Please indulge my melodrama for the duration of this post.
My go-to pic to illustrate melodrama
After the rehearsal dinner, the bridesmaids and I headed back to the hotel for a girly sleepover. We watched silly wedding shows, drank some wine and looked up hairstyle ideas on Pinterest (nothing like waiting until the last minute, ladies). This should have been a fun, relaxing night, but instead I was a ball of nerves.
I know, I know. I was about to marry the hottest guy on the planet and have a big, special party in my honor—there are worse fates. I shouldn’t have a right to complain when there people worse off than me in the world, like those who still wear pleated pants or have never been exposed to the salted caramel mocha. I admit it, I really should have just been grateful to have bridesmaids.
As the party wound down, I got a little worried about going to sleep. I wasn’t very tired, and I felt sick to my stomach. I panicked. And as the other girls drifted off to sleep (trust me, they were all friggin snoring) I just lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling sicker and more nervous.
Photo by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
This picture still makes me nervous to look at.
I thought back to my practice trip down the aisle, when everyone looked at me, and I imagined how it would be at the real ceremony. I was paralyzed with fear and anxiety. Then I started getting emotional about moving away from my family, and feeling guilty for making all these people come into town for my wedding…basically everything I felt after my shower was coming back, and I felt icky.
Guest photo
And this is how I looked the next day. Not pretty.
You know how, when it’s dark outside and you can’t sleep, whatever’s worrying you just gets worse and worse? And when you wake up the next day, you literally see everything in a different light? It was like that, except I still felt terrible the next day. So not at all like that.
I finally drifted off to sleep and managed to get about four hours in before I woke up for good. I wrote my wedding morning post (which, now that I look at it again, reads very much like this post) before my bridesmaids got up, and then it was time to hit the ground running!
Was the night before your wedding calm or full of anxiety? Did you sleep alone, with your fiance, or with friends?
I was exhausted and slept with my fiance, which I insisted on because when I’m at my most worked up, he’s the only one who really calms me.
Aww I’m sorry you had such a stressful night. I totally know what you mean about everything you’re thinking about getting worse and worse when you can’t sleep. That was pretty much every night for me leading up to the wedding. Suprisingly the night before the wedding I slept great. I woke up early but had a full and worry free nights sleep
I got all of 3 hours of sleep the night before the wedding because I had to be up at 7am and I was working on my cake the night before (I had neglected to practice working with fondant, so I was failing horribly). When I finally went to bed at 3am I was crying and, tired, and felt like everything was going wrong. The next morning got a little better though because my mom had somehow managed to get the fondant to cooperate (I have NO idea if she slept at all. She’s the most wonderful person ever!). I never got my dream wedding cake look, but it tasted amazing! And since it was homemade we can have it again whenever we want! I totally understand your freakout though. The night before I felt that things were not working out as planned and that we should just call everyone and tell them not to bother coming and we’d just have our priest and witnesses and be done with it. Like an elopement but not. I’m glad now that we didn’t do that and that I never voiced this aloud to anyone.
I hear you on the stress and anxiety.I slept at home with my guy, because I thought “normal” will help alleviate the stress. He SNORED away as I tossed and turned. I also thought that taking an over-the-counter sleep drug would help me through the night. I was SO wrong, it gave me heart palpitations, made everything worse, had some odd diuretic effect on me and I was up every hour feeling like I had to pee. I too, ended up getting like FOUR hours of sleep the night before. I dragged my ass to the venue the morning of, feeling like I got run over by a truck. Thank god makeup fixes most things… In the end though, I’m sure you had a wonderful day celebrating with your friends and family!
Ugh, how terrible to have such a stressful night! I stayed at my apartment with my aunt, but all my bridesmaids/hubs were at different places. Luckily I fell asleep pretty quickly and didn’t need to have too many other people around!
I could have written this post. I actually left my rehearsal dinner early because I was so nervous I thought I was going to be sick. In retrospect, I wish I had spent the night with Mr. T because I think it would’ve calmed me down. I didn’t completely calm down until after the ceremony was over.
This sounds so stressful, I hope you were able to relax and enjoy the day once the pressure was off!
I know I’ll be feeling like that. The night before my wedding will be the last day I’ll sleep at my childhood room in my parents’ home. I’ll be a mess.
I know I will be like that too. I never can sleep when I’m excited, nervous, etc. I’m going to an exhausted ball of energy!
Oh, Mrs. Uni – I am so bummed to hear you were a ball of nerves! 
This is what I was afraid of and insisted on spending the night before with Mr. PaC.
I looked like that too.. I see all these beautiful photos and think.. why wasn’t I smiling.. Oh ya.. I wasn’t smiling because I was focusing on breathing.
I was a mess of emotions – the night before I had last minute busy work – nothing really to do – just needing to do something – I slept with my fiance in the room, only because I was too exhausted to pack a bag and go to anywhere else – Exhausted but not sleepy… how does it happen like that?
BTW, you look beautiful
Mrs. Unicycle, Chicago, IL Age and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing Company Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD Student Engagement Date: March 26, 2011 Wedding Date: June 2012 Venue: Bridges of Poplar Creek About Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
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