Confessions of a Professional Bridezilla

It occurred to me recently that I have an excessive amount of knowledge to share about the wedding industry. I, myself, got married not too long ago after a year and half engagement where I obsessed over every little detail - from the return addresses on my save the dates to the labels on the cake boxes (so guests would have something to take extra cake home in, of course!)

Somewhere in the midst of my own wedding insanity, I realized despite all the concerned looks I was getting from my friends and family I was actually enjoying myself. To some, spending 6 months hand assembling my wedding invitations that were little hard back books with japanese stitched spines was a seventh circle of hell - but to me, it seemed just crazy enough to take on. So I did a little introspective thinking, had a mild quarter life crisis and promptly left my full time job with benefits (!!!!) to start All The Pieces....and I've never looked back.

So what it is that makes wedding planning so stressful to many couples? Well the obvious answer is that you are coordinating probably one the largest, most involved parties of your life for your friends and family. But I think the more subtle, cruel truth that all planning couples realize is that people love to critique weddings. Chances are the people who are attending your wedding have been to quite a few weddings over the years, and might even have several to go to that year. So your wedding will naturally be compared. The challenge then becomes what are you going to do to stand out? How will your guests remember your event?

Now I have heard that the two things that leave an impression with your guests, no matter what, are the music and the food. I find truth in this certainly, but I also feel that these two things are pretty obvious. Naturally you are going to seek out delicious food and fun musical entertainment for your guests so there isn't that much there to be creative with. You can make some small decisions here and there to serve your favorite appetizer, or play your favorite song but I'm not sure these things will burn in your guests minds after the fact.