After getting engaged last year, I wasted no time in starting to plan our wedding. This is something that I’ve dreamed about for years – yes, I was one of those little girls who tried to picture what one of the most important days of my life would be like, what kind of dress I would be wearing, what colour flowers I would be carrying, — I could go on and on.

So now that the planning is in full swing, I am soaking up every bit of it.

We are very excited to be getting married in Hawaii this summer and I really couldn’t have dreamt of a better location. We have picked a beautiful historic cottage on the beach as our venue – we actually will be getting married in the backyard garden of the cottage. We have a small group of family coming with us to celebrate and a few weeks later we will have a reception with all of our friends and extended family when we return.

The cool thing is that our family who is able to make our wedding will also get a vacation out of it. How fun is that?

Looking back to five or even 10 years ago if I were to have gotten married, our wedding would look quite a bit different. I used to want a huge wedding, with a ton of guests, I would have wanted a large wedding party and the whole event would have just been a lot grander.

Now, our wants for a wedding have changed. It’s ultimately about us and nothing else really matters. I know the wedding we are planning now will be totally reflective of us as a couple and individuals – something of course it always should be, but doesn’t always happen with every couple or wedding – there does tend to be endless opinions on all things wedding.

I have found planning our wedding to be a little overwhelming at times. There are so many things to choose from when it comes to venues, décor, food, and music. Really, the possibilities are endless and I found when I was first starting out it was tough to decide what direction to take.

But within a few weeks of going over all the information I had collected (and thanks to my very type A personality), we had a plan figured out and the rest has fallen into place.

First thing off the list was finding a wedding dress. This was a somewhat stressful but fun experience. After only visiting two bridal stores, I found the most perfect dress and it’s exactly what I pictured myself wearing.

Next on the list was reception décor and trying to settle on a theme. We ended up with a beach/cottage theme for our reception to help tie it in with the Hawaii/beach wedding venue and I think it’s going to be very romantic.

When it comes to any type of project, I’m a do-it-yourselfer and I think of myself as pretty crafty. I saw a picture of a beautiful votive with hydrangea petals and I really wanted to recreate it. So 9,000 petals and 75 votive candles later, I am ready to get to work on this project that will no doubt feel like it will take a lifetime to complete. But, now that I have the idea in my head, I know it’s going to make the reception room, so it’s something I won’t be able to live without. This is just one of the crazy ideas that is being poured into our big day.

Although for the most part, so far planning has been a breeze, there have been moments of stress, sheer panic and feelings of being totally overwhelmed. But of course joy and excitement triumph over those feelings for the most part thankfully.

I am so ready for the day to come and more importantly I am so excited to be married to my best friend.

efawcett@reddeerexpress.com