Scott and I had to pick out some photos for a holiday project, and I found this little gem again. For some reason, it never stood out to me before–probably because I was busy looking for those over the top WOW shots. But then I realized, this small detailed shot IS the WOW shot. This is what it’s all about. The moment that symbolizes our choice and commitment to each other.
How often in life am I too busy looking for the WOW and not recognizing the beautiful details right in front of me?
Ok, so I’m going to say something that I feel is super taboo:
I was disappointed with my wedding.
Not all of it, by any means. There were INCREDIBLE moments and I do overall have happy memories of the whole event. But I feel like I bought in to the notions of a perfect wedding, and unsurprisingly I was left disappointed. And if we’re being honest, I KNOW I am not the only bride who has felt this way. Some of my vendors did not come through in the way I had hoped, a few DIY projects didn’t look as nice in the venue as they did in my home, and the clean-up (while fast) resulted in many items I loved being thrown or given away, To be honest, I’ve been SO SCARED to admit to myself that I was disappiinted that I’ve literally been blocking out the memory for awhile. Can you imagine? Blocking out the memory of your wedding? Ridiculous.
But here’s the thing: my wedding was a wonderful day filled with people I love (and made possible by those same people working hard and helping out). So I refuse to feel bad about it because it did not meet the impossible expectations created by magazines and pinterest and brides with a lot more money than me to spend on one day. It’s time to take back my day. So here’s what I’m going to do:
I’m going to find certain aspects of my wedding and re-do them. I know that sounds crazy, but if there were certain feelings or even tangible THINGS I wanted out of my wedding day, I’m going to get them, so that I can look back on that day and QUIT seeing the things I missed out on, and start looking back on all of the wonderful things about it (including starting a life with my adoring husband).
Let Down/Re-Do #1: Photography.
Photography was perhaps the NUMBER ONE thing I was looking forward to. And we put in a lot of work to find the right photographer. And while we did find a guy with incredible talent, our photographer is perhaps the vendor I am the most disappointed with. Not because he did a bad job (we do have some great photos of our special day) but because he gave me so little guidance, and when I asked if I could provide him with a shot list, he made me feel a little guilty, like I was questioning his professional judgment to get it all. As a result, he missed a lot of shots I had hoped for, and some of those OMG photos I wanted just didn’t happen.
SO, we are going to hire another photographer and do another photo shoot-just not sure if it will be in San Diego or here in Denver yet. Sure we won’t have the dress or the tux, but the REAL desire behind that is to have some incredible, jaw dropping photos of me and my husband. So I’m going to get them so I can STOP feeling like I missed out on something.
This brings me to my second re-do related to photography: part of what I was so unhappy with at the wedding was how I looked in the photos. Now don’t get me wrong-I do think i looked pretty. But I still felt a little heavier than I wanted, my hair was not at all what I had hoped for, and the-make-up just wasn’t “me” (my second vendor let-down). So, in preparation for our little photo shoot I will work hard on going to the gym and getting to a place with my body where I’m happy (again to clarify-I did work REALLY hard leading up the wedding, I just felt like I ran out of time). I will learn how to dress for my shape and get a couple of super flattering outfits for our shots. And I will go to a salon the day of our photos and get my hair and make-up done again, this time with a natural look, more fitting for our setting and more reflective of who I am.
I know that this may sound like I’m being whiny or spoiled. But I’m really not trying to be; in fact, this is the first time I’ve even uttered the word “disappointed”. I’m just trying to be honest, and take back happy memories of my wedding day. I was set-up for failure by a ridiculous industry, and I’m ready to fight back.
So excited to begin this process!
Today I am grateful for incredibly talented friends. My friend Angela has been designing Save the dates/invites for us, and today she completed to first couple sections of the invite. They are adorable, and I realized just how special and unique my wedding really is going to be. From the invite to the ceremony to decorations, traditions and even the favors, this wedding will be handmade. I am so grateful that I have friends to help me with this along the way–ones who are super brilliant, creative, and love me enough to help out!! 🙂
With some things crossed off, but many more added… Yikes!
Today I did a lot of wedding stuff. Scott and I finished registering, we bought lots of supplies from Michaels (all at half off!) and I finally finished up our table numbers. I also researched sewing machines for a few projects on the horizon. It has reminded me of how much I have made/created/crafted for this wedding, and how excited I am that I can actually make the adorable little things I see on pinterest! I’ve always been craft-inclined, but I would never have considered myself creative. But, I’ve found that my ability to research, try-out methods, and keep at projects until they are perfect has allowed me to still make these adorable crafts that will truly make my wedding a piece of art 🙂
All of this to FINALLY say that I am thankful for my crafting-abilities, for they have both allowed me to save TONS on my wedding, while still having a million little personal details surrounding us on this special day.
Tackling Pinterest one Pin at a time!
Documenting the things that make up this little life
Faith. Family. Fitness
The Ocean in a Drop 