Engagement Party

Now that you are starting to float down to reality after your ascent to cloud 9, an engagement party may be on the horizon. It is customary for someone else to throw your engagement party but you certainly can do this or be involved. I was lucky and had a surprise engagement party so I didn't have to plan a thing :) But if you aren't in that boat, take the party on as a simple celebration. I would recommend saving your pennies for the BIG day. Have an intimate gathering of close friends and family, serve the bubbly for toasting and finger foods to keep it light. This celebration is a great time to ask your sister or best friend to be your maid/matron of honor and for your hubby-to-be to ask his brother or best friend to be his best-man on the big day. For goodness sakes, let your soon-to-be-in-laws smother you...this is the beginning of a long relationship with them, now that you are getting hitched to their son, so get used to the attention. You will be asked 101 questions about your plan so get ready to answer away. In no way do you have to give away all your secrets, especially if your family will give you a hard time, criticize or give you opinions you don't necessarily want. Be courteous, smile and say that you have started purchasing wedding magazines to get the ideas flowing. Enjoy this party because your bridal stress and time-line is about to kick in full throttle.

Cloud Nine

Now that you are officially engaged, you must be floating on cloud nine! This is a very impulsive, vulnerable, exciting time and uber important you don't make any hasty decisions...like asking random friends to be bridesmaids on a whim. You have every right to be over the moon and shout your excitement from the rooftops but, you don't want to make any promises you can't keep. Once you ask your third grade BFF to be a bridesmaid or promise your old neighbor they can make a toast...you can't take those back. Well, you can but it won't be nice or pretty and everyone will start calling you bridezilla- a bride's worst nightmare. So keep your cool, as much as you want EVERYONE to take part in your magical day, you've dreamed of since you were old enough to put on your mom's pearls and peep toe heels...keep your impulses to yourself. Smile, say thank you and show off that ring!

Xoxo Lo

Engaged! Congratulations!

Hooray you are engaged! This part is quintessential to keeping your cool throughout the wedding planning process. Try to repeat your proposal story over and over again until you've memorized every detail down to the T. When your spouse-to-be starts driving you crazy, or the wedding planning starts overwhelming you, repeat this story to remind yourself why you're getting married again :) Try to soak up this short moment of being a newly engaged couple as long as possible. I remember not wanting to let go of that memory, I even got a little bit of the wedding blues. Like every other girl who spends hours dreaming about the man she'll marry and how he'll propose...my moment of that proposal had finally come...and gone. But I had to quickly remind myself about all the excitement, happiness and fun that was lying ahead. So go ahead...take a long gander at that beautiful ring, close your eyes and walk down memory lane of your proposal story, one more time.

Xoxo Lo