Annnnnd I’m back. With yet another update on wedding planning. I’m more stressed than when I wrote the last blog on wedding planning (in a big way). Perhaps it is because the wedding is less than 90 days away, or the fact that there are SO many things to do. Or perhaps it is because we threw a kitchen remodel in the middle of things.
Ah, yes, we’re crazy.
But so is wedding planning. I think it just comes with the territory. The whole kitchen thing is just our personal flare on the crazy.
I blame part of the insanity on the fact that everything (and I mean everything) having to do with wedding planning has to be a production. What seems simple on the surface level, suddenly becomes an Instagram-opportunity, and thus elaborately involved. This really bothered me at first. I wanted to plan a wedding like they did in the good ‘ol days – where you just called people up and asked them if they wanted to be in the wedding, and you weren’t inundated with what everyone else was doing or how they were doing it.
There is certainly an extra layer of stress, and higher expectations, that come with wedding planning today. I blame most of this on our culture and the social media overload. So much of wedding planning and the associated festivities are about out-doing everyone else, personalizing every detail, and having something worthy of posting on Instagram. As if this will somehow make you, or your wedding, “better” (whatever that means).
I really grappled with all of this. Logically I knew it was silly, but then again I saw what everyone else was doing and how much better they appeared to be doing it. It didn’t take me long to succumb to the pressure. However, I decided if I was going to do all the cutesy things, I wanted to do them my way. Mostly I hate overused and generic ideas, but it also gave me a little more energy and excitement to execute. I won’t lie, though, by this point my creative juices are about tapped and I am T.I.R.E.D.
Note: When you dive into the world of wedding planning you’ll find proposals don’t start and stop with a diamond ring. No no no. Your future hubby isn’t the only one proposing. That’s right ladies, you will do your share of proposing – to your bridesmaids, flower girl(s), and ring bearer(s).
Here are the ways I popped the question:
Bridesmaids
I have seen a lot of bridesmaid proposals and have been to enough bachelorette parties to know I didn’t want to do anything with my gals’ names on it (glasses, robes, etc.). The amount of “things” I have with my name on it are ridiculous. While I love each and every one of the gifts I’ve received, I didn’t want to add to anyone else’s collection. Instead, proposing with cheese felt much more “me”, practical, and fun (who doesn’t love a surprise cheese box?!).
Fortunately for me, I work for a company that made this pretty easy. Not only was I able to get most of the cheese from the plant, but we had packaging materials that were perfect for the proposal boxes, and we are well adept at shipping cheese (all pretty critical for this proposal). I love puns (especially cheese ones) so I included a fun proposal poem, a personalized card to each of them, and a couple of my favorite cheeses. I ordered some custom stickers from Etsy that said our wedding date and “Santos Soiree”. I loved these stickers but they were a labor of love to get peeled apart and attached! I was so happy with how these turned out.
Flower Girls
Our sweet girls are both pretty little, so I wanted to do something that would be fun for them, but practical for their age. I ordered these cute custom name puzzles off of Etsy, and got them each a pair of floral pajamas. I thought the puzzles would be fun, especially as they learn how to spell their names and like to do little puzzles. A functional keepsake! And who doesn’t love a cute pair of jams? I love buying these two clothes anyway, so I will jump on any opportunity to order them something cute.
Ring Bearers
Again with the food… but this proposal was for our boys, so I thought what better gift than something they can eat? I haven’t met very many sentimental boys, so cake and ring pops felt like a safe bet. These were really fun to put together (partially because it didn’t require a lot of work on my end). I called up Old Town Coffee and Chocolates in Eureka to have a couple cakes made with the boys’ names written on them. I also went by the Dollar Tree and picked up a couple bags of ring pops (an appropriate ode to their wedding day task!), and stuffed a ring in each cake, then included the others in the box. I delivered these with a smile, a “good luck” to their parents (yay sugar!), and let them enjoy.
These proposals weren’t too wild and crazy, but they came from the heart, were thought out, and represented who we are (very food-motivated). If you too are on the crazy train, aka also planning a wedding, my ignorant advice is to stay true to who you are. Focus on a few things that are important to you, limit the number of opinions you let into your process, have a core group that you can bounce ideas off of (and that will check you when you go off the deep end), and have fun with it. Don’t let your assumed interpretations of what people will think influence your decisions. These are things I know to be true, but things I am working on living and planning by. At times it is an overwhelming process, but with the right people around you it can be so fun. My people – family, bridesmaids, and future in-laws – have been so important in making this Santos Soiree fun, personal, and beautiful. I’ve gotten stuck in the oh-my-gosh rut, but they pull me out of it and remind me how much we’ve got done and how gorgeous it will be. And, that sometimes I just need a little break and to enjoy the process. Because, in the end, it’ll all comes together!
I hope you enjoyed this little wedding update. Stay tuned, there is lots more to share! My wedding dress has arrived, we’ve picked out the wedding cake, the venue is coming along (so pretty), and all the decorative details are getting checked off the list…
Beer in a Martini World 