Things That Made Me Happy This Week - Aug 29, 2009

• Really fun photo session at Roger Williams Botanical Center
• Bob's mom and her best friend got to see her first Red Sox game without being rained out!
• Purple cauliflower
• Spending time with my honey and the puppy in Narragansett and Newport watching the waves after Hurricane Bill
• A very sweet post Bob wrote on his blog
• A good belly laugh with Julie and Luisa
• My wedding band is ready!
• A visit to the vet - Dave’s a healthy and happy boy :)
• A compliment on this blog from a Facebook friend and old classmate
• Being able to pick up the phone and get great advice
• It cooled down.... it’s been sticky up here in the Northeast
• Overhearing a conversation another bride-to-be was having with a friend...

I'm happy I overheard this conversation because it just confirmed for me that we're doing the right thing for us with this wedding (getting married on the beach in Aruba - just the two of us!). This bride actually said "I think I'm the most miserable bride-to-be ever". She then went on to talk about seating charts, her bridal shower (which she hated), family drama, china...

I had a similar experience about a month ago when I went into a bridal shop to pick up an accessory for my dress. The two women standing there in their beautiful wedding dresses were bitching.... one of them about how her fiance screwed up the ring, the other about her fiance's family.

Although I was happy to know I personally made a good decision for ME, it makes me sad to realize that these women were so stressed out and didn't seem to be enjoying this time in their lives. I understand that lots of women want The Wedding. The dress, wedding party, the big cake, the favors, the flowers... I do understand, because I did it all the first time around (I was 20, and it was very short-lived). And perhaps I don't need it anymore because I've done it and remember how stressful it was. Perhaps I would feel differently now if I hadn't been through it before... I don't know.

But that was 16 years ago and since then it seems like the whole business of wedding planning has gotten so much more over the top since then. If you've ever seen the TV show, "Masters of Reception", you know what I mean. I've seen people drop tens of thousands of dollars... for ONE DAY. Going into debt... for ONE DAY.

Of course being engaged and getting married is a special time and I think it's important to make it as meaningful and memorable as possible. I just feel like so much of this stuff is done for the guests, and not the couple. And... are the guests REALLY going to remember what your favors were, what the food was, what kind of limo you had? No... they will remember whether they had fun or not, how happy you were, and how beautiful the bride looked. And brides look beautiful on their wedding day. Whether the dress was $10,000 from a high end bridal boutique or $50 from a consignment shop.