Guest Bride Blogger Krystal {JE#4}- Road to Ross

Certified Coordinated Bride Krystal
Journal Entry # 4
Road to Ross

As I sit here and reflect on my journey to the altar I can’t help but feel extremely blessed. To finally be at this moment just seems so surreal. I have so many emotions flooding me all at once that at times it is hard for me to fully describe how I feel. I am definitely excited to soon unite in Holy Matrimony to my best friend, but I do have moments when I am a bit nervous. I’m not nervous to get married, but to have worked so hard to plan an event of this magnitude took a lot of love, prayers, time, and do I even need to mention money. Nonetheless, we are finally at the moment we both have been waiting for; a year and seven months in the making.

The final to do list

The last few weeks of planning have been full of the little tedious things that really can’t be done until the end of planning. Carl and I have had to plan our wedding while keeping in mind our family structure. We both come from really big families, but to add to the situation both of our mothers and Carl’s father have remarried. So, together we are blessed to have a total of seven parents. Yes, seven! To complicate the situation even further we never wanted to have a big wedding. Initially we thought we could pull this off with inviting 100 people, but we soon realized it was not going to be possible. So, we moved the guest count to 120 then it moved itself to 150. Completing the seating chart was a task for us as we had to keep in mind our family dynamic while still blending our families together. When it was all said and done I had done seven drafts. The irony, right? Also, on our to do list was boxes for favors, gifts for our parents, distribution of tips, finalizing the music, buying 100 yards of fabric for a runner, and packing our day of items for our planner.

My advice to a Bride to be

I’m sure you have heard this before and will hear it from other couples, but always keep in mind why you are getting married. It’s not about the décor, flowers, dress, or food. All these things come together to make your wedding day magical, but the reason you are here is for two whole people to profess their love to each other before God and make Him the third strand in your marriage. In the moment it may seem like you have to have the perfect flower, charger, jewelry, but when the reception is over and the cake is gone you’re left with God and your husband. There were times during this process I had to remember this, because unless you have an unlimited budget you will have to compromise on things that seem like you cannot possibly go without.

Also, never stray from your vision of how you and your fiancé want to celebrate this day. For us it was a morning wedding and a brunch reception. We are both early birds and love brunch and we were not changing this for anyone. Even after being told by several people it was too early and they would not be in attendance. That was perfectly fine by us, because as long as we are both there along with our priest, immediate family, and friends the show will go on.

My last piece of advice it to make sure you have a strong bridal team. This has definitely been one of the things that has kept me calm during this process. Most people will contract a wedding planner, but I also contracted a bridal stylist after meeting her at The Coordinated Bride Brunch. Contracting Selina Howard of Vainglorious Brides was an additional cost to our wedding budget that was worth every penny and more. She has been so instrumental in making sure my entire wedding party is styled according to my vision. She jumped right in from miles ways to help me find the perfect dress. I am completely calm knowing that she will be here on the morning of our wedding to dress me and my bridesmaids. I haven’t had to stress about accessories, finding my sold out shoes, or finding dresses for my bridesmaids. Selina has been a true blessing and having her be a part of my “Bridal Dream Team” has brought me so much peace.

One week and counting! When this entry is posted I will be preparing to walk down the aisle to marry Carl.