Something Borrowed, Something True 2016

Hello friends! It's been quite some time since I've done an installment for the Something Borrowed series. I've really had a blast sharing some of the tips from our brides and grooms. I feel like it's opened my eyes a little more to seeing how other people handle wedding planning. When I first created this series last year, I didn't plan on it being this incredibly insightful for myself. We all have encounter different problems and have different understandings, which helps makes our experiences unique, and my goal for those blogs is to share the tips that others have picked up through the planning process. However, with everything, it wasn't long until I realized that I was learning a lot too.

It's pretty awesome to be able to apply the lessons that others have learned to your own life. The tips that our previous couples have shared can still have an impact on more than just a wedding day. Shawn and I have been married for two years, and there really isn't anything about the day I could think to change. So I wouldn't expect the words my couples share to be resonating with me, but they absolutely do. Whether it's in the reflection of how I look at our wedding, or how I go about life in general. Our couples have really made a difference to our life and hopefully to a lot of others.

Something Borrowed, Something You

One of my favorite excerpts from a Something Borrowed post came from Katie and Matt. Their advice was to choose the things that you want to reflect you the most. It seems like an obvious thing to do, but in reality, we let the opinions of others control us so much that sometimes we don't recognize when we aren't being ourselves. This applies to life in a grand way, and I've found that after reading those words, I am being more true to who I am. It doesn't matter what your big picture is, whether it's a wedding or buying a pair of shoes. You must always keep in mind what speaks to you.

Lists, Lists, Lists

Something that I think we can all get on board with is the tip from Kristy and Jonathan. They gave the incredible idea of making a list of "must-haves" at the very beginning and sticking to that. Kristy mentioned that it was so helpful and kept them from making too many plans or financial mistakes. If there is one thing that I love, it's list making. During our wedding planning process, I had spreadsheets and documents galore. You wanted detailed lists of how much each vendor was costing? As Ariel would say, I've got 20. Even after wedding day was complete, I continued making lists for what I would do every day. It increased the feeling of productivity and really held me accountable.

All of the organization has even helped us as we save for a house. Shawn keeps detailed reports of our spending and how much we are saving each month. It puts a real fire under us and makes us ask, "Do we really need to be buying that?"

Enjoy Every Moment

The lesson that has taken me by the most surprise came from Ali and Matt. They wrote, "Enjoy each moment that you two have planning your wedding. It's a one time thing, so make memories and enjoy every minute of it." It seems very directed toward the wedding, I know, but stay with me. We all know how fast time flies by. One minute you're having a BBQ with your family for 4th of July, and the next second it's Thanksgiving and you're all eating turkey. Life does not slow down for anyone, so we can't expect to always have the people or the things that we surround ourselves with. Time needs to be savored, and every moment lived should be - in some way - enjoyed.

Yesterday was year 8 of losing my dad. I busied myself with Christmas shopping and thinking of everything that I needed to do. When I slowed down for even just a second I was reminded that he's not here anymore. The memory of losing him hurts so much, but what keeps me smiling are the moments I got with him. Those thoughts keep me warm and full of love. I spent most of yesterday on my own gathering gift bags and knick-knacks. Then Shawn called and asked if I wanted to get dinner with him. It's something we often do, but it meant a great deal more last night.

I think of the moments I want to look back on at the end of my life and, of course, things like our wedding are on that list. But deeper than that is little moments of playing boardgames with my in-laws, or watching Hallmark movies with my mom with my step-dad laughing at us for crying :P. Cherish these moments when they happen, because it's what makes life so spectacular.

Bring on 2017!

I've been gathering a lot of advice from our 2016 couples for next year's Something Borrowed blogs. I know that 2017 is going to be such a fantastic year of learning and sharing. I can't wait!