START at $8500: bless your heart.
STDs mean WHAT now? Oh wow, weddings have their own damn rules when it comes to acronyms, huh? During my brief stint in one of the aforementioned bridal groups on Facebook, one of the first posts I saw was a bride-to-be asking her fellow brides a VERY alarming question:
“Hey ladies! Where did you get your STDs?”
Say what now?! I IMMEDIATELY looked at the comments because I thought I was in the wrong place and accidentally stumbled upon a Planned Parenthood page and saw, “Minted! I love mine!”
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Save the Dates. STDs. Got it.
A friend of mine also told me that in the wedding world bridesmaids are often referred to as “BMs.” Come on, guys.
You’ll never feel more loved in your damn life. And honestly? Not just from your fiancé. Getting engaged was such an incredibly special moment for me, but this past month I’ve felt truly overwhelmed by all the love in my life coming from friends and family, too. Gifts, cards, phone calls, FaceTimes, texts, eagerness to help out with planning, you name it: I’m truly feeling all the love and excitement from the people in our lives. People WANT to hear about the details and how things are going and everyone’s generosity has just been indescribable.
So there ya have it! We’re one month into this thang and I wanted to keep you all in the loop of my planning experiences. I’m sure I’ll be dropping by occasionally to fill you in on the latest — and I’d love to hear from you ESPECIALLY if you’re currently in the midst of wedding planning, too! Like, if you wanna show me your STDs or whatever; I’m down.
