By Erika Lynde
Just this morning I sat down at my computer, opened up my wedding binder and started to hyperventilate. Still an old fashion paper and pen girl, I reached in and pulled out what seemed like a million sheets of scribbled printer paper. It was complete disarray. Each page was different than the next — numbers, names, highlighter, sketches, and tons and tons of side notes. Ahhh!! This was it. It was all starting to crumble. I had forgotten who each phone number was for. Which guest list was old, which was new? Where all the money for this was pouring in from, and which dress number went with each dress.
I took a deep breath, reached for my phone and sent a polite yet jarring text to my significant other: HELP!!! He was at work, but that didn’t stop me. Being the good boyfriend that he is, he got back to me right away: “What’s up?” Of course he thought I was seeking an answer to some silly question like ‘where are the diapers we bought last night’ or ‘what do you want for dinner.’ His brain, unlike mine, does not dwell in the wedding realm so of course he was stumped. I would have to wait for him to come home.
Lucky for me it was a snow day. Normally I would angrily snarl out the window, mad at Mother Nature for making me shovel, but not today. A snow day meant Liam would get out early. I took to baking some sweets to relieve the stress while I awaited his arrival. It wasn’t long till he was at the door, kicking off his boots and asking about my day. Without hesitation I ordered him to sit. I had the sheets of paper scattered across the kitchen table and stared at him with big puppy dog eyes. With a brownie in one hand and green tea in the other, I said, “Please fix it.”
We went over the chaos I had created and made a simple spreadsheet. Angels sang and the weight lifted from my shoulders. I know what some of you organized brides are thinking — duh! — and I agree. Why didn’t I think of this sooner…and by ‘think of this’ I mean ‘make Liam do it’ (wink, wink). Isn’t this why we are getting married in the first place? We make a really great team. Liam’s the practical and wise manly man, and I’m his sassy, creative baby mama who has lots of hope in mankind and can cook pretty well (if I do say so myself).
We named the Excel sheet the “wedding manager,” and I’m looking forward to all the progress I’m going to make with her. It’s organized and color-coded — just my style!
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