How life and a terminal illness inspired us to elope
The topic of elopement came and went several times, but we both decided that a big, beautiful wedding was the way to go for us. Then life decided to get involved. I was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Neither of us could ignore the incessant ticking of the clock the doctors had set for me, though. So the topic came again: to elope or not to elope?
Reality check: wedding planning isn’t SO bad
We have a tag archive here on Offbeat Bride called overcoming adversity, and it’s all about couples who’ve dealt with significant, serious challenges on the path to the altar. Now, I don’t mean challenges like, “My divorced parents don’t get along; how will I do the seating chart?” or “What if it rains?” Not to diminish the reality of these challenges, but they’re just on a different level than, say, “My mother is dying so we threw the wedding together in a month” or “my partner was attacked by a shark.”
In the name of perspective shifting and reality checks, let’s take a wander through some of our overcoming adversity posts… because there’s nothing like cancer, premature babies, peg legs, and tornadoes to help you get your seating chart woes in perspective.
Half our guests said no: Seeing the positives to an itty bitty guest list
More than half our guest list is unable to attend our wedding. As a result, we’ve gone from having a small wedding to having a microscopic one. I keep waffling between thoughts of, “This is awesome!” and, “Ohfuckohfuck, what will people think?!” I want to kick these negative thoughts about our compact wedding to the curb. They’re untrue, and they only serve to make me feel bad. I don’t deserve to feel bad. I’m a fantastic person hosting a fantastic wedding. In the name of positivity, here’s a list of everything that can be awesome about itty bitty weddings:
Bride spins out of control selecting Save the Date photos
So, I’m getting married. Like, picked a date. Like, getting magazines delivered monthly to my door, reserving room blocks, and picking out “my colors.” And, although the semi-addicted online shopper in me enjoys parts of this exploration, it does become a glitter and bubbles-filled tornado after awhile. And I was spinning out of control.