As you begin this wedding planning journey you may be wondering just how much the smallest (and even some of the biggest) details matter at the end of the day. I want to share with you three stories from my own experience and let you be the judge.
Photo: Fox and Owl Studio
My husband and I got married on a Christmas tree farm, so I collected leftover wood cuts from the Christmas trees and turned them into hand-painted ornaments. I attached a cute little note about how our guests’ “presence” at our wedding was the greatest gift and put one at each person’s seat with their name on it. By the end of the night, I can’t tell you how many people thanked me for their “coasters.” They all completely mistook the ornaments for drink coasters (and were likely wondering why they weren’t doing a better job wicking away moisture).
Just two months after our wedding and a week before I opened Loveliest to the public, I had an open house to thank my family members, co-workers, and friends for their amazing support. I was living in newlywed bliss and was very proud of my not-so-social husband for chatting with everybody throughout the evening. And then…
He came up to me and said:
“I’ve been telling everyone that the dress on the mannequin was yours. That’s right isn’t it?”
After a long pause I laughed and shook my head. To me, the dress on the mannequin wasn’t even close to the same as mine: mine was crepe and the other was satin; mine had straps and a v-neckline and the other was a strapless sweetheart; mine didn't have a ruched bodice or skirt and the other had both. I could understand how he might see certain similarities, such as an ivory dress with a beaded belt, but after only two months married to a detail-oriented engineer, I was surprised by how quickly the features of my dress faded into the background.
Photo: Fox and Owl Studio
More recently, we were out to dinner and I caught our server dancing to “You Make My Dreams” by Hall and Oates. I laughed and waived him over. I pointed out that it was a song you couldn’t not dance to and that it was the exit song we played after our wedding ceremony. I looked up at my husband and saw a blank look on his face. He did not remember that tidbit in the slightest. A detail that is etched in my mind so vividly completely escaped him.
My husband selected our first dance song, teared up during our ceremony, and made me feel as beautiful and loved as ever that day, so do I mind if he doesn’t remember exactly what my dress looked like or to which song we danced out of our ceremony? Not one bit. Your wedding day is about so much more than the details that we all tend to agonize over, so go for meaningful (but possibly not DIY) favors, pick the dress that makes you light up (they really just want to see you happy), and dance the night away to whatever music you select, knowing that everyone might not remember exactly which songs played, but they will remember how they felt celebrating your love. And I hope that feeling is really the part that will stick with you the most too! Happy wedding planning!