Hello all! I am relatively newly engaged (he proposed a month ago after 8 years!) and never, ever thought I would be a stressed out bride. Well, here I am, already freaking out! This is so not my style, and I don't know how to handle it! I always thought if we got married we would have none of the family drama people talk about because our families are both amazing, none of the super detail worry because we both just want to have a classic fun night. Wrong!
I think I will feel much better once the venue issue is settled, but of course things for next summer/fall are already booked up leaving limited available dates. After a whirlwind of research and site visits and neglecting other important things in my life, we found a place we both love that fits our vision... it's a bit of a drive, but I like that it will give our guests a mini-getaway experience in a great location (especially since almost all of them would get hotel rooms anyway). The problem: It has only two available dates. One is in the early summer, 2 weeks before my sisters wedding. Some people are encouraging to do that, and it does fit our vision of being all outside better, but nothing is worth making her feel anything negative about either of our weddings and I'm not entirely convinced she would be ok with it. The other date is a beautiful fall date that happens to be the anniversary of our proposal. It also happens to be the weekend my fiance's family has gone on a little night away trip for the last 50 or so years to celebrate his grandparents anniversary. I thought it would be a cool way to honor them to have it on that date, but I also understand how important tradition can be so would get it if they didn't want us to do it that day. Since speaking to his mother about it a week ago she hasn't given us any feedback, except her first reaction was not understanding why we would have a "destination" wedding when it wasn't cheaper than having it closer to our hometown. For what you get for the money there compared to here, it is a much better deal! There are several places closer to our home that I would be happy to get married at, but my fiance doesn't love anything around here. Anyway, we tentatively put our name on the books for that location and need to give them a deposit or turn it down by Saturday, so I'm trying my best to patiently wait.
My future MIL also hasn't returned the guest list I sent to her for her additions almost 3 weeks ago. I've always thought we had a great relationship, and maybe I'm being too sensitive about these things, but I'm definitely worrying that she isn't as keen on this wedding business as I thought she might be!
Finally, I just learned that my cousin is preparing to propose to his girlfriend very soon and that, despite not being engaged yet, they already have plans to be married in the fall (his second wedding). This potentially means 3 family weddings in a matter of 4 months! Given all of this, I genuinely wish I could wait until 2014! My academic program will simply not allow time for a wedding after May of 2013, and if I'm being entirely honest, I feel like I've waited for 8 years for this already and I don't want to wait anymore!
Thanks for listening. I'm probably overreacting to all this stuff (another thing I am NOT used to doing), but I just want this part to be settled!