One of my very favorite parts of being a blogger, is getting to know my readers. When I get a comment on a post, a question from a bride on my Instagram, or a retweet, I cannot help but smile. Seriously, it literally makes my day and brings the biggest smile to my face. I love hearing your stories, helping you through the planning process, and am ecstatic when I finally get to see the stunning photos from your big day! So thank you for being you and for making my job enjoyable each and every day.
Every once in a while, I run into a bride with an amazing story that I cannot help but share with all of you. Not only is Olivia's story beautiful, but I think that each and every one of you (including myself) can learn an extremely valuable lesson from what you are about to read. I would like you to take her story to heart, and apply it to your own life, your own wedding planning experience.
People always say "If something goes wrong at your wedding no will notice but you." I used to take this advice with a grain of salt, however the day I got engaged, is when I began to believe it. In October of 2013, I was in my final year of my undergraduate studies, taking five courses, conducting research, applying to graduate school, and working two jobs... needless to say I had a lot going on and was stressed out! In my own mind, I always felt that I would know or have some sort of clue right before getting proposed to.. I'm a bit hard to surprise ;) However, with being so preoccupied with everything else, this actually worked to my (now) fiancé’s advantage, because I had absolutely no clue before he proposed.
My Birthday was soon approaching and I've always been one to plan something to do for my birthday, however that year I was not really up to adding something else on my plate to organize. My birthday fell on a weekday and I had two exams and a paper due as well which meant no time to celebrate. With not wanting to plan anything, my mom finally convinced me to have a small dinner with close friends and family the weekend before my birthday at my parents' house. That same week before, I broke out into a rash from mental stress, I was barley spending anytime with my (now) fiancé Victor, so getting proposed to was literally the last thing on my mind. I even almost cancelled my dinner that morning...but I'm so GLAD I didn't :)
Ever since I was a little girl, my dad would do scavenger hunts on my birthday to find my present, and the number of clues would be the age I was turning. Because I was having friends and family over, my parents convinced me to still do the "clues" before dinner. I turned to Victor (since he's done them with me for the past several years), and he denied participating in helping me. At this point I was frustrated with him (which also worked to his advantage later on) and began with my clues. The 2nd to last clue read "this is where we get the mail"... located two houses down. I rushed over to mail box, and the last clue read "look behind your mom's pool float. Happy Birthday!" I was excited rushing to the backyard where I walked straight passed my group of guy friends not noticing Victor was not there (since I was still frustrated with him for not participating lol) as my parents were finishing taping up a huge box. I had asked for a new dresser set for my birthday, and since I was completely oblivious to the engagement...that's what I thought was in the box. There was a card on top, and as I opened it I saw Victor's name signed on the right side of the card (still oblivious, I thought he signed the card that was from my parents for my “dresser set”). As I turned to the left of the card, I noticed his writing, and the first sentence began with when he first laid eyes on me at 16. As I continued reading my eyes filled with tears and I could barely finish reading the words before me. The end of the card read “do you want to spend the rest of your life with me? Open box” I began to start opening the box and my heart began frantically racing as he slowly poked his head out. It was so sweet watching him try to stay on one knee and get out of the box at the same time. After he said the words "will you marry me," my knees got weak and I began to shake. I had so many emotions, and cried so hard I literally forgot to say yes.. It was perfect.
No matter what stress I was going through before, none of it mattered at that moment. Once he proposed, in pictures, all you could see was how happy and surprised I was. The advice is true, no one but me would have known that I wore that long sleeve shirt to hide my rash, or that my eyes were tired from waking up early to finish homework, because in that moment they were lit up, and my smile was bigger than ever. Although it was a stressful period in my life, I’ve always thought it was the worst and BEST time to get engaged. I can’t wait to marry the love of my life, June 20th of 2015.
It is inevitable, you will run into struggles, stress, anger and every other emotion you can possibly think of not only in planning your wedding, but in your marriage. And through Olivia's story, I want you to take two things away:
1. No one but yourself will know that anything went wrong on your wedding day. So if and when something that seems so terrible, out of the ordinary, and not as planned happens, just smile and know that it is your little secret. And smile bigger because you know that in everyone's eyes, your wedding was just perfect.
2. In your marriage, there will be ups and downs no matter what, because that is what makes a marriage a marriage. But just know that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. If you work at it, the hard times will end and while you will always know that struggles large and small will come along the way, there will always be light, happiness, and love.
