Hey SUNSHINE! Lol. As you probably already know, I am getting married very soon! I have gotten many questions throughout the past couple of months and I wanted to share my answers and experiences with you. Hopefully something I say is helpful to you or maybe you find interest in just getting to know me a little more. I’m cool with that too. So here are some questions below that I have received frequently or through my post on Instagram. I could talk about so much more so I am still open to any questions you may have! Maybe I will do a part 2! Just click on my contact page and shoot me an email or dm me on social media. Enjoy!
Now that you are about to get married, how do you feel? Excited, anxious?
I feel amazing! I am definitely anxious and definitely excited! I am filled with joy! 1, of course for the big special day! All of our loved ones will come together and we get to celebrate with those who have been apart of our journey together. I am just excited! 2nd, I am overjoyed and blessed to have been chosen to do life with someone who I feel is the greatest. I look forward to all of the growing we will do together and to fulfill our purpose together. I am excited for this next phase of getting to know each other and continuing to do what we love! Not many people will experience what we have and I treasure it. So heck yeah! I am elated!
What is the theme/colors of the wedding?
Theme? Nah. I pretty much just included everything I liked. Most people have like winter wonderland, red carpet and a bunch of other themes but Erik and I, not so much. I knew I wanted soft colors, lots of greenery and of course sunflowers and so I just allowed that to guide me! When we met with our flower guy, I referenced this beautiful place here in Grand Rapids called Frederick Meijer Gardens as an example of what I wanted people to feel when they walked in. I guess that’s a theme lol. I knew I didn’t want a ton of decorations with marbles and painted glasses etc. I knew I wanted everything to be minimal and simple like Erik and I and we want our personalities and who we are to be visible. So expect to see lots of green, different shades, some gold, and some sunflowers.
Do you have a wedding planner?
Nope! No wedding planner. We have done everything ourselves. I explain the vision and Erik helps execute… sometimes that’s making the call or sending the email. Quite honestly, I have no idea what I am doing. In the beginning, it was a little difficult for me because I pictured all of the weddings that I had ever been to. I thought about what people “normally” did and what I had seen. Eventually I said forget that and began to follow my own heart and our vision together for what we wanted to do as far as planning details. This has been pretty adventurous and fun. One of my favorite things so far has been designing our wedding invitations. I took my time and thought every detail through and I was passionate about making them. I also created our website which is what I do frequently as work for clients. It was easy for me and like I said, I enjoyed it!
What are some things you had planned out before you were engaged? Did you have anything planned? Why or why not?
I did not have anything planned out prior to engagement. There were some conversations that were had between Erik and I as a couple discussing visions and expectations of the special day but nothing was planned or written out. We always just discussed general stuff such as size of wedding and what we wanted the day to be like overall. For example, we knew we wanted to do a lot of it ourselves as far as the knitty gritty work and planning. We also knew we didn’t want this big extravagant wedding but simple as mentioned previously. We have seen and been apart of a few weddings and know what we did and did not like so we had discussed those things prior to being engaged. Also, we had both considered who would be apart of the bridal party but this had not been finalized until we were in the planning process. Why did I not plan things out more elaborately if I knew what I wanted? I wanted to enjoy some moments and experiences during the stage of engagement. It’s apart of this season and so I wanted to experience it in that order. And, I just did not feel like I needed to do any planning.
What have you found to be completely different than what you expected?
I was worried that things would become stressful with planning mixed with other things that are going on in my busy life but everything has been smooth sailing. Of course I have moments and days when I am thinking about everything that may not go right or that has to get done but I have a peace about everything because I am more concerned about my marriage. But, lol, I do have moments and Erik is always very helpful in helping me to stay focused and keep moving forward. You always hear that this season is stressful but I have been cool. And I am grateful for that.
What are some things you have learned in this process? (Personally and/or relationship wise)
I have learned that I am not as stern as I thought or as other people think I am. I’m actually kind of a pushover. I need to speak up more or be more clear when I do not want something. It sounds so basic doesn’t it? I thought it was too. I and often worried about other people’s feelings over what I want but there is a time and place for that. It’s okay to speak up, especially when the decision will affect you. With that being said, I have learned that I don’t communicate as well as I thought I did or in the way I thought I did. Sometimes I have it in my head and it comes out another way but I feel like I am explaining it but I’m really not. I already knew this but in this process I have realized how much I really am independent. I am very quick to turn down help. Not because I feel like I don’t need it, but I genuinely feel like I have it under control. Also, I don’t like to burden people so I just do it myself. I also feel like it will be done the way I want it rather than having someone else do it and I am not as pleased.
What has been the hardest part of planning?
I am not good at checking off to do lists. It drives me crazy. This has been hard for me in the process. I have not mastered the art of task completion when there are so many things to do. In the beginning, I spent more time thinking about everything that needed to get done rather than actually doing it. But it needs to get done so this has become easier and more manageable.
What has been the easiest part of planning?
Erik and I have been on the same page about pretty much everything. There were a 1 or 2 minor things but we quickly came to a conclusion. This has made things so easy. Also, the help I have gotten from him. He has been very involved which is far from the “stereotypical” image we see of an engaged couple. It’s always one person planning everything, usually the bride. This is false in our case and he amazes me.