... is what the Edison quote should really say.
If Blair Waldorf, Charlotte York and Monica Geller-Bing somehow had a child together, I would be the super obsessive, high strung, plan-to-the-last-detail, everything-must-be-perfect, fruit of their loins. I love lists, and I especially love checking things off lists.
So, with all of that in mind... You guys, I had a moment. I'm not talking good moment either, I'm talking frantic texts to all three of my bridesmaids and panicked voicemailS (<- emphasis on the S) left on Mr. B's phone-- kind of moment. I wouldn't say that I was quite in Bridezilla town, but I was definitely close enough to see the illegal immigrants lingering past the border.
Why, you ask? Simply put: The Knot.
Like most newly engaged brides, I found the Knot and happily entered my wedding date and was so glad to see a little planner thingy with all my bridal tasks and when I should complete them by.
If Blair Waldorf, Charlotte York and Monica Geller-Bing somehow had a child together, I would be the super obsessive, high strung, plan-to-the-last-detail, everything-must-be-perfect, fruit of their loins. I love lists, and I especially love checking things off lists.
So, with all of that in mind... You guys, I had a moment. I'm not talking good moment either, I'm talking frantic texts to all three of my bridesmaids and panicked voicemailS (<- emphasis on the S) left on Mr. B's phone-- kind of moment. I wouldn't say that I was quite in Bridezilla town, but I was definitely close enough to see the illegal immigrants lingering past the border.
Why, you ask? Simply put: The Knot.
Like most newly engaged brides, I found the Knot and happily entered my wedding date and was so glad to see a little planner thingy with all my bridal tasks and when I should complete them by.
Now, if you recall, when we got engaged, we decided that we were looking at a two-year engagement -- 21 months to be exact. I had just gone back to law school for a one year Master’s program and we knew we wanted to wait until I finished it. So, when we started planning, the wedding just seemed like this concept, this far away thing, as opposed to something tangible and fast-approaching.
Of course, like most brides, I was an eager beaver at first and wanted to have my entire wedding figured out within a month of being engaged. I figured, just because we have all this time, doesn’t mean we have to leave everything to the last minute. Mr. Waterfall agreed. We had initially wanted to stay ahead of the game, especially when it came to booking our vendors. So, we booked the church and the venue at 21 and 18 months out, respectively.
Somehow though, despite our best intentions, life got in the way of wedding-planning. First, finals got in the way. Then, Mr. W was called to work on a 3 month political campaign. on top of continuing to work regular hours as an attaché for a member of parliament, needless to say, the poor thing was always overworked and exhausted; the last thing he wanted to do when he got home was wedding planning, understandably. Then finals again. Then, vegging out on the couch watching reruns of Four Weddings for a few weeks to recover from school. Then, finally getting off the couch to look for a job so I could finally put my degree to use.
Long story short, I started a new job as a junior associate exactly at the 9-month mark, and while it seemed like I was always thinking about the wedding, I didn’t actually accomplish as much as I should have, at least according to The Knot. So, at the 6-month mark, I logged in to The Knot, blissfully unaware, only to find that we had a little less than 200 days to go and over 150 outstanding tasks!!!! Just typing that, my blood pressure shot up, it’s through the roof you guys! WTF happened?!?! More importantly, howwwww did that happen?!? How did this happen TO ME? I’m normally the furthest thing from a procrastinator. I get my Christmas shopping done months ahead of time so I can avoid the masses. I’m that girl that always handed in papers a week before they were due. And now I was suddenly behind on something? Mind Boggling! I didn't just take a turn to negative town*, I was doing laps in the anxiety pool*.
* Bonus points if you figure out both Vince Vaughn movies
It honestly didn’t seem like a big deal at the time that wedding planning had seemed to fall by the wayside because in my mind, I had gotten so used to thinking that we had all the time in the world. Don’t get me wrong, we were still doing some wedding planning, but, it apparently wasn’t enough. Not according to The Knot, at least.
150 tasks in 190-something days, that was like…a task a day! So much for Wedding Wednesdays! I felt like I was so behind!!!! I honestly felt like this little guy:
Mr. Waterfall finally called me back and talked me down, like he’s learned to do oh-so-marvelously through nine years of dealing with my crazy. The first thing he said to me was How can I help? What can I do? My bridesmaids were all very helpful as well. I’m so blessed to know that I have such a dream team to support me. But I had to start doing something that I hate, I shudder to say the words out loud:
Delegate.
Thiss freakout served as a major wakeup call: I had to start leaning more and more on my bridal party and fiancé, or stuff just wouldn't get done.Take it away, New Directions!
Thankfully, we got our booties (or boutés, in French... just kidding!) back in gear after this and booked the rest of our vendors! I guess planning a wedding is sort of like a marathon, if you don't pace yourself, you risk burning out early on.
Has anybody else experienced this? How do you stay on top of your to-do list?
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