My Bridentity Crisis (or should I say crises)

This post is dedicated to all the ways wedding anxiety has made me act irrationally.... trust me, this happens often enough in my daily life, but trying to plan a wedding in six months (and leaving for one of the six months) has made me act a little crazier than usual from time to time.

Exhibit A. Yesterday, I was so excited to receive the invitations we ordered that I saw a huge box in the mailbox area, saw the "490 Temperance St" address, and assumed it was my invitations. It didn't occur to me that my invitations probably won't arrive in a 2'x3' box; more importantly, it didn't occur to me that EVERYONE in my building has the same address "490 Temperance St". I carried the box all the way to my condo, excitedly ripped it open, and to my bewilderment, found a juicer instead of my invitations.

Drew and I deliberated for several minutes about where the juicer might have come from. Perhaps it was an early wedding gift? Perhaps it was a late shower gift? But who was it from?

We looked at the front of the box, and to Drew's horror, we had accidently grabbed our neighbors package!!!! I tried to say that these things happen, but Drew still doesn't think these things happen to other people.

Exhibit B. Last night, to ease my impatience about the arrival of the invitations, I went to Michael's. Brides should not be allowed to enter Michael's. You will black out and leave with $100 of merchandise. Michael's is basically crack for brides. Anyway, 52 handmade, hand stamped, thank you notes later, I was ready for bed. (I've now decided to make all my own thank you notes, programs and seating assignments etc... which means more work!)  If you want to see some examples of the thank you notes I made, I attached them at the bottom!

Exhibit C. My caterer charges $4 per plate for real china, silverware and cloth napkins... so I got the wild idea of picking up white plates from thrift stores. As Drew so poignantly observed, most brides would rather pay $4 per plate than visit every thrift store in the metro area week after week trying to find white plates for under a dollar. (Not to mention, I still haven't figured out what to do about napkins and table linens)...

Exhibit D. See this former post.

And the craziest thing I've done so far....

Exhibit E. I've been reluctant to post about this because it was just so, so crazy. About a month ago, I panicked about the dress. I actually put my dress for sale on craigslist. (By the way, do you know how many wedding dresses are put up on craigslist every day claiming to be "brand new"? A lot.) I left it up for about a week, the phase passed, and I love my dress again.

In short, if you are a bride, stay hydrated, take your vitamins, and make sure you surround yourself with good friends that can laugh with you when you start to go off the deep end (like I am right now... cue maniachal laughter and crazy eyes). Wedding stress is unavoidable, even if you elope, have a destination wedding, a very small wedding, etc... there will be anxiety, stress and $ involved. So, sit back, relax, and try to enjoy the ride.... because this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Love, Bridezilla