The day Nick asked me to marry him (one of my favorite days, ever!), I started receiving a lot of advice about wedding planning. Don’t get me wrong, I had never actually been a bride before, so I was desperately in need of some guidance (and genuinely appreciate the wisdom of brides who had gone before me), but if you’re anything like me, too much of anything can be a little bit overwhelming! During the 15 months of wedding planning, there were two pieces of advice that stuck out to me and rose above the rest – two things I still tell brides I work with over a year after my wedding! So, if you’re newly engaged, here are my top two favorite pieces of advice:
1. Take time to soak it in.
The first piece of advice I received as an engaged 22 year old came from my very own mom. The day after I said “I will,” me, my mom, and my fiancé (now husband, Nick) started talking about all of the details that would need to get done over the next couple of months. In true Jenna fashion, I started to feel REALLY overwhelmed, and because my mom knows me so well, she immediately noticed and said, “You know, you don’t have to start actually doing any of this right now. You don’t even need to think about it. Just take the next month to enjoy being engaged without worrying about the wedding that needs planned.” Wow. Talk about some serious mom-wisdom! Now… I didn’t make it a month – I think I made it two weeks before I jumped into serious planning, but you know what? Those two weeks of just being engaged, minus the wedding planning, made me even more excited to start planning my wedding to marry my absolute best friend! The initial stress I had felt only a day after getting engaged slowly melted away as I started enjoying (and soaking in) the season I was in. It was like magic.
2. Three days before the wedding, if it hasn’t gotten done – don’t worry about it.
This SUPER solid piece of advice came from one of my husband’s volunteers (he’s a middle school youth director at our church). She might not even remember saying it to me, as she said it in passing during a quick conversation, but shout out to Sheryl Polite for one of the best pieces of advice I got! I was about two weeks out from the wedding trying to play it cool on the outside at church, but freaking out on the inside about everything that still needed to get done! Did we finish the seating chart? Did we forget anyone? Why doesn’t my baker remember the conversation we had about my wedding cake?! (True story – she totally lost the order! But the cake was delicious, so that made up for it ;) ). While asking about how things were going with wedding planning, Sheryl said, “Listen. Whatever you haven’t gotten done three or four days before the wedding – just let it go! You deserve to enjoy your wedding day just as much as anyone else, even the days leading up to it.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but her words were the permission I needed to actually enjoy the days leading up to my wedding day! Were there still things that needed to be done in those last few days before the wedding? Of course! But there were so many little details I could’ve poured over and worried about and made myself crazy trying to pull together at the last second, but didn’t, because I finally realized that I deserved to enjoy my wedding day, too!
What’s the best advice you received while planning your own wedding? I’d love to hear - leave a comment below!