Happy Tuesday evening, you guys! Ok I, uhh… well I need to tell you something. Here, huddle round.
So you know that show Bridezillas, the one that I refuse to watch because it’s the worst possible representation of a bride, let alone a woman in general, during one of the most emotional times of her life? Well, I turned to it recently TOTALLY BY ACCIDENT NO REALLY I SWEAR and I caught an exchange between I think a bride and her sister. Or best friend. I think it was a maid of honor situation.
You guys. YOU GUYS. The bride was acting like A TOTAL BEACH. She was so beachy, you guys. Like, ‘The Exorcist’ level beachiness. Like she was saying weird, uncommon things like “I don’t want that animosity in my hair,” and “you’re supposed to be my servant until the day of the wedding, what is there left to explain,” and “my only responsibility in this is to be BEAUTIFUL,” and “everything’s gotta be PERFECT,” and “STFU because I’ll slap you too I’M NOT AFRAID OF ANYBODY.” and “[fisticuffs].” No seriously, there were physical altercations, between people who considered themselves friends. It was a mess, y’all. I would retire to Buenos Aires and never return to face my family again if I ever decided to start acting like that to my own family and friends. Because really, HOW DO YOU COME BACK FROM THAT.
And before I started planning my own wedding, I was always like, “OMFG. I swear, these girls. OMFG. I will never. NEVER. EVAARRRRRRR be that bad, when I start planning my own wedding. They are insane in the membrane! Insane in the brain!”
And then, I started planning my wedding.
And you know what? No man-on-man combat has occurred, yet, but I have to admit to you, right here, right now, that it is *not that hard* to turn the volume up to eleven on the beachiness.
Now of course, I don’t take to the level of the ladies on that show, in my normal life. Nor do I think it’s even physically possible for me to get as beachy as the beaches on Bridezillas get. That’s like the upper echelon of unaddressed-anger-issues-induced beachy. Those ladies are *chosen* out of a sea of ladies who can only hope to be the most beachy-seeming out of all the beaches, by the casting agents. The women chosen to be on that show are performing in the 95th percentile of top test takers in the area of beachiness. So. I mean.
But STILL. It’s amazing how easily, how quickly, you can start to lose track of the main objective, and instead start to lose control of your emotions. The main objective, of course, being that whole “I’m ultimately planning a celebration around a loving ceremony, in which I express my love to my love, and he, his love, to me, and then we’re going to get to have the sex for the rest of our lives, until we have the children who will undoubtedly throw a wrench in that sex in terms of its frequency and ease-of-having, but at least we’ll have adorable littles who we love and who we will hopefully raise not to be menaces to society.”
You know, THAT whole thing. The important thing. The love thing. Isn’t it incredible how easy it is to get caught up in everything else… everything but the important thing? I mean I haven’t even STARTED to think about my vows. And I’m a writer. I’m a writer and I haven’t even started to think about my vows. Wow, when I type it out it’s jarring. But anyway, here’s the thing: wherever it was along the way that I started to get overwhelmed by it all, I’ve definitely noticed something. I’ve noticed that at times, I can be a bit… *short* on the phone. It’s like I don’t have enough time for a phone call. Especially when I’m speaking to my Mom. My MOM. How EVIL is that? It’s simply not ok, and I don’t want it to continue, certainly not. I just don’t ever feel like I have any time anymore. You know? It’s both a business-induced pressure, and a self-imposed pressure. But what it mainly is, is a PRESSURE, pressin’ down on me, and I seem to be feeling it more and more as I continue trying to make decisions about my wedding day. ACK!
Ok, enough. I just wanted to share all of that in the interest of remaining transparent here on the blog. Because I imagine that if I’M feeling it, it’s highly likely a lot of others are feeling some kind of pressure, too, and I’m all about addressing the Real Realities of wedding planning and everything that can come along with it. This *pressure* thing has been getting at me, like on a cellular level. It’s cray.
Listen, I’d definitely be curious to know if you’ve surprised your own self, in terms of your emotions, and the pressures you feel you’ve been facing, as you’ve planned or continue to plan your wedding.
Or am I the only beach on this beach.
Ok. Now. I have to say… when I introduced this new series entitled “Reader Challenges,” last week… I honestly never expected to get the submissions we’ve ended up getting. Oh, have no doubt that I was HOPING for the best, because I was– I was definitely hoping. But did I think my wildest dreams would come true? Dreams of receiving fun write-ups, and expertly arranged photo collages, bearing images not only striking in their beauty but also clear in their relevance to the task at hand? Did I think I was going to get more than a few that were stellar? NO. ME NOT EXPECTED THAT. ME EXPECTATIONS SOPRESSATA’D.
SUPERSEDED, ME MEAN.
ME EXPECTATIONS EXCEEDED? SOUND RIGHT, ME MOVE ON NOW ME BORED.
Anyway so I gotta say, I’m pretty pumped to be sharing our faves, aka THE WINNERS! Our first winning submission was submitted by Carlene of Naturally Yours Events, and I WUV IT SOOO.
Here’s Carlene’s vision for that gorgeous board:
My vision was to show the opposites of Katniss and Peeta’s life thrown into the capital and their life in District 12 by incorporating very glamorous details with rustic elements. The color palette reflected the silvers and blacks of District 12, the royal purples and golds of the Capital, orange since this is Peeta’s favorite color, and red for the “Girl on Fire.” I wanted to show a simple buttercream frosted cake with berries since these were significant in the books and to incorporate Peeta’s love for baking. I also envisioned there would be a cheese wheel cake based on Prim’s gift to Katniss on reaping day. The dress pictured is fashioned to look like feathers and yet still modern in a simple grey. The hairstyle is a recreation of Katniss’ signature look, but with an elegant twist. Black feathers are introduced to incorporate the Mockingjay that is so significant in the books while the birdcage can be used as a card box. Finally, I just love the arrow seating chart. This is a nice touch without the bride actually bringing in a bow and arrow on the wedding day.
So…
1. Am I a beach? Or have you ever felt beachy, too, and I’m not the only beach.
2. how do you think she did? ARE YOU NOT INSPIRED?? Haha, no but seriously… are you? ME IS.
xoxo - Alison
image credits: 1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9.