Wedding Reflections: Part 1

Wedding Dreams

By: Julie Bushman

 

It's dreamed about for years upon years

What will I wear? Who will I call Dear?

Colors and theme, what will I choose?

Oh, where will I find some six inch shoes?

But now the glamour is put away;

Saved for another important day.

Where joy, gladness, and blessings sure

Describe a special day so pure.

Family and Friends, the Spirit strong

Laughter, beauty; service the day long.

Simple and sweet, a beautiful prize

Won by two souls, so lovingly wise.

 

He said he'll have her forever more

She smiled and cried, then kissed him, for

Now they're husband, wife - together twain.

Love and joy to happily obtain.

It's over...the day we dreamed about for years; the day we planned and prepared for months. These last few weeks have been a strange feeling. Your life is crazy busy for a time. Then you wake up, and it's all over. What do I do with myself? Believe me, there's plenty to do. It's getting back into the normal routine of life that is a bit of a struggle. My body and mind are telling me I should be making flowers, making phone calls, making lists, making plans. Reality says it's time to let go - but not until I write some of my thoughts about the amazing wedding roller coaster.

Reflections of wedding preparations and execution (in no particular order):

1. No matter how much you want to be in charge of everything, realize there are other people who want to play a role...so let them. My son-in-law (WEIRD - I'm a mother-in-law) wanted to make the invitations. At first I was quite leery about handing over such a big aspect of the wedding to him. However, it was important to him and my daughter, so I let it go and put complete faith in him. They turned out so beautifully, and we received dozens of compliments on them. After seeing the hours spent, I'm glad it was them and not me! Really, he saved me time and stress. Blessings!!!!

2. I received many offers to help with the wedding...and I used them all!! We had friends and family making fabric flowers, preparing food, sewing table runners, coordinating, picking up/dropping off, running errands, childcare, tailoring, cutting fabric, bridal shower hosting, shopping, and delivering. You name it! One of the biggest blessings was having a service coordinator. She went to work organizing volunteers to prepare food in advance and the day of, serve in the kitchen, setup and cleanup. If somebody offered to help, I said, "Call my service coordinator". It made the day virtually stress-free! Blessings!!!!

3. We have told our daughters for years that we would not pay for a reception center, because we have several no-cost options available. If a reception center is important to her, she will be paying for it. She chose to save money and opt-out of an expensive rental hall. Because of that, we were responsible for our own decor and setup. It was A LOT of work to gather, make, and coordinate all the details to make a church gym look like a wedding reception. Utilize other people's talents and offerings. Borrow. Rent a few things. Be willing to do the same when your friend has a wedding to plan. Create a go-to group that is there for you and vice versa. Ladies, I'm there for you. You know who you are!

 

4. Photos: A professional photographer was important to me and my daughter. We saved so much money on other aspects of the wedding that we felt justified in the photography expense. One of the BEST things I did was make a list of wedding poses and groupings that I wanted. I also had the groom's family do the same. When it came time for family photos, I gave the list to the photographer and she went to town! We didn't have to try and remember to get that certain shot, or that person with this person. It was all written down. Even still, I forgot a few poses that I wish I had. Oh well...what would it have been like without the list?

5. I'm not a seamstress. Oh, I can quilt and sew general things, but make a dress? No! Even if I could, with the cost of fabric and notions and accessories, a homemade dress can be just as expensive as one purchased. At first we looked into making skirts, but when we found such a reasonable price at Dorothy Perkins, that idea quickly faded. they had a 25% deal for students plus free shipping. Each bridesmaid dress was just under $40. The flower girls were half that. The groomsmen vests and ties were purchased because they were just slightly more than a rental. Everyone had black pants and a white shirt so that made it easy!

It really was a beautiful, dreamy day. Part 2 will follow shortly -

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!