Bridezilla

Alright, so since I am recently engaged myself and have many recent brides and brides-to-be in my life right now...this rant is completely necessary. Planning that special day is hectic, overwhelming and stressful especially when you don't have an unlimited budget to work with. HOWEVER, that does not mean you can go all bridezilla on everyone's ass. A bride is entitled to many things like picking out THE dress, color scheme, and invites but don't forget who has to pay for it all. My parents are chipping in, but by no means are flipping for the whole bill that's for sure. I must say it's quite sickening witnessing a girl stomping her feet and throwing a tantrum at her mother for not being able to purchase that wedding gown that could very well be a down payment on a damn house. Put yourself together, woman...it's only a matter of time before your hubs strips you out of that dress anyway. :p

It seriously is absurd how these bridezillas treat their bridesmaids too. I've heard of everything from making them go on strict diets to not letting them cut their hair so it's a proper length. REALLY??? How could you do that to the most important ladies in your life (assuming they are and aren't just there to look pretty in your wedding photos). Seriously, some ladies just need to chill the eff out. HOWEVER, I do believe that bridezilla moments will happen somewhere along the line of wedding planning. For instance, I will soon have two sister-in-laws. One who is crazy excited about being a junior bridesmaid and another....who declined. Consider that to be a slap in the face. In this case, I feel that I am completely entitled to be offended and sound off to be fiancee about how I felt and to every single one of my other special ladies that are more than happy to be standing beside me at my wedding ;) . Also, I had to put my foot down about Star Wars save the dates....sorry honey...my grandmother will not be receiving one adorned with Darth Vader on the front. He's excited to have the task of making the save the dates and while I am a bit of a control freak, I was happy that he wanted to partake in the wedding planning in some way. Other than that he's left me to fish out the hideous wedding venue options to a top three before he visits places and all of the other details.

I for one am planning on being a very proactive bride and going all DIY about it. I mean seriously, I'll be damned if I pay up the ass for invitations that have a million pieces of paper in them that people will just eventually throw out. My sister got married last year and we found that Vistaprint is an AMAZING website for engagement and bridal shower invites. They always have discount codes to apply and are quick to deliver. I recently got an invite that seemed to include a short short story's worth of paper...what is the point?!?! I need a date, place, time and a cutesie photo with some creative flair. Done. I'm going for a vintage Hollywood type feel for the wedding so I'm planning on incorporating a lot of lace including the invites. :)

I understand some are more opinionated than others...that's totally cool with me and I am no stranger to having my own opinions. I know what I like and I know what I don't like but that doesn't mean I can completely disregard other people's well being for the sake of my wedding day. Sure I'll be crushed if I can't book that perfect venue that's completely out of the budget, but I'm pretty sure everyone's limbs will still be intact. As long as my future hubs is there at the end of the aisle (and I don't trip over my heels) I'll be the happiest bride ever. The second on my priority list is also having everyone there to celebrate our day. My fiancee and I both have pretty big families so keeping a tight budget for THE event of 2014 will be quite a challenge. BUT challenge accepted. Even with my long engagement (May 2014) I'm already stocked full of ideas from my mountain of wedding magazines. It's crazy to me that the average wedding these days costs around $26,000 according to WeddingStats.org. I don't know about you guys but there is NO WAY I am spending that much on one day. My sister's wedding definitely flew by and to spend so much on what seems like a moment is just something I can't stomach. I want to chill out and make the most out of this day without making my bank account dry heave. One thing I won't have to spend a dime on is the flowers which is HUGE. My aunt owns a flower shop and as a wedding present, will provide all of the flowers for the wedding!

I know it's still in the beginning stages of planning so I'm fully prepared to start requesting a prescription for Xanex in the near future. But in the mean time, I am definitely enjoying pinning wedding ideas and going through every wedding magazine I can find. (You know you have wedding fever when the highlight of your month is when new wedding magazines hit the stands.) I'm pretty on top of things so I don't think I'll end up rushing to schedule appointments or anything that is sure to engage bridezilla behavior.

The following is my top five list of how to avoid being the bitchiest bridezilla....

1. Be realistic- setting your heart on something that is clearly out of the budget will only want you to rip someone's head off

2. Stay focused- Remind yourself that all of your guests will be there for you and your hubs-to-be, not for the wedding favors and premium open bar.

3. Say thank you - sometimes saying "thank you" can go a long way especially if your parents are helping out with the cost of the wedding. There's nothing worse than coming off as an ungrateful bride and/or flat out bitch

4. Compromise - sure it's your day but hey, it's your man's day too. Don't monopolize the wedding plans if he wants to help out and come up with some different ideas than you initially had

5. Have fun- the goal is to only have one of these things so enjoy the process by asking for help and possibly host a party with your bridesmaids to help out with some DIY things for the reception i.e. center pieces. :)