Falling for You: The F*ck It List

Guys, let me keep it real with y'all for a moment; the week before the wedding was nothing like what I had envisioned. In my mind, I had imagined having finished all of my projects and paid all the final balances. My vendors and bridal party would all know exactly what their tasks and responsibilities were and there would be nothing left for me to do except relax and bask in almost-marital bliss with Mr. W. In reality, I spent that last week running around like a headless chicken, frantically emailing, texting and calling various people and scheduling last minute meetings with some of my vendors, all while squeezing in hospital visits and doctor's appointments. Our apartment looked like Martha Stewart threw up over an episode of Four Weddings and there were half-finished DIY projects and piles EVERYWHERE - Piles of unpacked clothes for our honeymoon, piles of wedding décor that needed to go to our venue, piles of shower presents for which we had yet to find space in our tiny one-bedroom, just piles... sooo many piles!

Every bride has a bucket list, a list of must-do things before the wedding. Well, this DIYonista was determined to finish every single project on her list. Some were huge undertakings, like our submerged silk orchid centerpieces, and some were more manageable, like this bird cage card box. I had also stupidly decided to make twenty silk flower pomanders for the church, and still had about eight left to make. That might not seem like a lot, but believe me when I say that I never want to make another pomander as long as I live.

Our birdcage card box, before (left) and after (right) I had my way with it/ personal photo

The week before the wedding was also when some of our out-of town guests started trickling in, which meant that on top of everything else, I was now juggling multiple airport runs and entertaining said guests. Lucky for me, MOH Long Legs was amongst the early arrivals, and she was able to lend a hand with a few last-minute crafts, like our awesome photobooth props.

personal photo

The worst part wasn't our gargantuan list, it was running after everyone else to make sure their lists were taken care of. Spoiler alert: they weren't. Yup. This may come as a surprise to some of you, but nobody cares about your wedding day half as much as you... not your MOH, not your parents, nobody. Accept it and move on. Exhibit A: I had to accompany both mothers to get their dresses altered mere days before the wedding, something that could have easily been done months ahead of time.

Mami Waterfall (left) and MIL Waterfall (right) getting their dresses altered/ personal photo

We had also met with our celebrant a few months before the wedding to go over our ceremony, at which point we had asked his permission to include a few personal touches, like the arras, a rose ceremony, and a blessing of the hands. Since we were having a traditional catholic ceremony, we knew there was a good chance that he might say no. Well, two days before the wedding, we still didn't know what was going on with our ceremony, so we couldn't print our programs, which was beyond frustrating. We also didn't want to wait until after the rehearsal on Friday night because it would be cutting it way too close. At that point, we decided to take a gamble and print very simple programs with the ceremony layout we had requested, knowing full well that we might not be able to use them. We could have easily scrapped the whole thing, but many of our guests were not familiar with catholic ceremonies, and we wanted them to be able to follow along. Since we were out of time, we had to forgo the lovely Martha Stewart program fans I had initially intended to make in favor of really basic ones. I know, cry me a river...

By Thursday morning, I was feeling beyond frazzled. I was in the middle of freaking out over the ceremony programs when my phone started going crazy with texts from BM Green Eyes, whom I had straight-up forgotten to pick up from the airport!

Bridal Brain... it's real, guys/ personal photo 

I raced to the airport in insane traffic and luckily, Green Eyes is like the most chill person in the universe, so she wasn't too mad at me for stranding her at Trudeau Airport. Many apologies later (both verbal and in chocolate form), we packed up my car to drop everything off at our venue, where I got a small glimpse of what the space would look like on our wedding day.

Our venue being set up/ personal photo

That night, while Mr. W and I attended another last-minute vendor meeting, BM Green Eyes offered to stay behind to help print, cut and fold 150 programs and place cards (which we couldn't finalize until the very last second because so many guests hadn't RSVP'd). After our meeting, there was still quite a lot left to do, so, two days before my wedding, I sat around in my pajamas with my best friend, drinking beer, eating pizza and folding programs. And it was kind of perfect!

150 place cards and programs, ready to go! Personal photo

Truth be told, there were so many more projects I wish I had the time for - menu cards, a scrapbook guestbook, a personalized place card display... But in the end, I had to put them all on the f*ck it list and move on, because I would much rather spend an extra hour going on a date with Mr. Waterfall. Honestly, nobody but you will notice the things that are missing on your wedding day, so focus on what matters most, and don't be afraid to scrap a few things if you run out of time. I know how hard it can be to ignore the siren call of Pinterest. Believe me, I've been there and with a few hours to go, I was all "I could have done more", but I figured Mr. W would pick a happy, sane bride over menu cards any day of the week ;)

image via www.someecards.com

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