Weddingbee Blog

Throughout the planning process most brides are not only a bride, they are many things; a mother, a fiance, a daughter, a housekeeper, a friend, a meal maker, a peace keeper, an employee, a student (you get the point), all of which have very important responsibilities. There is a delicate balance between wedding planning being a part of your life and it consuming your life. Oh! How I envy those brides who are just simply a bride. But, alas, I must get over it, because girl… I got a heck of a lot goin’ on, which is one reason Mr. Dolphin and I have chosen to have such a long engagement (2 ¼ years! Can you believe it? More on that later… I promise!).

I started remembering that I am more than a bride when one of my Graduate School projects was recently featured on UF’s School of Architecture Website. I remembered… hey, I’m an architecture student too!

Miss Dolphin’s Grad 1 Project

Last summer was a long one and I had basically negligible educational responsibilities (so I had a lot of time on my hands). My summer was the jump start of Mr. Dolphin’s and my wedding planning and it was all but consumed my every thought since May 15th of last year (the day I first stepped into a bridal shop). My daily Internet reads that summer and now include wedding websites, wedding blogs, and searching for wedding items on Etsy and eBay.

source Somee Cards

I’ve become “that bride”.

… the one who has to control how much she talks about her wedding in front of her friends and family, as to not scare them away. When someone asks me how the wedding planning is going, I have to take a deep breath and say “great,” instead of spilling my guts over every single detail. No one cares that I have had knots in my stomach over our budget, getting a hold of our maybe-videographer, and what Mr. Dolphin will be wearing. {Take a deep breath Miss Dolphin, this post shouldn’t be getting you worked up.}

But sometimes I just can’t help but spill (I apologize to anyone who has witnessed my wedding info spill sessions firsthand!). I have to realize that being a bride does not define who I am… I am more than that. I’m a grad student, a teacher (I teach Freshman Design), a fiancé, a friend, a crazy laundry washer and ironer, a clean freak, a lover, a cat pleaser, an intern, a daughter, and many more things. Sometimes you need to just take a step back and relax.

Yes, weddings take a whole bunch of planning… but, in the end, it is just you and your hubby up there confessing your love for each other in front of all your friends and family. And, really, that is all that matters (at least that is what I keep telling myself). No one is going to remember what shoes I was wearing, or that Mr. Dolphin’s socks matched his tie (even though I wish they will remember it!).

So ladies, remember this if nothing else… you are not just a bride, you are so much more. Try not to let it consume you—turning you into a crazy wedding-blabbing monster.

It’s all about that delicate balance between crazy and just normal everyday-woman crazy.

Has wedding planning consumed you? How do you step back from it all and realize that you have many different roles besides just being a bride?