As promised, I said that I would share my journey of wedding planning: what I learned and what I would do differently. Before the proposal, Chris and I already had several conversations about who would be in our wedding (plus or minus a few). He knew that I wanted something intimate with a few people. I knew that I would be moving to Houston soon, so we hired our planner right away at the end of May. I also wanted to ask the girls to be in my wedding before I got busy with moving away from Dallas where they all were. The girls already knew that they would be in the wedding, but they didn’t know what role each would be playing. Looking back in hindsight to that night, I should have made a change right then. However against my better judgment, I decided to proceed as planned, thinking things would get better. That was a BIG mistake! Always follow your gut instincts! Ok, I’ll move on lol.

Heather mentioned to me several times after the engagement in May that I could do the bridal proposals at her house, if I didn’t have anything else planned. Heather being Heather, she got the ball rolling by sending a message in the Bridesmaids GroupMe and checking to see if everyone was available on June 4th. She told them that we would be having a wine and cheese night celebrating my proposal before I moved to Houston. Heather was the only one that knew that I would be doing the proposals that night. I sent them individually personalized cards with our pictures from the engagement that stated “I can’t wait to celebrate my love with you at The Wagemanns.”

In the meantime, I explored Pinterest for ideas about Proposal Boxes, put my creative juices to work and made some cute personalized boxes with goodies. I got the empty boxes and fillers from Michael’s. Because I have a giving personality, I kept buying things that I saw to add to the boxes because I wanted them to be perfect. I ended up putting in each box: a ring pop; a “I found my guy but I still need my girls” flask from Things Remembered; a personalized wine glass from Etsy; scented lotions and also stress lotions from Bath & Body Works. I also pampered them beyond the proposal boxes and throughout the wedding. When Chris (who was in charge of finances) started giving me side eyes, I knew I had done enough lol. I can truly say that I spoiled my bridesmaids because I knew how much commitment, if accepted, would be expected.

The night was finally here, and I was so nervous. For a second, I totally understood why Chris was so anxious the night that he asked me to marry him. When all of the ladies arrived, I asked each lady individually if she would stand with me when I marry the Man of my dreams. I made it clear how important the day would be for Chris and I, and if they didn’t think they could handle that moment, they were free to leave. They all said YES and that they would be honored! Minus a few hiccups, the night overall was full of love, laughter, and plenty of wine. At that moment, our date was set, our planner was hired, I had my girls, and we had recent plans to talk about my bachelorette trip. Chris actually picked our wedding date 06.08, because we met through Greek life. During the planning process, I wasn’t secretive, but was extremely transparent with all of my ladies so that they would have my vision and know exactly what I wanted! My ladies made my wedding planning stress-free and peaceful. My wedding was so planned and organized! I was honestly so impressed at how well things turned out! I can’t wait to share more of my process in my next blog posts.

If I could give any advice to brides when picking the women that will be standing next to you on your day, I would tell you to choose them beyond your years of knowing them. This day is deeper than that! I knew a lot of women longer than some of my bridesmaids, but at this very moment, we were not close enough for them to be in my wedding. So many brides feel that they have to ask certain people to be in their wedding, but in all honesty, this is YOUR WEDDING and YOUR DECISION. The women standing next to you should genuinely care about you and your husband. Know their strengths and weakness! I knew what my bridesmaids were best at doing, and it made it easy for me when I gave them their roles.

XOXO – The Now Mrs. Robinson

Writer: Mrs. Robinson
Editor: Mr. Robinson