My Best Friend's Wedding

We just got back from California where I was a bridesmaid at my friend Danielle's wedding. She got engaged while making soup, and then she got to eat the soup. That's a good day.

I managed not to dissolve into a soggy mess throughout the entire ceremony, but I did tear up when she changed her name on Facebook. And I may have blubbered a little when we hugged good bye. And a couple times on the flight down to Orange County. And possibly a few times since.

Maybe.

But it was a super fun trip and a beautiful wedding, and I'm so happy for Danielle and Dan.

Being part of someone else's wedding made me even more excited for ours. And also the tiniest bit frantic, as we have 157 days left. Seems like a lot, but that's only five months. FIVE. So after a week of visiting family, riding helicopters and private jets, eating tacos and In-N-Out, hiking, chugging around Newport Bay in a little Duffy boat, and spending as much time as possible at the beach, it's time to return to planning.

But I'm doing so with a little set of reminders for myself, which I will copy here. Because I knew you'd want to read them.

1. Finish all DIY projects early. If something isn't done by the rehearsal dinner, screw it. Help yourself out now by not planning too many projects. Ask yourself if you really need to make 127 individually wrapped, personalized, whatever-it-is-you-found-on-Pinterest. The answer, always, is no.
2. Eat. Eat all day long. Eat as much food as possible. Stuff yourself. Make everyone else eat, too. Get a dress with pockets so you can store snacks for the walk down the aisle.



See how happy we are? Because we're about to eat.

3. Get a tan. For God's sake, woman, you look like a ghost.
4. Sleep in on the wedding day. You'll be too excited to sleep the night before, so once you do manage it, stay asleep as long as you can. When you're tired, one eyelid puffs up and the other one twitches and you - really, you just - you look insane. So maybe go for a different look on your wedding day.
5. Commit to something - anything - and stick to it. Indecision will destroy you. In fact, it's already started. Look at yourself. You're falling apart. 
6. People will get stressed. They still love you. Probably.
7. Spend time with people. Apart from legally getting married, that's the only thing that really matters that weekend. That, and eating. Do not forget to eat.
8. The guests will like the wedding. They will have fun. They will dance. There's a good chance that your closest friends and family won't be huddled in a corner making fun of your wedding. So you can stop worrying that it's going to suck. 
9. But if it does suck, your family will stop loving you.
10. Is it fun? If not, chuck it. That goes for everything from this moment on. If something isn't fun to plan or do or talk about, give it about ten minutes to become fun or throw it out. If Bill stops being fun, chuck him out, too. But that means you have to watch yourself, or you'll have the uncomfortable job of throwing yourself out of your own wedding. Oh, the shame.