I was you once, on the outside looking in. I watched as those around me got engaged with lovely photos and videos of their momentous occasion. I thought, “I can’t wait until it’s me.” Because how could even the most anti-marriage person see an engagement photo and not imagine it happening to them?Getting engaged seems so happy and full of pure joy. Looking from the outside in, you see love in such a real form. It all seems so perfect. So, you couldn’t imagine too much stress after such a deep and momentous occasion.

And yet, there’s so much more to getting engaged and planning a wedding then anything a photo can show. You have to make a lot of decisions all at once with varying opinions around you, putting you in a constant whirlwind.

But don’t fret. I’m here to help as I go through this wedding planning process. Let’s just say I’m taking you along for the ride:

You Will Never Be 100% Ready: Think of graduating high school and entering college with no clue what you are doing. No longer are your parents responsible for being there every waking moment. Now, you are taking the first steps into adulthood, and it’s scary because you feel like you’re not fully prepared. No matter how long you wait to get engaged, it will never be perfect. You don’t have to be perfectly established to take those next steps with your significant other. As long as you are committed and are on the same page in regards to getting married, let God lead you into your marriage. Don’t listen to anyone who will try to hinder what you have.

You Can’t Please Everyone: This goes without saying, but it’s something that we tend to push aside as we are planning our big day. We want our loved ones to be involved and happy, but there’s no possible way to make everyone gleaming with joy on every decision we make.

It’s Your Wedding: You have to stay true to who you are because you’re the one that’s going to look back on those memories. You don’t want to have any regrets and feel like anyone roped you into making decisions that weren’t for you. It’s your day. Own it. You deserve it. It’s not being selfish or mean or rude. It’s being true to what you want – and that’s okay.

-Jas