...Lemme tell you a little story. Because I'm
MARRIED.
My H and I spent nearly two years planning our "dream" destination wedding at a ski resort in Montana. We bought vases and paper flowers for centerpieces on the cocktail tables. I spent like 1,000 hours gluing fake rose petals to a sheet for an aisle runner. We booked hotel rooms and planned for an evening ceremony at a bar/restaurant we had rented out at the top of a mountain. I practiced sitting in my dress because we had to take a ski lift to get up there.
And then, 40 days before the wedding, everything changed. My mom, my best friend, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Our whole lives were put on hold. 30 days before the wedding, she decided not to take treatment. She wanted to enjoy her time without being so sick she couldn't live happily. We were told that her life expectancy would be "measured in weeks as opposed to months". 29 days before the wedding, I cancelled it. Enlisted my brother to call everyone who was coming. I wanted to forget about the wedding completely. We've been together 7 years - we'll get married some other time. Let's focus on my mom. I hated that people were asking about the wedding those first 10 days. She's dying - a wedding does. not. matter.
She was insistent that we have a wedding. I don't blame her. So we looked at a state park. Stupid. I was trying to be okay with a backyard or courthouse ceremony (nothing wrong with those - at all, just not what I had wanted or spent two years saving for) since we didn't have much time before she started getting super sick. We live in suburban Chicago and I had told my sister how expensive it is to get married at the Sears Tower (NOT the "Willis" Tower). She mentioned that there's a restaurant at the top of the John Hancock building - on the 95th floor. So I googled. And called. Surprisingly enough, they had an opening for a Sunday evening - 13 days away. We booked it immediately. Called the seamstress and rushed my dress. We were even able to afford a cocktail style reception which is what I had wanted for our original wedding.
Everyone on the guest list except two out-of-towners came. It was fantastic. Beautiful views of the city and the lake, amazing food. My mom looked great. It wasn't what I had wanted, but it was perfect. I lost some deposits in MT, but I didn't give a fuck. I would never dream of a PPD or even a vow-renewal. We're married and my mom was there. That's all that matters. I encourage you PPDers to think about what really matters when you get caught up in your wedding magazines and TV shows. A beautiful, quick wedding can be done and I promise that it will mean more than a re-do.
Sorry for the sap story - I wanted to share since so many of you have helped me over these past two years. I come and go and am not a reg, but I appreciate all of you. So, PICS!