After reading this post Joanne asked me why I hated my wedding so much. Since I often struggle to come up with things to blog about, I figured I should take the opportunity to respond.
First of all, I hate planning events. Especially parties. I want no part of it. But since it was my wedding, I knew I had to bite the bullet and just do it. The truth was that Jono and I both would have preferred to elope and then have a reception after we got back. Neither of us enjoy events where we are the center of attention, and neither of us enjoy spending money on things that are silly. However, because we love our families dearly, we went ahead with it. They didn't insist we have a wedding or anything, but we knew it would make them happy.
Now, to start, planning a simple wedding is not simple. I would say that compared to the majority of other weddings, ours was very low-key and "inexpensive." (Some of you were there, so you can back me up on this) However, it was still a lot of work and a lot of money. My dad paid for it, and we really didn't want to waste a bunch of his money. Also, my family lives half a country away, so even though they were so, so willing to help, there were many things they just couldn't do.
We had 4 months to plan the wedding. If it weren't for extensive help from immediate and extended family, it wouldn't have been possible. But even with that help, I was busy all the time. And my sweet husband-to-be had to work out of town, meaning that his weekends at home were entirely filled with wedding stuff.
For people who hate event planning, this was a very unpleasant time in life. All we wanted was to be married. We didn't want to stand up in front of everyone saying the same lines that have been said in millions of other weddings. We didn't want to worry about who we should invite so that we didn't offend anyone.
We just wanted to be together forever. Why is that so difficult?
The wedding itself wasn't horrible. My grandpa officiated...and took some liberties (he's an ornery booger). But all in all, it was just another wedding. We took a multitude of pictures to remind us of a day we never really want to revisit (mostly to send to relatives), we stood around in uncomfortable shoes all day, we tried to enjoy the fellowship of the wonderful people around us, we got a ton of gifts from people who are more generous than we could ever understand.
And as we pulled away from the church, finally married, I couldn't understand all the feelings inside of me. Part of me was so unbelievably relieved that it was all over. Everything I had been working on for 4 months was done. DONE. On the other hand, we were driving away from a building that held almost everyone we cared about in this world. People came from all over to be there, and we didn't even get to talk to all of them.
Despite all the whining I do about this, there are two things I always remember. One is that we did it for our families, and that is the absolute least we could do for people who have blessed our lives so much. I really believe we have the best family anyone could boast of, and I'm so thankful. The second thing is that I would go through a lot more to get to be with Jono. If you think I'm ever too mushy on this blog you should realize that I'm holding way back for your sakes.
So, that's it. It's over and done with. And that's the best explanation I can give.
And just so you know, I did NOT bother to write this all out while on my short vacation to the east. Ah, I love scheduled posting. :)
Have a wonderful weekend!