and now. . .the Y

I guess the next biggest question beyond "who we are" is "why am I doing this?" Well, keep your shorts on I'll tell you.

Months back, when I was just the wannabe engaged girl pouring over wedding website after wedding website, wedding blog after wedding blog looking for inspiration for when my planning time came, then quickly minimizing the screens when Nate came into the room (Cause seriously, what guy who hasn't even proposed yet wants to see his girlfriend on a wedding website?), I realized something. It wasn't the pretty pictures and the inspiration shoots that inspired me the most. Of course, they are fun to look at and can be a wealth of help when it comes time to decide on "the look". It wasn't the helpful countdown checklists and the budget calculators that inspired me the most. Well alright, a budget is never inspiring, it just sucks.

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What inspired me the most were the honest, real, heartwarming, frustrating, silly, joyous, and yes sometimes even angry and sad accounts from real brides who have gone before me. They wrote of the trials and tribulations of establishing (and sticking to!) the budget, the excitement of carefully crafting and later participating in the ceremony with their new hubby, the fights that almost inevitably occur when one is planning something that impacts so so many people, and the happiness that occurred when they worked out a resolution. They wrote of the details, oh the details, the many many little things that no one who has never planned a wedding will ever understand. Yet to the bride, each little decision was so special and so meaningful, because they did it all for the joyous celebration that was their wedding. The napkins, the flowers, the venue choice, the invites, they wrote of it all.

And when it was all over they wrote about the happy moments of the day, the frustrating "why is our timeline so off?!" moments, and the tender moments that will stay close to their hearts for years to come.

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That right there, folks, THAT is inspiration. I am comforted by the fact that so many have gone before me into this world of wedding planning and come out on the other end fairly unscathed. I am humored by the mishaps that occurred along their journey and I am impressed at how they overcame them. The words of advice that so many list give me a mental arsenal for planning my big day and allow me be real with myself and know that no, not everything will go right, but YES!, it will be a beautiful, wonderful, imperfect day indeed.

So now its my turn to pay it forward. I hope to write about the good, the bad, the ugly, and yes, the details in the hopes that some other soon to be engaged gal will find my words and think, "hey I'm not the only one going through this" or "hey! that's exactly what I needed to know." If that happens only once, then I have succeeded. So, with my definition of inspiration in mind, prepare to be inspired . . .