Let me start off by saying this was quite the experience and definitely didn’t go the way I anticipated.

I was supposed to be in a wedding before, but it was fortunately canceled. At first I was hurt because my dress arrived right when it was canceled, but now I’m happy it’s a union that never happened.

However, the bride and groom for this wedding are so incredibly perfect for each other, and I was more than happy to stumble down a path and witness their union. The way he ugly cried when he saw her with nothing but pure affection and love in his eyes will forever be implanted inside my brain.

Ugly cry: the kind of cry you experience when you feel intensely about someone/something that causes your face to contort into something completely different.

There’s a video that goes with this writing, and I will do my best not to repeat everything in the video.

Of course, there are MANY things that happened on this trip that I won’t talk about and will never make it to the internet.

However, something that will make it to the internet is the unfathomable amount of money I spent on this wedding.

financial breakdown

Dress: $99.95
Alterations: approx. $120
Jewelry: $7.90
Special Piercings: $201.02 *cries*
Nails: $80 + $20 for tip (I don’t want to talk about it)
Hair: $88.81 (tried to return excess hair & only got $33.99 credit)
Gas: approx. $56 (to get there)

Now you see why I was more than a little stressed in the video. Stress wasn’t the only emotion I experienced during this trip though.

Yep, I’m about to expose myself A LOT more.

emotions

As the time approached to go to the AirBnB, I definitely felt scared of being judged because I was introducing new people to my personality.

The way I heard some bridesmaids talking about other bridesmaids when they left the room felt very high school. It was another reminder you can find elements of high school in every setting.

Honestly, I felt frustrated and uncomfortable and a little iced out most of the time, which had nothing to do with the impending doom of my period. Part of my frustration came from not speaking up when necessary and the disorganization of several things.

Of course, once it came time for the wedding and reception, all I felt was pure joy and happiness… and still a little discomfort; I was forced out of my box, in a good way.

While I felt all these feelings, I also learned quite a few things.

lessons learned

• Have a back up plan for literally everything, no matter how big or small the detail.
• Major decisions should be finalized at least two weeks before the wedding.
• Communicate with all the bridesmaids instead of relying on the maid of honor to communicate important wedding details to the bridesmaids. I understand having a group chat without the bride, but that should mostly be for the bachelorette party discussion.
• Include RSVP on the invite to get a rough estimate of who will be attending, which is important to avoid overspending.
• Take the financial and life status of your bridal party into consideration when it comes to making several decisions.
• No matter how unorthodox the wedding, always have a method of organization for the ceremony and the reception.

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Once I got past the sickness, frustration, and discomfort, I can easily say I had a good time.

Looking past some of the down moments, more than anything, this was a time for me to invest in myself and feel beautiful, a rarity for me nowadays.