Connect
My lifelong dream come true
by A bride like you
I never knew what my dress would look like, the flower details, or even the location – I just knew I wanted to find someone I could spend the rest of my life with and when I did it would be a big celebration. In June of 2008, my lifelong dream came true. My boyfriend and best friend for the past year and a half proposed to me while we were swimming in the Mediteranean Sea in St. Tropez. It was a complete surprise, but yet I knew from the moment we started dating (actually the moment we went from being just friends to having a crush on him) that we would be together. So it was just a matter of time.
So we got engaged and started spreading the good news. Next step, deciding on the wedding plans. I thought it would be a breeze for me – I am very particular and detailed; I know what I like and I know how to make it happen. I also have done event planning as a career, so I had no fear that I could not make it happen! Boy, was I wrong.
I forgot that I am also a people pleaser, and I worry about every little detail and what people are going to think. I fretted over things like should we do a big wedding in our hometown of Chicago or do a beach wedding somewhere tropical because we love to travel. I worried about what dress to wear – should I pick something I really want, or listen to what everyone else thinks I should wear? I worried about doing a traditional Catholic mass for my family or doing a simple ceremony for the non-Catholics in the group. And so it went…on and on and on.
I spent the first two months of planning losing sleep and sick to my stomach over the details – the costs, the bridesmaids, the food, the location. I was losing sight of what was really important: the celebration of two people coming together to start their lives together. I forgot that this was about my fiancé and me. We had found each other – and after 19 years of knowing each other, our stars had finally aligned. Life was amazing!
I have now been engaged for over 5 months…I still have over 9 months before my wedding. I still get caught up in the details and worry about things – right now I am trying to figure out how to find dresses that work for 11 bridesmaids – but I am working on it. I find yoga, running, invigorating work projects, good friends, and my very cool, calm, and chilled-out fiancé who reminds me that everything will be amazing and that we are in this together all help. And when I really think about what this is all about – that I am marrying my best friend and this is just the start of our lives together – I remember that it will be an amazing party and celebration – because I am celebrating my lifelong dream coming true.
by Monica Rohleder
