Wedding Planning: Its All About the Details, Kinda.
When it comes to my job, I am a complete and psychotic perfectionist. Any stone left unturned on a story will eat away at me until I find it and flip it over.
I suppose that all of this energy can only go so far, meaning that in my personal life I tend to lack any and all attention to detail. It is really night and day.
A drawer that I haven't opened in months? Go ahead and throw everything in it away. I clearly don't need any of it.
Doing my hair for a night out? Eh, lets just do the parts in the front. No one sees the back of my head in pictures anyway!
So what has this meant for wedding planning? Well, it led me and Nathan to believe (naively) that once we had vendors and a location picked out that we were mostly through with all of it.
Yeah - No. Our plan initially was to keep everything small and simple. Anyone who has gone through the process will know how silly that expectation was.
There's engagement photos, address lists, save-the-date ordering, sending, postage, venue deposits, scheduling, dress shopping (I got the second one I tried on!), dress fittings, bridesmaid dresses, hair trials, makeup trials, flower selection, transportation logistics, invitation copy, invitation orderings, invitation assembly, postage again, groom attire, cake tastings, meal tastings, drink pairings, music selection, gift bags, multi-state showers, thank-you-cards, week-of tanning and nail appointments. Deposits. Deposits. Depo$$$its. Ect. Honestly, I can barely keep a calendar straight normally. I feel like I am bursting at the seems!
Little Guthrie helping Mom and Dad with invites.
But you've heard all of this before. Any wedding is a grand undertaking. I've likened it to throwing a prom for yourself. The side of wedding planning though that is never much discussed is the Guilt associated with all of it.
Our bridal party and my AMAZINGly detail oriented Maid-of-Honor have picked up so many of the pieces that I have left dangling. I am still wondering how I am possibly worthy of such love from my future husband, his family and from my own family/friends.
Earlier this month, Nathan's hometown threw us the most dazzling engagement party. It was my parents first trip down to his part of the south and they were absolutely overcome with gratitude for the sweet and refined welcome we Yankees received.
Engagement Party Fun in Mississippi
The following day a shower was held for me by a group of the most generous women, including friends of Nathan's grandmother who passed shortly after Christmas. As I am wearing her mother's ring, it is unsurprising that I shed a few happy tears at her church.
At the shower with my beautiful future Mother-In-law Ms. Jamie!
Last weekend my bridal party flew me down to Charleston, South Carolina for a Bachelorette getaway. Between the home we stayed in to the 5-Star dinner to the day at the Vineyard, to say that it was perfect would be an understatement. I have been blown away by their kindness.
The #hOffTheMarket Crew in Charleston <3
So perhaps guilt is not the right word but it seems the only one that fits. I simply hope that everyone around us understands how much we appreciate the selfless celebrations that have been extended our way and that they know when the tables turn, that love will be amplified their way. This is such a joyous time and we completely feel it thanks to all of the help and fun.
There's something Nathan and I say to each other often, "The rest is just details." This phrase is spoken whenever one of us feels stress caused by a temporary issue in life. If we have one another, our health and our loved ones then everything else is just... details. Flowers, ceremony programs, wedding shoes, string bands; just details.
Life is best experienced when focused on the entirety. The magnitude. The whole.
As Nathan has said, "If you and the Pastor show up, that's enough for me!"
Likewise, Mr. Calvert.
