Weddings are a happy and exciting time in people’s lives. The memories made are unforgettable. Everything wedding related is associated with happiness, greatness, and all things good. What they don’t tell you is how stressful, annoying, and time consuming everything is BEFORE the wedding.

This weekend I’ve been dealing with my older sister’s wedding. My mother and sister have been Pinteresting and discussing ideas for months. They didn’t actually start putting all these ideas in motion until two weeks ago. I’ve spent hours gluing twine to jars and bottles, making icicle lights into normal looking strands of lights, moving hundreds of chairs and tables, and being bossed around by everyone older than me to get things done. This is the first wedding I’ve actually been a part of, and it’s definitely not all it’s cracked up to be.

Weddings are a battle between the bride, the bride’s mother, and any other woman involved. Each of the have their own opinions on what needs to be done, what looks the best, and how things should go. It’s ridiculous. The worst part is, you can’t even avoid it. It’s not like a catty schoolyard fight where you can walk away or forget about it. Weddings are all-consuming. It sucks everyone and everything in with no way out. There are also a million of little things that have to be accounted for and done that most people don’t even think of.

I know if I was just attending a wedding, I wouldn’t notice if the flowers were a carnation pink as opposed to a magenta. Yet, it seems like brides and all those involved find the importance of these types of things to be to the extreme. It also must be some sort of sickness that all brides get because they automatically become the most indecisive beings on the planet when they are asked to make a decision about their wedding (at least when it comes to people in my family). It’s THEIR wedding. So it's THEIR choice.

Why is that so difficult to choose? It is beyond baffling. If there is any day when a woman can be extremely selfish, it’s their own wedding day. Yet, they all decide that they can’t pick anything because they are worried about everyone and anything else under the sun that is completely unrelated. And let’s just take a second to call out how lucky the grooms are. They don’t have to foot the bill for the wedding. They don’t have to plan anything. They don’t have to do much of anything except for be at the wedding and remember the vows. That’s it. It's ridiculous how much work women have to put into weddings in comparison to men. I would’ve gladly chosen to be a guy this weekend if it meant not dealing with the crazy, stressful time before the wedding.

If a wedding is in your near future, just know, in the end it is worth it. Yes, people will be talking about the wedding for days. Yes, you'll probably be finding glitter for weeks on end. However, the couple is happy, the guests are having fun, and the memories are unforgettable. Knowing that you were a part of something that got put together so beautifully is reward enough. Just remember, the ridiculousness and emotional craziness that is the pre-wedding is real. Don’t be fooled by all the happy hype.