Newly-engaged secret: you don’t have to plan it all today!
We KNOW some of you just got engaged, and are now being bombarded with questions: When’s it happening? What setting are you picturing? What’s your theme? How can I help? Have you thought about decor? Can I get you in touch with my baker friend? Your friends and family are asking these questions because they’re excited for you, and want to give you the opportunity to share your own excitement.
When you get peppered with these questions your response, however, may not be excitement… it may be anxiety.
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.
Real life doesn’t stop: Top 10 things I’ve learned from wedding planning
Oh Tribesmaid Vegancupcake, the bringer of great insight. She’s already talked to us about how buying a new car with her partner triggered cold feet and gave us advice about pre-marital counseling, now she’s giving us her top 10 things she’s learned about life and love just from planning a wedding that just might change your perspective on things as well.
So you feel like you gave in: 3 ways to bounce back from wedding planning disappointments
You can rest assured that it’s going to happen at some point during your wedding planning process: that perfect venue for your vintage submarine-themed wedding is going to fall through. You battle with your in-laws to try to keep the guestlist under 100 people, and you find yourself putting stamps on 200 invitations. Your dreams of locally-sourced, delicately spiced catering is going to be replaced by your mother’s “beef or chicken” menu that reminds you of funeral food (true story!).
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.
Avoiding engagement ring envy, or: How I learned to love the symbolism
Engagement ring envy — the stuff of legend and myth? Or a nasty side effect of being engaged and the wedding industrial complex? Since the holidays are a popular time to propose, we thought we’d share Offbeat Bride reader Sarah’s thoughts as she delves into her inner psyche and explores the deep annals of her engagement ring envy demons.