I have to admit, though I have a lot of experience with calligraphy and invitations, I have very little experience in planning events. In fact, the thought of planning an entire wedding seems quite daunting to me. So when I offered to take the lead on planning a bridal shower for my sister, I had no idea what I was getting into and my first thought was, I really need Beth’s help with this. Until this past week, I hadn’t really given it much thought, and figured I would put it off until later this summer, since it wouldn’t be until next September or October.  However, recently I had a little lesson in the importance of planning in advance, and also in the importance of including other bridesmaids in your planning.

My recent experiences started with my sister asking me a couple of times if I had any date options for the shower I will be throwing with her other bridesmaids. We actually ended up having quite the tiff (as can happen with all the emotions surrounding families and weddings!), but with it being about five months away, I thought, “Gee, it’s really not that big a deal…” until I learned that Beth’s weekends were pretty much already booked for the entire months of September and October. There are also two people who will only be in town on certain dates that my sister really would like to be able to celebrate with, and another shower in the works that also depended on our date. When I finally got around to sending out a few emails, I quickly learned there were a lot of conflicting schedules, including several with the various bridesmaids.  If that didn’t wake me up to the importance of advance planning when it comes to wedding activities, I got another lession the following day, when out of the blue an old sorority sister of mine gave me a call. Since we don’t usually talk on the phone, I basically had no clue why she was calling, until she started talking about me contributing to a shower for a mutual friend (who happens to be my best friend from college). Up until that day, I had been somewhat anxiously waiting to hear if I would get to be a bridesmaid in the wedding – even though we’re so close, you never know! So when said friend asked if I wanted to help plan a shower for early June, I was understandably confused because the bride had yet to even mention bridesmaids let alone showers to me. The mutual friend went on to explain that the bride wasn’t having “official bridesmaids” because of the groom’s culture, but she, myself and two others would basically have the same role, just not get to walk down the aisle, and stand up front with the bride at the wedding. Again, news to me, but I was excited to hear that I’d be part of her VIPs. Anyway, long story short, she told me the shower was already set for a date in early June and they had already purchased invitations (!) and begun making the plans. However, the date they chose is a day that I will be traveling so I can’t even make it, let alone co-host!Needless to say, I was pretty hurt that I hadn’t been told about the situation, and upset that even though they wanted me to contribute, they had set a date that I couldn’t even be there for and had already started planning. So, I learned my lesson and immediately composed a detailed email to the bridesmaids in my sister’s wedding, and promised I would do my best to include everyone, and make my plans early, so that we can best accommodate those important to her to share in the day, since afterall, the day does revolve around her!