Wedding planning is about juggling, and there are a bunch of objects up in the air--save the date cards, invitations, gift registries, ceremony plans, reception blueprints and honeymoon reservations, to name a few. I was oblivious to most of these before Katy and I got engaged, but I've become more literate as we've moved forward.
It's been an interesting process. My fiancee is well-versed in traditional etiquette. She likes to make sure that everything follows the "rules," the unwritten ceremonial guidelines codified throughout the ages--some that seem like they originated in the 19th century, others that look distinctly modern. For her, registries must be both practical and cute, and invitations must be well-written and "fancy." Save the Date cards hang in the balance between cutesiness (a word?) and formality, and the honeymoon should be the "best trip of our lives thus far."
It's not that I object to the rules. I've just been ignorant about the whole deal. Before actually sitting down and planning the different aspects of the wedding weekend, I would have been satisfied with any old ceremony. Demonstrating considerable patience, Katy has slowly refined my thinking, to the point where I've started to appreciate the luxuries I once counted as frivolous. I've gotten a little more interested in all the decorative details of the ceremony and the reception. I've also begun to object to certain things that we've added to our registry, not because they're impractical, but because I think don't they're cute. Katy has created a monster.
Seriously, though, I think God ordained wedding planning from the beginning. As far as we know, Adam and Eve didn't have a ceremony, but they got to start their lives as the only people on earth and without a sinful nature, a situation that doesn't exactly mirror our fallen state. They did have to learn to work together, though, and wedding planning teaches this exact same lesson today. Sure, you can get personal guidance from a more experienced couple, but there's no counseling tool like paring down your invite list, picking the perfect song for the first dance or agreeing on a honeymoon destination. All these feats require a remarkable amount of collaboration. And it only gets more intense as the big day rapidly approaches. Two people are starting to become one.
1 comment:
Ha! That's awesome! Yes, this truly is some of the best premarital counseling there is. David and i had our first major trial and victory (praise God and thank you David for persevering!) as a couple right in the middle and as a result of wedding planning mess.
Sadly, too many couples greet each other at the altar with scowls on their faces. Whatever happens don't let your wedding day CELEBRATION be anything less than that.
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