Highland Park Birmingham Wedding at The Clubhouse on Highland

First off, I love this couple and loved this August day.

Secondly, let’s talk about engagement and wedding planning and let’s be reallllyyyy honest. So when Austin and I got engaged I was convinced I wasn’t going to lose perspective and was going to be the easiest/most chill bride ever. *news flash* I wasn’t.

I didn’t realize how quickly you can get pulled into all of it... and can I just agree with you that budgeting is hard and good vendors start to all feel crazy EXPENSIVE as you try and add everything up?

I let the budgeting and unmet expectations of other people steal my joy, and looking back it makes me so sad. I don’t regret the thought put into budgeting/cutting back where I could, but I regret the moments where I wanted something and realized I wasn’t going to be able to have it, and then responded wrong in my heart (because I had made an idol out of it). I tried hard to fight all of it with gratitude but sometimes I fell flat on my face.... You know why?

Because I wanted to plan the perfect wedding. And you know what? There only gets to be one of those.

The holes in our weddings (the things that go wrong, the people that don’t show up, the things you love/can’t afford) are the sweetest reminders that our weddings are just a small foretaste of the PERFECT wedding we’ll celebrate when Jesus comes back and claims the bride he died for. Turn your disappointments into longings for THE wedding, THE feast, THE groom.

My wedding didn’t cut it because it’s not supposed to. If you can’t afford that floral arrangement, or textured edge paper, or fine art photographer or band, it’s going to be so okay. With the Gospel, You and I are not missing out on anything, friend.

I affirm the desire in you to want to have a beautiful wedding and celebration... those are good desires... but know that your day won’t be everything and that that’s also a really good thing. The best is yet to come. Happy Planning!