Preparing for the BIG Day

Well, there are a lot of ways to prepare for the big day.  The most important way to prepare for marriage is to consider pre-marital counseling. This is so important!  Just consider it.  And if you feel uncomfortable going to someone for counseling, make sure to check out different books with your man, because it is really important.  What pre-marital counseling enforces is that honesty is key in a relationship.  Most counseling books/sessions discuss different topics, such as how to handle money once you are married, how to work together, and different expectations you might have involving different topics (I will discuss some of those topics at a later date).  What you need to learn is that you need to talk over these topics with your man.  Don't feel like anything is too big or too small.  Like the different apologies.  Did you know that different people need to hear different apologies? Some need a sorry and then what they are sorry about!  Some need you to say, "I am sorry and I will try hard to not do that again."  We are all different, even you and your man (no matter how close you are/how similar you are).  I am thankful for talking through things with Andrew (and still talking through things today), because it puts us on the same page.

Ok, so now on to the big day!  Don't stress, I promise it is not that hard to plan for.  Andrew and I had a blast at our wedding, because we planned ahead and surrounded our selves with supportive people.  I have never been a person to stress, but it was a lot of different things to focus on all at one.  So here is what I did.  I bought an acordion folder.  That is my organizational tool.  Whether it is a binder, a folder, or a bulletin board, get organized!  My folder had different topics; music, venue, church, food, wedding party, and honeymoon.  These were all topics that were important for me to be organized about, so pick your topics, and get organized.  Next, go to theknot.com and sign up.  Even sign up for pinterest (I didn't have that when I was planning, but I am sure it would be helpful).  Both have great ideas!  I used the knot to find my flourist, my venue, and my dj!  I already had the church picked out (my home church), but the knot helped me find everything else!  They had contact information, website links to the different things that they recommend, a place where you can talk about what you want from your wedding, a countdown, and how much the different places/things cost using $ signs!  Pinterest can also be used to get different ideas on how to save money on different decorations by making DIY items.  Next, make sure that you call different places in advance.  I booked the venue 6 months in advance, after going to a tasting session with my mom.  Go to tasting sessions!  You want to see what you would like, versus what just sounds good.  And take either your man or someone else you trust (Andrew had a test that weekend so he left it up to me.  What a good guy).  I also had a meeting with my dj five months in advance (at Starbucks.  it can be very chill).  Some venues and djs book way in advance, and will not do weddings if you call with just two months till the big day.  Lastly.  Chill.  If you have planned like I did, you know that you left things in good hands.  Yes, you will have a few more last minute meetings, but as long as you plan in advance and are organized, you wedding will be so easy!  Also, make sure to surround yourself with people who are calm and that you enjoy.  It helped a lot to be able to talk to my friends, who helped me remain stress-free.

Just remember, there will always be things to worry about if you let them get to you, so just focus on calming youself.  Maybe pick up yoga if that helps!  Just focus on the fact that you are about to do one of the most loving actions by marrying your man, so focus on how much you love him and how excited you are to spend your life with him.  You deserve it!!

For Andrew's blog, click here!
-LOVE