8 Things I Learned From Wedding Planning
Aisa Osayuki Estelle
June 21, 2017
0
Hello lovely readers! I'm back! And this time I don't plan on leaving.
If you read my last post you already know I'm soon to become a "Mrs." Yay!
Wedding Planning
Takes you buy surprise! As exciting as the proposal is, planning such a large event can put a major damper on things. Be prepared to be slapped out of nowhere with a seemingly overwhelming list of opportunities. Ok, maybe it's not as scary as I'm making it seem, but it is pretty intimidating. So, without further adieu, I'll share with you 8 lessons I learned from wedding planning (so far)
Wedding dress shopping isn't as fun as they make it seem
Gorgeous right? I thought so too until I saw them in person. The material was cheap and the dresses were very "meh". But being thecheap frugal and spontaneous person I am, I bought one of them for only $400. It took only a day for me to realize my mistake and an exhausting amount of effort to undo it. After figuring out a way to return the dress, it hit me that this whole process might be harder than I thought. I'm very happy with the dress I have now though. Custom made, not a cookie-cutter factory dress. But that whole process definitely wasn't what I was expecting. But I have to say, finding the perfect dress brought tears to my eyes and my joy made the whole thing worth it.
Coming up with a hashtag is so hard!
Ok this one isn't that serious but after so much time spent thinking of options, we couldn't come up with a cute wedding hashtag. Everyone suggested that we do our names and write like 2017 at the end but seriously how boring is that! When I finally asked my brother, the first thing he said was #WhereTheresAWillTheresIyawe and he laughed thinking it was the dumbest thing ever but it was actually genius. I don't know where he pulled that one from.
Prepare for the attacks on your wallet
The amount of money it takes to pull this thing off made me seriously consider eloping. Just kidding. But our budget keeps growing and growing as time goes on. I can't overstate how expensive this has been for us.
Delegate
As a medical student, I had no time at all to do anything. That's where my family came in. My mom and aunt are completely organizing my entire Nigerian wedding and I couldn't be more grateful. I'm a little more hands on with planning the American wedding but I'm still getting a lot of help with that too.
It's hard to stay in charge
With all of that said, our family members tend to override our desires. We have been "compromising" (letting them have their way) with so many things. It can be extremely frustrating. This leads me to my next lesson
It's not (just) about you
Yea I said it. Congratulations on finding the one but keep in mind you're celebrating this moment with people who mean the world to you. Your guests matter and, regardless of how much you might want to use the phrase "it's MY day," you still have to keep them in mind. It can be tricky finding a balance between having your perfect day and making sure the people you love the most are happy. Also, don't forget about your other half! Will doesn't really care about most details of the wedding but when he does, it's important to listen to him. Some people may have fiancés who want to be more involved.
DIY is overrated
We've all seen the beautiful pictures and videos of breathtaking DIY projects. And the most appealing part is not having to spend money on the real thing. But DIY projects have their dark secret and that is it's not always cheaper to do it yourself. Sometimes you'll spend more time (that you don't have) and money (oh, the irony). So don't jump into too many projects. Plan ahead and see what's worth investing your precious time and effort.
Don't lose sight of what's really important
One thing I had to consistently remind myself was to enjoy the engagement. In the beginning, I was so wrapped up in wedding planning, I didn't stop and appreciate the wonderful thing that just happened. When you think of it like that, wedding planning loses its stress factor. I have found my soul mate. I get to marry my best friend. At the end of the day, for all I care, we can have a court wedding. Because the truth is, a wedding isn't nearly as important as a marriage.
If you read my last post you already know I'm soon to become a "Mrs." Yay!
Wedding Planning
Takes you buy surprise! As exciting as the proposal is, planning such a large event can put a major damper on things. Be prepared to be slapped out of nowhere with a seemingly overwhelming list of opportunities. Ok, maybe it's not as scary as I'm making it seem, but it is pretty intimidating. So, without further adieu, I'll share with you 8 lessons I learned from wedding planning (so far)
Wedding dress shopping isn't as fun as they make it seem
If you're like me, you looooveee Say Yes To The Dress. Everyone cries when the bride-to-be finds her perfect dress and all the squabbling from earlier in the episode is squashed. But my experience wasn't exactly like that:
I went to David's Bridal (ugh yea, I know) and found three dresses I saved on Pinterest.
Gorgeous right? I thought so too until I saw them in person. The material was cheap and the dresses were very "meh". But being the
Coming up with a hashtag is so hard!
Ok this one isn't that serious but after so much time spent thinking of options, we couldn't come up with a cute wedding hashtag. Everyone suggested that we do our names and write like 2017 at the end but seriously how boring is that! When I finally asked my brother, the first thing he said was #WhereTheresAWillTheresIyawe and he laughed thinking it was the dumbest thing ever but it was actually genius. I don't know where he pulled that one from.
Prepare for the attacks on your wallet
The amount of money it takes to pull this thing off made me seriously consider eloping. Just kidding. But our budget keeps growing and growing as time goes on. I can't overstate how expensive this has been for us.
Delegate
As a medical student, I had no time at all to do anything. That's where my family came in. My mom and aunt are completely organizing my entire Nigerian wedding and I couldn't be more grateful. I'm a little more hands on with planning the American wedding but I'm still getting a lot of help with that too.
It's hard to stay in charge
With all of that said, our family members tend to override our desires. We have been "compromising" (letting them have their way) with so many things. It can be extremely frustrating. This leads me to my next lesson
It's not (just) about you
Yea I said it. Congratulations on finding the one but keep in mind you're celebrating this moment with people who mean the world to you. Your guests matter and, regardless of how much you might want to use the phrase "it's MY day," you still have to keep them in mind. It can be tricky finding a balance between having your perfect day and making sure the people you love the most are happy. Also, don't forget about your other half! Will doesn't really care about most details of the wedding but when he does, it's important to listen to him. Some people may have fiancés who want to be more involved.
DIY is overrated
We've all seen the beautiful pictures and videos of breathtaking DIY projects. And the most appealing part is not having to spend money on the real thing. But DIY projects have their dark secret and that is it's not always cheaper to do it yourself. Sometimes you'll spend more time (that you don't have) and money (oh, the irony). So don't jump into too many projects. Plan ahead and see what's worth investing your precious time and effort.
Don't lose sight of what's really important
One thing I had to consistently remind myself was to enjoy the engagement. In the beginning, I was so wrapped up in wedding planning, I didn't stop and appreciate the wonderful thing that just happened. When you think of it like that, wedding planning loses its stress factor. I have found my soul mate. I get to marry my best friend. At the end of the day, for all I care, we can have a court wedding. Because the truth is, a wedding isn't nearly as important as a marriage.
