sane wedding planning

wedding related ramblings revolving around sanity and practicality, with a little bit of geekery and crazy just for fun!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

You are beautiful just the way you are!!

I was reading through Twitter earlier and came across a tweet from my friend @moodeous, a Denver area photographer. Rather than expound (too much) on the article she linked to, and my thoughts on the wedding industry when it comes to the pressure they add, I will just leave you with the following twitter conversation. Because it really says it all.

@moodeous: Ladies, as a photographer I want you to know I think you're beautiful the way you are and I bet your fiance thinks so too!
Me: I love this! Spread that message, it's powerful and beautiful.

@moodeous: thank you!!! Cause seriously, they asked YOU not someone you're going to be!
Me: Right!? Because there needs to be MORE pressure on women to look "perfect". Ugh. Stupid WIC.


She had linked to an article titled 15 Beauty Tips Every Bride Should Know, but I don't really want to give it any more attention by adding a link here. Because, obviously, I hate the message it is sending.

So, please. Take a moment to realize that you are beautiful the way you are. Your fiance fell in love with YOU, in all your glory, for better and for worse. You don't need to get a spray tan and a manicure and a professional make-over to be worthy. You just need to smile, and let that newly-engaged or newly-married or about-to-be-married glow do it's thing. Because it shines brighter than any make-over ever will.

You are beautiful just. The way. You are.


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A plea to take a break from planning every so often

I got an email recently from a potential client, whom I had a meeting scheduled with, asking to reschedule because they were "waving the white flag" on wedding planning for the weekend.

That made me want to stand up and cheer for them both.

Wedding planning is a lot to take. Especially if you aren't a "planner" type person. Even if you are, though, it can get to be overwhelming. It can get to be too much. And I'm here to tell you it's okay to take some time off from it all.

Planning such a huge event takes a lot of work. Add to it all the things expected of you in everyday life as well, and sometimes it is just too much.

Some people power through and just do it. And sometimes that works. But sometimes it doesn't, and the wedding planning can break you. It stops being fun. It becomes something that stresses you out. It becomes something you just can't deal with anymore.

Where is the fun in that?

Regardless of the type of event you are having, I fully expect you to take some time and NOT think about it. Take some time to enjoy your person. Take some time to breathe, and remember why you are doing this all in the first place.



Remember that you are getting married, not just planning a wedding. And though this wedding thing can be a lot, it's just a small dose of what follows. Marriage is filled with ups and downs, lots of tests, and lots of love. Take some time, as often as you need, to remember why you want to marry this person. The rest of it will come together in just the right way. And then, THEN, you can start the rest of your life.

Together.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Washington Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill

Last night the Washington state Senate voted 28-21 to pass the gay marriage bill, and I was there to see it happen.

As awesome as it was to be in a room full of passionate people watching this all unfold, the part that will stick with me the longest is those few minutes it took for each senator to cast their vote. As the secretary was calling roll, I saw many couples holding hands, squeezing each other out of love and support (and nerves). 

The couple in front of me were nestled together, one tucked perfectly into the shoulder of the other. 

The woman at the end of my aisle had her head buried in her partners lap, she couldn't even look at the screen. 

The little girl who was there with her two mom's was tapping her feet, looking very anxious, holding both their hands.

We were all holding our breath. The tension and the excitement, you could almost taste it. And when the final tally was announced, the whole room exploded. Everyone jumped up, there were high fives, hugs, arms thrown in the air for victory. The group in front of me, one woman embraced the other two and said "I can't wait to get my wedding invitation!"

It was electrifying. Awesome. F*cking amazing!

There were so many great moments to come out of this debate, I wish I could put them all here in this post to remember them. Rather, I will link to some  written highlights here, and you can watch the full debate here. It's a little long, but, as Senator Murray (the main sponsor of the bill) said, “it was one of the best debates I've ever seen in my time in the Legislature ... and when we finally won, it was incredibly moving.” You can see Sen Regala at about the 58 minute mark, talking about why the definition of marriage should be updated to reflect the times (and how it has changed over the centuries) and Sen Ranker right after, talking about being raised by a gay father. Those two, alone, are worth the watch. 

Grab a tissue while you watch. 

And a glass of champagne, baby, because this is moving forward!