My partner and I are getting married this weekend (!!!) so we had to go pick up our marriage license yesterday. I was expecting a typical government office, but this mural is amazing! The decorations in the office were also so cute.
I had never been inside City Hall before, so I was definitely pleasantly surprised by how efficient this process was.
I switched to Omnipod so I have no use for it! Let me know if you’re interested :) Happy to drop it in the mail!
For context, our wedding is next Sunday and it’s pretty DIY. Our venue only includes the physical space along with the tables and chairs and a tent. We also hired a coordinator who’s extremely familiar with the venue. But most of the lessons learned have been more philosophical, lol. I guess initially I kinda thought wedding planning would just consist of addressing a bunch of logistical questions, but it’s a lot more than that, to say the least.
So, here are some things I’ve learned along the way!
- A wedding is not a performance, we’re allowed to do what we want (within reason, of course - our guests having a good and comfortable time was still a high priority) because it’s our day. We don’t have to follow traditions just because they’re traditions. We aren’t having a wedding party, and didn’t do a bachelor/bachelorette trips, because that’s what makes us most comfortable. We’re also having a self-uniting ceremony without an officiant, because due to various reasons, it would’ve been difficult to choose an officiant who would’ve been likely to include all of the cultural elements we wanted. So we wrote our own ceremony and will be leading it ourselves. :) It feels really meaningful to us, even though some may find it odd. But it’s our day, so that’s what matters.
- We’re allowed to be self-indulgent (again, within reason while preserving the guest experience lol). We’re spending a lot of money on the one day of our lives where people are there to celebrate us specifically. This has manifested itself in a lot of ways, from our chosen color scheme and “theme”, to what we’re including in the ceremony, to our choice of reception style.
- It’s important to do things and wear things that make me feel like the best version of *myself*, whatever that means for me in particular. I don’t have to do things that make me feel uncomfortable or abnormal! In my case, I don’t usually wear makeup ever, and when I do, I don’t wear eyeshadow or foundation, so I decided I’m not doing that on my wedding day, even though it’s highly suggested for the sake of photos. Makeup feels weird on my skin and makes me more self-conscious, so I’m doing a very barebones routine. I’m also wearing a relatively simple hairstyle because that’s just who I am. I still feel like I’ll look “put together,” but as the best version of who I usually am. This relates back to it not being a performance.
- Things will go wrong. Count on it, despite how many plans and lists and spreadsheets there are. But the guests won’t know, they have no way of knowing what was initially *supposed* to happen because they don’t know every detail of every plan. Our original caterer backed out with 3 months to go, which was a nightmare, but no one who’s coming knows the original plan anyway.
- Similarly, when people throw a wrench in my plans, they don’t necessarily know that they’re causing a lot of stress for me, even though it seems apparent to me. My cousin just informed me last week that her 3 kids can’t come, so now I have to redo the entire seating chart. I was initially kinda frustrated that she didn’t realize this would significantly affect my planning.
- A painful one: I have learned a lot about my relationships with people. Of course, a wedding invitation is not a summons, and no one is required to attend, but I have been a bit shocked by some people I considered to be relatively close friends who are unable to come and haven’t really talked to me about it beyond declining. It hurts, but I don’t feel like it’s my obligation to initiate that conversation.
- We chose a package at our venue that has a hard cap of 50 guests. If we’d selected the package for up to 100 guests, it would’ve cost a few thousand dollars more, but we were originally aiming for around 40 people. Trying to keep the guest list under 50 initially while trying to account for people you need to invite but don’t think will actually come is very difficult. I’ve had to have several phases of invitations to try to include the people I want there, I wish I had just gotten the larger package lol.
Anyway, these are just some things that may help to keep in mind!
Hi! I need this photo colorized for my wedding. I can tip $10 via Venmo or Cashapp for the chosen submission (I don’t have PayPal). Hoping for something that looks as natural as possible!
Women’s medium North Face down puffer coat and matching North Face fleece jacket to wear underneath. No rips or tears. Has minor discoloration pictured. Pickup in South Philly!
I am a crazy person, so I ordered my wedding dress and veil on Etsy a year ago sight unseen (paid $600 for the dress and $150 for the veil). When it arrived, it was excellent quality, but too big since I had to take my own measurements and guess at the size.
I needed the waist taken in and moved up, since I have a high waist. I also needed a bustle added since my dress has a sweep train. I talked to a few different shops that specialize in bridal alterations, but I was being quoted minimum of $600.
I ended up going on a Facebook group for my neighborhood and finding someone who had graduated a few years ago in fashion design, who has been working out of her spare room ever since. I brought my dress to her a couple months ago, and am picking my dress up this week. It turned out beautifully, and the total is $280.
I couldn’t be happier with this decision!