A wedding is often described as one of the most important days in a woman’s life. Beyond finding the perfect partner to spend forever with, there are about a million other decisions to make to ensure the day reflects your love story flawlessly. Sounds completely stress-free, right?
For me, the engagement itself has been simple and beautiful. I have been with my best friend for nearly three years. We’ve lived together, shared dogs, and have intertwined our lives in just about every way possible. On that Christmas morning (2023), as the day wound down, he handed me one last gift. It was just the two of us, surrounded by our barking, four- legged children, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.
Being the go-getter that I am, I immediately dove into wedding planning. There was a task at hand, and I was determined to tackle every little detail as quickly as possible. I immediately downloaded The Knot and Wedding Wire, not to mention taking a better look at the Macomb Vow Bridal Guide. And I started looking at venues. How exciting that was imagining our dream day in all of these stunning, picture- perfect settings. I scheduled about 10 venue tours within the first two months of being engaged—some far away in rural areas, others nearby and more in downtown Detroit. I wanted to cover all my bases.
But as any seasoned bride will tell you, no planning journey is without its hiccups. In my excitement, I forgot one critical detail, actually discussing any of this with my fiancé, George.
While every planning process is different, I knew that our relationship only worked because we were a team. My fiancé later shared that he wished we had scheduled the tours and created our wedding website together. So, I reined in my enthusiasm and brought him into the fold.
Once we got on the same page, the venue touring became more exciting. This shift alleviated some of the stress on my part and made both of us more enthused about the wedding planning
process. I took on the artistic roles — colors, florals, Pinterest boards, and searching for save-the-dates and invitations. He, being the logistical one, tackled things like making pro- con lists for venues, considering travel and hotel options, and thinking through what type of experience would best accommodate our families and guests.
After completing our tours and comparing price lists, we found our dream venues: the historic Gem Theater for the reception and Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral for the ceremony, both in downtown Detroit. The combination of a traditional church ceremony and a reception at the Gem perfectly blends his cultural roots with our love for the theater and my since-retired dreams of being a Broadway dancer. The Gem’s timeless elegance and unique charm feels like the perfect backdrop to create the fairytale day we both envision.
Of course, we have made a few rookie mistakes along the way. One of the funniest was ordering 160 save-the-date magnets for our 150 guests.
We were so proud of our unique concert- ticket magnets— designed to reflect our shared love of music and live shows—and couldn’t wait to share them with everyone. But when we excitedly told someone about them, they quickly pointed out, “You know some of those 150 people live in the same household, right?”
Cue the laughter. In that moment, we realized maybe we could use a little help after all. So, we got back on The Knot and started researching wedding planners and booked one the next day.
My advice as a bride-to-be: enjoy the process. I’m told the wedding day will fly by, and most of the memories will only be captured in photos and videos. But it’s the year-and-a-half engagement—browsing colors and bouquets, practicing first dance songs in the kitchen, and laughing at the little mistakes—where the real memories are being made.
In the end, our day will be perfect, no matter what.
