Everyone Needs Strawberries in Chocolate Tuxes!
One month from today will be my 10 year Wedding Anniversary.
That means that exactly 10 years ago, I was finishing college exams and putting the finishing touches on the ridiculous dream wedding that was coming fast. I had just turned 20. I had no idea what I was doing. I was excited and naive and spoiled and immature. I had lots of ideas of what life would be like and even more about what my wedding day would look like.
I would like to write a letter to me, 10 years ago, and let me know what was and wasn’t important.
Dear Me ver. 2001
This month will be busy. You are excited and nervous and for the most part acting like a spoiled brat. Since I am 10 years older and so very much more mature, there are some things I have decided you should know:
1. Breathe. You can stress out making place cards and finding the perfect Guest Book until you are blue in the face. People are going to sit where they want. You are going to misplace the guestbook and you won’t even realize it’s gone.
2. I have no idea what possessed you to think singing at your own wedding was a good idea. You can practice all you want, you can’t sing. You will sound terrible. You will cry partway through which will only make it worse.
3. Do it anyway.
4. In the end, he will feel worse about the bachelor party than you do right now. Let it go.
5. You are beautiful. You don’t think you are, but you are. And most importantly, he thinks you are. So lay off the tanning bed before you give 40 year old us skin cancer.
6. He loves you. More than you understand now and more than you will understand 10 years from now. So just accept it. The next year of your life will bring more than enough drama without you creating any more.
7. Don’t act surprised when the army guys get drunk at your dry wedding. What did you think they were going to do? As mad as you will pretend to be, in less than a year most of them will be living together in a tent in the desert and you will thank God he has friends he trusts with his life.
8. Spend more time with Bamma. You won’t see her again for years and even then you will only have time to say goodbye. Talk to her more, listen to her more, hug her more. You will wish you did.
9. You don’t have anything to prove. If your friends don’t think you are old enough to get married you don’t need to change their minds. Those friends probably won’t be there in 10 years to see how wonderful it all turned out. So enjoy being a 20 year old bride instead of trying to act like a 30 year old one. God blessed you by giving you the love of your life very young. Don’t apologise for that. Be grateful instead.
10. Seriously, an ice sculpture and how much money to add flowers to a Wedding Chapel that’s already decorated? Are you trying to bankrupt your father? Nobody is gong to notice it all but you.
11. Get it all anyway.
12. When you see your ring bearer dressed as Buzz Lightyear 10 minutes before the ceremony starts, tell them to leave him like that instead of shoving him in a tux.
13. All the work Kari put into your bridal shower, all the time she is taken to make you feel welcome… Thank her now. You won’t get another chance.
14. You are going to sing Right Here Waiting like you know what it means because he went away to Basic Training. You have no idea what it means. But you will. Hold him close while you can.
15. I know you are not nervous about marrying him and you are 2nd guessing yourself because you think you should be nervous. Don’t. 10 years from now he will still make your heart beat faster.
16. Don’t be surprised when the disposable cameras come back with a dozen pictures up a sword bearers nose and a handful under-kilt shots. You gave disposable cameras to a table of young soldiers. Did you really see it ending any other way?
17. Most importantly – accept that plans will change. Both over the next month, at your wedding and for the rest of your life. Your idea of what your next few years look like? Throw it away now. It’s not worth holding onto. God has a plan and it’s not the same as yours. It’s not even close.
I know that right now, it’s all about you. You are in for a shock. When the craziness of this wedding is over you will have a choice. You can sit in that house you have already set up and feel sorry for yourself because the wedding is over and the education and job aren’t working out like you think they should and marriage is hard when you are the only one home.
OR you can accept that maybe all those things you think are important, aren’t, and start accepting that your God, who is in control, is Good. All the time.
I suggest you choose option number 2. Sooner rather than later. You will save yourself a lot of heartache.
Enjoy this next month. And when your wedding day comes, eat the friggin cake. It’s apparently really good.
Love
Me, ver. 2011
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reccewife
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15 COMMENTS
Leave A Comment
Running Yogi | 19th Apr 11
You are all kinds of awesome. 🙂
Andrea | 20th Apr 11
Another wonderful post! Thanks for sharing.
The other Kim :) | 20th Apr 11
Yup, you are all kinds of awesome…
Anonymous | 20th Apr 11
Another great post. Thanks for helping me forget (and stop whining about) my stupid toothache….even for a short while.
xxoo
Renee | 20th Apr 11
It amazes me how much calmer my life is now that I know God is in control. But my 10 years ago self wouldn't have listened even if I knew it back then.
And you are stunning in that wedding picture!
Kaisa | 21st Apr 11
Just started following you, but just wanted to tell you I Love this post 🙂 I should send something similar to my 2007 self. (the year I got married).
The Glamorous Army Wife | 21st Apr 11
I think this is my favorite post ever. If you don't mind, I might copy the idea next week for mine, but I will give you full credit for the idea and link you up. This was really awesome….and I love the image of a little Buzz Lightyear flying down the aisle. That would've been priceless.
Julie P. | 19th Oct 11
This is great! It is fun to look back with older eyes 🙂
Alana Winder | 5th Nov 11
AWW! I love this! Your wedding sounds like it was awesome. Why is it always the stuff that goes wrong that you remember the most? haha
Have you heard of futureme.org? You can write emails and send it to yourself up to 50 years in the future. And then you can reply to your past self. 🙂
Natasha | 8th Mar 13
I love this! Thanks for sharing….I love the Do It Anyway. There were some things my mom fought me on for my wedding. Yes, I'd do it all again anyway!
Jane | 7th Feb 14
I LOVE this! <3 <3 <3 Oh how silly the things we think are important when we were younger.
Mrs McDancer | 7th Feb 14
This is hilarious. I particularly enjoyed number 16! (Thanks for joining the linkup!)
Fran | 7th Feb 14
This is awesome! Love this so much – thank you for sharing!
Poe Kitten | 8th Feb 14
I love this letter to the younger you. You're so right! Also, I love that you sang at your wedding:)
Thanks so much for linking up with us at Flashback Friday!
Laura | 8th Feb 14
Aa a young 20-something reading this, and following you for many years AND dating a artilleryman myself, I would just like to say I really enjoyed this post, and it gave me some insite into my own life that I needed. Keep writing 🙂