repost: 10 days after - Lessons Learned

it has been 10 days since the wedding and we have yet to fully recover. although things didn't go perfectly, I believe I had the wedding of my dreams. most of our suppliers did phenomenal, I say most because one of them really stressed everyone out. (more on that later).

married life has been fun so far. the past 10 days have been a blur of adjustments, compromises and real life changes. I am overly happy and I really could not ask for anything more (well except for a new phone, hahaha). we planned the wedding for more than a year and yes it's true what they say that everything passes by so fast, sometimes I actually wish I could press rewind and experience it all over again just so I can relish the feeling of getting married one more time.

former brides and now wives have been telling me I better enjoy the preps cause I'll miss it for sure. well so far I havent missed it yet. I dont miss the stress, the sleepless nights, the so emotional crying-over-just-about-anything days and oh yeah, the stress. i am over-to-the-moon happy that I dont have to deal with never ending schedule changes and pasaway suppliers (okay, I only had one pasaway supplier).

i want to relive the wedding, not the preps. now that I have the time to look back, I actually think one of the reasons why I was so happy on our wedding day (well aside from the fact I'm finally marrying the love of my life), was because the preps were finally FINALLY over. haha. :)

in 19 months of prepping (is there even such a word?) I have learned a few stuff that I do want to share them with the rest of the brides out there:

1. It is never too early to start planning.

we started the whole preparation thing April 2008 and we did get a lot of "ano ba yan ang aga aga pa masyado.." and "sus, ang tagal pa naman pala. madami pang pwedeng mangyari.", etc. we also got a lot of snickers and giggles behind our backs (some even not bothering to hide their amusement) everytime we'd tell them our wedding would be in December 2009. I admit I got hurt the first few times I heard their comments, but I just consoled myself with the thought that it's our wedding anyway, not theirs.

because we planned months ahead, we managed to save a lot. we were able to get the previous rates of our suppliers. we were also able to get the suppliers we wanted. we had the time to canvass, research and actually meet them before deciding. we had the time to run around bridal fairs without the pressure of actually needing to book somebody. preparing early is one thing I feel thankful we did, most especially since we had a December wedding. as all us brides and former brides now, December is the new June so it really pays to start early.

2. To each his own. Take every feedback with a grain of salt.

FACT: brides (and grooms) are all different. yes some have the same taste, the same fashion sense, the same ideas, but at the end of the day, bottomline: we're still all different. what worked for one couple may not necessarily for you, thus there's no point in comparing and in raising hell when one supposedly well-loved supplier fails you. there's no point in asking: "bakit sa kanila pwede, samin di gumana?" again: EVERY WEDDING IS DIFFERENT.

w@w has been a wealth of information and has truly guided us in choosing our suppliers. the feedback part is great but early on I realized never to rely on it so much, to the point that the feedback will be the main reason why we're hiring a supplier. yes, research on your prospective suppliers but please, learn to trust your own instincts as well.

and just the same as good feedback doesnt guarantee good service, bad feedback also does not automatically mean you'll get bad service. like in our case a lot of people had really bad things to say about our videographer, but heck when we met him, we trusted him off bat. we went with our guts and he has given us the best prenup and onsite videos ever. the key to getting great suppliers is trusting your own guts. really.

3. Let Go. Have fun.

I was adamant on letting go of all the wedding stress a week before and had it not been for the pasaway supplier, I would have succeeded. nevertheless, to this day I still pride myself for letting go of everything on the wedding day itself. some people disappeared from the guestlist ( my fault, by the way.)? whatever. the avp I worked so hard on didnt play? dedma. my designer who was supposed to bustle up my gown so I can dance during the reception didnt even show his face? haay. ipasadiyos nalang.

I was able to enjoy every single second of the wedding because I did not allow myself to stress over the little things. I never prayed for a perfect wedding, all I ever wanted was to be able to enjoy it and I got just that, thank God. The glitches actually made it more special and endearing and funny and memorable. To this day I am so thankful that not only did we have reliable suppliers who were able to ride through the glitches, more than that I am so grateful that God allowed me to let go and I did.


it has been 10 days and no, I dont have post-wedding blues. I'm just happy, really really happy. :) Best Wishes to all brides out there. keep visiting this blog for more wedding inspiration pictures. :)

take care,

Mrs. Maan Rodriguez- Alonzo :)

--
I am a witness to the suffering of my people.
I am a chronicler of truth and a catalyst of change.

-The Scholastican-