I have always adored weddings. I have thought about my wedding countless times, seen every wedding show ever aired on television and have bombarded my Pinterest followers with countless pictures of wedding cakes, dresses, and flowers. The idea of weddings has always excited me, whether it be my own wedding or the wedding of a complete stranger, and thus I have long looked forward to the day when I could finally start planning my own big day. Now that I’m engaged, and with the wedding less than a year away, I’ve come to find out that there are many things about planning a wedding which years of daydreaming don’t prepare you for.

I don’t mean to say that wedding planning has been any less exciting than I had hoped for it to be. I have loved every moment my Fiancé and I have spent preparing for the ceremony that will mark the official beginning of us spending the rest of our lives together. However, I think I have been excited about it for different reasons than I had expected, and have found that some of the little things I thought would be incredibly important simply pale in comparison to the reality of what the day is celebrating.

I began to realize how unprepared I was as the wedding planning process kicked into high-gear. One thing which wedding daydreams don’t even begin to touch on is the hassle of gathering the contact information of every friend and family member who you want to send an invitation to. You never think of all the time you will spend posting on Facebook, or sending emails and text messages as you work to hunt down every last relative who will surely want to see you on the big day.

Additionally, even as a couple who is planning a modestly priced wedding, I was never really prepared for all the hours I have spent working and saving to pay for the big day. You hardly think of the time you will spend comparing prices, or searching out the vendors who can give you the things you created in your head over the years.

But what I really wasn’t prepared for when I was planning my wedding were the things that were better than I imagined. For one, you never really think about what it will be like to blend the wedding dreams of you and your spouse together, and how this combination of ideas and plans will be a million times more special to you than any of the ideas you have made up before on your own. Also, you can never really accurately imagine yourself in a wedding dress until you have just finished buttoning one up and look at your reflection in the mirror. For me, the superficial aspects of planning a wedding melted away. All the silly little things that I thought about before I was engaged became foolish and childish desires, and what I was truly excited for was the fact that I would be spending the rest of my life with someone I loved beyond words. The day would be special no matter where it took place, what color of dresses the bridesmaids wore or what type of flowers I carried down the aisle, because the day was ours. Planning a wedding is no doubt one of the most stressful things that my fiancé and I have done together, and the planning is no where near complete; however, compromising the less important details and working so our ideas can come together into a day where we celebrate our love is also an on of the most exciting steps in our relationship.