The Final [Wedding] Countdown

Five weeks from now I’ll be hopping on a plane to Florida, picking up my dress, doing a little drive across the state and, barring any unforeseen acts of God or nature (I shouldn’t even joke about that), getting married. Eeek!

Wedding planning is weird. You do a ton of stuff up front like booking the venue, shopping for your dress and the other big things. Then there’s this whole middle lull where there’s not much to do except Google how many days are left until your wedding and respond anxiously to people asking you “are you all done with planning?!” Then the six-week mark hits and all of a sudden there are a thousand things to do that you couldn’t have done any sooner, most of which require you to know how many people are actually going to show up for the thing.

Which brings me to the joy of RSVPs. Can we talk about it for a second? All my married girlfriends told me this would happen, and yet here I am still surprised that so many people just didn’t RSVP. Not a few people. A large number. I mean, I wrote the envelope for you. I put a stamp on it that I paid 49 cents for. All you had to do was check a box, lick the envelope and walk to your mailbox. Help a bride out! I think a lot of people feel bad about declining, but we completely understand that it’s a huge undertaking to travel for a wedding and not everyone can make it. But like, tell us?

To be honest I can’t even get that mad about it because I’ve definitely failed to RSVP for weddings and other events in the past. Probably multiple times. It’s one of those things you don’t realize is annoying until it’s happening to you, like being sung to for your birthday by the waiters at Chili’s. I’m sorry if I’ve ever didn’t RSVP for your event and I’m sorry if I’ve ever forced the chain-restaurant birthday song upon you. Take this as my solemn vow (look at me, practicing my vows already) that neither of these things will happen again.

Through the planning process, I’ve also learned the single biggest secret to being a successful wedding vendor—a florist, a musician, what have you. Want me to let you in on it? Call the bride back. Period. Do you know how many of my vendors I hired simply because they were the first (or only) one that responded to my email or phone call? More than I’d like to say. That shouldn’t be the deciding factor, but how can you hire the greatest hairdresser in the world if you can’t even get them to respond to a voicemail?

Okay, I’m done bitching. For now.

I have to say, wedding planning has gone relatively smoothly. It’s been a little stressful, but in a completely different way than I imagined. I’ve been less stressed by the big stuff and more by the small details (which I quickly realized just weren’t that important to me), and from trying to get a hold of people who are hard to reach. If I had to compare it to anything, it’s mostly been like having a second job, one that’s been fun and interesting but that I’ll also be glad when it’s over.

I can’t wait to see how everything comes together, and more importantly, to see so many of our favorite people all in one place. I’m counting down the hours. It’s going to be the best.