Bride-to-be Blogger Stephanie: I’m Getting Married Tomorrow!

Pat proposing to Stephanie in the White House Rose Garden! Photo by Evan Vucci.

One more day! The culmination of a year and a half of planning is here. I can’t believe it. My wedding weekend has officially begun! When I say I can’t believe it, I mean it’s truly hard to wrap my head around it. It feels surreal.

I’m a bit disappointed in myself in that I’m struggling to relax and enjoy. Here I sit at the computer typing away at 2 in the morning. There’s not been a day all week that I haven’t gone to bed before 3:00am. It’s inconceivable how many last-minute tasks there are. On the way to the rehearsal dinner tonight, I was scribbling notes to my flower girls. I had hoped to write long, well-deserved thank-yous to both them and my bridesmaids, but simply ran out of time. I will be sure to do it after the wedding.

I’m very anxious about the weather. We make the call tomorrow (well, today since it’s already early morning) as to whether we’ll plan to have the ceremony outside as I’ve been dreaming of (it’s what made me choose the Four Seasons!), or if we have to resort to Plan B in the ballroom. The forecast has fluctuated constantly. At first, it was going to be perfection—mid-80s, slightly overcast, no rain. Then, it was rain all day long. Now, it looks like rain in the evening. I know I have no control over it, so it’s utterly pointless to worry, but I can’t seem to get it off my mind. I know it will be beautiful no matter what. It’s just that I’ve been dreaming of that courtyard. It’s where I envisioned myself walking down the aisle over and over again. But we’ll see. I’ve got to stop worrying about it!

I’m hoping after packing up my stuff to head down to the hotel this morning (currently, there’s an enormous, disorganized pile of things to bring scattered on my bedroom floor), a wave of calm is going to wash over me. At that point, I will have finished nearly everything. I’m still polishing up a thank-you speech, a letter to Pat, and giving my vows a final look over; the to-do list is truly endless. It’s unreal. But I’m dying to just sit back and enjoy. And I’m hoping and praying today/tomorrow is the day!

While not stress-free, this week has been filled with some magnificent moments that have brought me so much happiness:

On Wednesday afternoon, I was sitting at my computer responding to vendor emails when the doorbell rang. Pat’s Aunt Maryann had come to deliver a gift for me, and with it, a letter. I couldn’t believe she had driven all the way out to my house to hand it to me in person, and the letter had me in tears nearly instantly. It was so thoughtful, so insightful, so spot-on. I’m overwhelmed by how incredibly lucky I am to be marrying into a family that’s more than I could have ever hoped for, and they welcomed me into it a long, long time ago. That was great-moment number one.

Great-moment number two: picking up my wedding gown. I ended up having four fittings, as there was an issue so persistent and so challenging to fix. Each visit was nerve-wracking and disconcerting. While I was scheduled just to pick up the dress, I asked if I could try it on once more to ensure that it was perfect. And when I put it on, I was just so full of joy—just overcome with happiness. And then when I asked my sister what she thought and glanced over her way, I saw tears streaming down her face—which incited plenty of my own. I exchanged hugs with nearly every employee in the shop, who seemed genuinely thrilled for me. One final hug from my seamstress after placing my dress in my car, and the waterworks were in full-force. Everything got very real very quickly. My wedding dress is one of the things I’m most looking forward to for Saturday. I can’t wait to put it on, and I can’t wait to see what Pat thinks of it.

Great/hysterical-moment number three. As I mentioned, I’ve been heading to bed every night far past midnight, so getting up in the morning has been impossible. My body refuses to move; my eyes are glued shut. But earlier this week, just before 8:00am, I hear my mom whispering above me, “Stephanie, Stephanie.” And when I open my eyes, what do I see? I see my mom fully dressed in her gown for the wedding. Rather than being irritated by this wake-up call (as I can tend to be), I just broke out into laughter. What a scene. Unfazed, my mom began asking me about whether I thought the bra she was wearing with it worked, if I could see any lines. I couldn’t see anything! My eyes were barely open. Later in the day, I wondered if it had been a dream. But nope, it happened.

And the final great moment of the week: watching my dad begin to get really excited about the wedding. When I walked in the door late one night earlier this week, he couldn’t wait to share his speech with me. I’ve also caught him practicing his dance steps while watching TV and quietly humming the tune. It’s just kind of unexpected from my dad—beautifully unexpected.

And there have been plenty of other incredible moments—but these are the ones my over-worked brain can process now. I’m one incredibly lucky bride. And now, it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy. It’s time to savor every moment. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard that the day goes by way too fast. So I’m hoping all the worrying disappears, and it’s time to have fun!

At some point during your planning, has a calm washed over you? Fingers crossed!

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