Let's start with the conversation I had with my mother this past weekend:
Mom: So where are you registered?
Me: Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Mom: Uck, that's so cheap!
Me: What?! Seriously? Where else would I be registered?
Mom: Somewhere more high class. I bought something there once and it was cheap. Their stuff isn't good quality.
Me: Ok, whatever. Too late now.
But at least my mom is being good about the wedding guest list. When I told her how J and I have a shortage of space because J's mom insisted on inviting all sorts of random people who are now RSVP-ing yes (grrrrr), my mom said, "Oh, well, we'll just invite fewer family members." I was pleasantly surprised by this laid-back attitude. On the other hand, my dad has been passive-aggressively hinting that we should invite certain relatives; luckily, my mom doesn't like these relatives, so at least I have her on my side when it comes to leaving them off the list.
If my mom thinks Bed, Bath & Beyond is "low class" though, she's going to be horrified by the wedding when she arrives. The programs will be printed on brown kraft paper (I'm doing them myself). I'll be wearing cowboy boots. The table runners will be made of burlap and are currently being sewn by my wonderful sis-in-law. The beer will be sitting in a large horse tank. Mason jars everywhere. We'll probably play both country music and Michael Jackson. One of my friends suggested hiring a videographer whose entire purpose would be to train his/her camera on my mother and capture her various expressions of horror.
But honestly, this wedding is turning into an enormous production with far too many guests and headaches. Makes me want to call off the whole thing and elope. Not that we even need to elope, really.
Oh wedding planning. Sigh. No matter how simple and laid-back the plan is, there is a lot of stress and other people's expectations (usually parents) that come into play. It's a challenge. But I guess my words of advice, if you are calm and relaxed, you'll enjoy it more. You can only do so much, and you can't always make your mom happy.
ReplyDeleteSix years after my own wedding, my mom still is horrified that I had 8 bridesmaids. Yes, I know it's a lot, but I was in a lot of weddings myself, and it just worked out to have 8. And, no, Mom, I don't think I'm Princess Diana. She's still miffed about that one.
Good luck, relax, and hopefully the groom can help you tag team the stressed out parents! :)
Luckily, J has been good about tag teaming his parents. It'll be great when he's back here and can help with wedding errands *muahahaha*. I've definitely learned that simple and rustic doesn't mean simple in execution--hopefully, we'll just all be able to chill by September and have a good time :-)
Deleteaye, I think it sounds fantastic. We did almost everything ourselves and that alone was stressful, but it was stress my way. Thats why people pay but they get generic cookie cutter stuff or spend way to much money in general. In the end, my cake was wrong, my flowers were wrong, the candy table was decorated wrong, people didnt get their overnight bags, some got turned away from their hotel reservations. BUT it didnt matter at all!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't do ANY stupid stuff ( bouquet tossing etc), we left the important stuff, we had a lot of gaudy props and everyone had a good time- including us, and thats ALL that matters.
Good luck lady!
Thanks Schramm! I saw the pics from your wedding and they looked fantastic! I've been doing everything myself (J doesn't come home until next month) and I now understand why people hire wedding coordinators. Can't wait until this is all over... Hope to make it out to DC again soon--miss you!
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