It’s no secret that my Awkward Girl’s Guides usually come directly from my life. Though they are often topics for young awkward professionals like myself, they also venture into other areas. Today’s is going to go a whole new direction: wedding planning.
I have been engaged for a while, but this weeks marks 100 days until the wedding mark. Let me tell you, I have fully entered freak out mode. So, though this is a different sort of Awkward Girl’s Guides, I think it makes sense. Planning a wedding is hard. Planning a wedding as an awkward, little introvert is even harder. But alas! I have learned some things in the past 100 days that I’m hoping help with the next 100.
Here we go.
1. EMAIL. There are a lot of people to contact when you are having a wedding, especially if it’s going to be on the bigger side. There won’t always be a way to get out of face-to-face meetings and phone calls, so when you can do so, go for it. Can you email the caterer to set up a meeting? How about all the people you have to ask favors of?
Email obviously doesn’t work for everything. You’re going to have to tour your venue and talk to many of your vendors. But any bit of reprieve is a nice thing, plus email means you have a written record of your conversations, and allows to you respond to things whenever you have a second.
2. DON’T TRY TO PLEASE EVERYONE. Many people are going to have opinions about your wedding. They will get downright passionate, sometimes, about what kind of cake you have and how you decide to seat your guests. Take it in stride. Most people understand, at the end of the day, that what makes you and your significant other happy is the most important thing.
Still, for awkward girls, the temptation to try to please everyone. Maybe you want to take a vote of your bridesmaids to pick their accessories. Maybe you want to indulge every thing your in-laws would like. It’s great to take input and let it affect some choices, but if you get into the trap of trying to perfectly pleasing everyone, you are going to make things pretty impossible. At the end of the day, you gotta go with what works the best as the person with the most complete picture of the event.
3. GET HELP. I am notoriously bad at this one. Wedding- big or small- take a lot of work and coordination. For me, I tend to get lots of ideas but get really shy about sharing them or asking people to help me out. I have a secret for you, there are tons of people who WANT to help. You just have to find them and let them take a part.
You can make it fun, though. Go out with your mom and pick out stuff you need. Have your girls over for a crafting party. Make a game out of wedding choices with your significant other. Deep under all the stress is an opportunity to have fun and grow closer with the people you care about.
4. ADD YOUR PERSONALITY. With the magic of the Internet, especially things like Pinterest, it’s easy to pick up on wedding trends and want to fill your wedding with them. A trend here and there is fine to embrace, but it’s also important to fill the wedding with your personality (and your Significant Other’s as well). It’s easier to get into the planning process if you incorporate things you love into your plans for the big day.
Being a bookish person myself, I’ve incorporated them in a lot of my decorations. From book page flowers to actual antique books as centerpieces, my wedding is going to be full of the things I love (other than my fiance… who I also love).
5. TAKE BREAKS. Your wedding will be an important day in your life, but you will have many, many more important days. Though the stress and anxiety of worrying about whether or not everything will work out is a necessary evil, try not to let it consume your life.
A perfectly planned day isn’t worth it if you are fighting with everyone involved or are too stressed to enjoy it. Make sure you are still making time to grow with your significant other and cherish your family and friends. Long after the day is over, you will be enriched by the positive relationships you have with your new spouse, family and friends. Take care of yourself, too.
Hope any awkward girls who are getting married out there are helped by my tips, but as always, things are different for every person out there. Just remember, you fell in love my dear awkward girl, and that’s something to celebrate!
Katelyn Garmong 