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CRAVE BlogHow To Create the Wedding Day of Your Dreams
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One of the key takeaways from our research and interviews with brides is to plan your wedding with your own authenticity in mind. Wedding trends and traditions are fantastic to reference; however, during the wedding planning process brides can quickly get swept away in the idea of creating the “perfect” wedding and in the end feel stressed as well as overwhelmed.
From what we’ve noted, the best wedding experiences are those that are planned with the bride and groom’s priorities at the center. Family, friends and even some wedding vendors may want to paint a picture for your wedding that fits what they have in mind for a picturesque day, but it’s the bride and groom’s vision of their own personal wedding day that matters.
One of our favorite stories from “Unveiling Weddings” shares this idea. We call it the “Lemon Cake Story”. The bride, Lauren, was in her residency at a prestigious hospital and did not have time to plan her wedding so she let her mom plan the whole thing – huge white dress, tent, large guest list, fancy… everything. Lauren’s mom had been dreaming of her wedding day since she was a little girl. Lauren’s only request was to have a lemon cake and she was totally disappointed when her mother chose a white cake with raspberry filling instead. Here, the bride was able to navigate difficult situations at the hospital every day and she could not even get her favorite cake at her own wedding. A few weeks before her wedding her friends through her a mini shower and surprised her with a lemon cake. We love this story because it demonstrates the complexities of the wedding process. Even the most capable of women struggle to get what they want in the midst of family dynamics.
Typically, an engagement lasts up to 16 months and can create a time for a bride and groom to develop a solid platform for their future marriage. A terrific tip is for the bride and groom to figure out your priorities. Create a list and figure out your top three. For example, your list may include:
a.) stay on budget,
B.) invite as many of my friends and family as I can, and
c.) create a meaningful ceremony.
Post the list on a place where you can see it, and visit when need be (such as when all your single friends assume it’s okay to bring a date to your wedding). Keep these big-picture conceptual priorities at your fingertips will not only keep you on track but will diffuse any stress or anger that gets triggered by the mundane (and the ridiculous!) Remind yourself of the real reasons you are getting married and create the wedding of your dreams.
Rebecca Sacerdoti, PhD and Tasha Jackson Fitzgerald, MA are co-authors of Unveiling Weddings, a book that support today’s bride with emotional and spiritual guidance during her engagement. Filled with entertaining stories, professional insight and tips to demystify this important rite of passage, stories in “Unveiling Weddings” unveil the emotional hurdles, family dramas and personal breakthroughs that are typically hidden from the public eye. It’s a warm-hearted, inspiring and relevant read that will put even the most stressed out bride-to-be at ease. To read a few pages or buy the book, visit www.unveilingweddings.com.