Becoming the Bride: My 6-Month Wedding Planning Update

Becoming the Bride is my honest wedding planning series – part reflection, part behind-the-scenes, and all the ups and downs. It’s about finding peace in the planning, joy in the small moments, and gratitude in this season of preparing for change.

If you haven’t read the other posts in this series, you can catch up here.

September marked 6 months since we got engaged and now we have under a year left until our wedding. So, time for a good old life update – bride-to-be edition.

It’s wild that I’m writing a wedding update! Me?! At 36 after a toxic and traumatic relationship in my late 20’s into my early 30’s rocked my whole world. I’m so proud of myself for doing the work that got me here. It’s hard to explain but after that experience, I was hopeful I’d find love, but I don’t know if I fully believed I would. But here I am, with a man that I know God placed into my life when he did for a reason, preparing to be married. I’ve shared my healing journey for years – I’m so glad I get to share this side of it, too.

I’m not sure that I pictured what my wedding would look like as a child, but I always saw myself being married. So, it does feel surreal that I get to plan a day to celebrate spending forever with my favorite person.

I didn’t think I’d cry – but I’ve already gotten teary eyed asking people to be in the wedding. I knew I’d overthink it and I have.

I’ve been wanting to share my engagement journey but wasn’t really sure how to do it or when – 6 months since engagement seems like a good place to start. I guess I’ll just start sharing lol.

I’ve never been part of a wedding before so I’m thankful for my sisters, my bestie, the book A Practical Wedding, and online resources like The Knot. I know I would ask them anyway, but there’s a lot of logistical things I can’t picture because I’ve only been a guest and didn’t see all the behind the scenes and having someone else’s (who totally get me and think like I do) opinion is helpful.

For me, It’s been fun getting to use the Pinterest board I’ve had for like 10 years, haha. There’s a lot of stuff I deleted and just as much I’ve added.

I’ve also enjoyed picking colors and an overall style and theme for the wedding and putting things together. Seeing the vision in my head on a Canva mockup is so satisfying and I’m excited to start seeing pieces in real life. I love getting to use my creative side!

Of course it’s been stressful, too. Working within a budget, juggling opinions, and (being the people pleaser that I am) hoping people like the things I’m choosing have caused a lot of overthinking on my end. Thankfully, M and I agree on most everything and he has been a rational voice in my moments of doubt.

This past month I told myself that going forward I’ll embrace the not so great moments and remember that at the end of this all M and I will be married and that’s what matters. I see so much online about engagement being such a happy and magical time. That caused me to put some unrealistic expectations on myself as a bride-to-be.

So, I had to shift my mindset a bit. It’s okay if I don’t know something. It’s okay if something isn’t fun. And it’s okay if a lot of the planning sucks because I’m doing it while working a full-time job, building a business, wanting to save for a house, and living life. It’s a lot! Telling myself it needed to all be happy left me feeling like I wasn’t making the most of the engagement. Like I missed the happy parts. I remember telling M early on in the engagement that I felt guilty because I wasn’t enjoying it. Really, it’s not that I wasn’t enjoying it. I wasn’t allowing myself to feel multiple emotions at the same time – like happy and overwhelmed. It’s a big shift in life preparing for a big step and no one really tells you how that goes. Nor can anyone really tell you how it will feel for you. So, I’m dealing with those feelings and like I tell my coaching clients, moving through the emotions so I can cherish the happy moments. Overall – I’m grateful for this time filled with lessons, celebrations, and so much love.

Timeline

Engaged March 2025 – I spent the morning at the salon. When I came home M proposed. We shared the news with our families and close friends. We just happened to have dinner reservations at one of our favorite places (hibachi!) and tickets to a concert that night so the timing was perfect. We had a great night and as you can tell by the picture we were so happy!

Venue Booked March 2025 – my fiancé (still love saying that!) actually suggested the venue. He’d been to the restaurant on the main floor and really liked it. The venue is small so we knew we’d have to have a micro-wedding, which he prefers and I’m good with. When I saw it I loved it too and could see his vision. So, we booked it early on. Ironically, the first date we chose was booked that same day we emailed back to secure it. We had been going back and forth between a Friday and a Saturday so we went with the other day, but it was stressful for about 15 mins when we realized one day was booked already 18 months before the event.

People made comments about it being so early to start planning, but that really shocked us and made me start looking at things sooner than I probably would’ve otherwise. I learned early on that people will have lots of comments and I have to do what M and I want (after I complain with my sisters and bestie of course!).

Bridal Expo March 2025 – since our date was set I went to a bridal expo in town. It was early on but gave me a good idea of things I would need to think about and vendors I may want to work with. It was especially fun because it was at our new Hard Rock Casino. I went with my mom, my future MIL, sister, and bestie.

Dress Shopping August 2025 – bought an off the rack dress for under my budget. What a win! I was hoping to find something off the rack so I wouldn’t have to spend more or deal with ordering and tariffs. I didn’t know if I would find something on the first trip so I started early. But, it’s nice to have that checked off the list. The dress is different from what I’ve seen but I really really love it. My mom, my future MIL, sister, and bestie went with me and they all loved it, too. We made it into a girls day with a late lunch at a winery afterward. It was a fun day that made a beautiful memory. Getting my dress helped solidify the style for the reception so I feel like I can decide on everything else now. I can’t wait to share it next year!

I Do Crew – I asked my Bride’s Crew early on because I knew who I wanted and was already talking with them about wedding stuff. We asked the rest of the crew in August 2025. M’s pre-teen daughter will stand with him for the wedding and his niece and nephews will all have roles so decided to use a more neutral term and call our Wedding Party our “I Do Crew”. We also aren’t giving titles like “Matron of Honor” or “Bridesmaid”. All of the people in our crew are important to us! I’m having my 2 sisters and my friend that is like a sister stand with me – how can I rank them? I didn’t think I’d have kids in my wedding because there aren’t any kids on my side but M’s niece and nephews are wonderful and we are so close as a family that I’m really happy to have them partake in the day with us.

Makeup and Hair set September 2025 –  I’m excited to have stylists/artists from the salon I work at do the hair and makeup. It feels more personal and relaxed that it’s people I’m comfortable with.

DJ – I’ve known who I would hire as a wedding DJ for years. He actually used to DJ at a bar I worked at years ago and always did a great job. This is another vendor that will be great to work with because I’m familiar with him already.

One Year Out September 2025 – to celebrate one year until the wedding we went for dinner at the restaurant where we had dinner on our engagement night. It’s one of our favorite places and is always so good! And my sisters gave us these countdown blocks. I’ve been known to have countdowns for various exciting things throughout life so this was perfect for me! M likes it, too. And it looks great in our living room.

Engagement Pictures October 2025 – we just had engagement pictures done over the weekend (as I type this). I’m so excited to see them and pick which to use for our Save the Dates and website.

Engagement Party October 2025 – my (future) in-laws (MIL, FIL, SILs, and BILs) threw the party for us this past weekend. I had never been to an engagement party so I didn’t know what to expect but I had the best time! M did, too. The weather was beautiful and the food and desserts were great. They put a lot of thought into it which meant a lot. It was a really happy moment in the midst of the chaos of planning. It made my heart happy and helped remind me that I am truly cared for and loved.

As I type this we are officially a couple weeks past a year out. I feel like a lot is set, but also know there is still a lot to do and time will go fast, especially with the holidays around the corner.

Currently working on:

• getting addresses for Save the Dates
• Narrowing down decor

Current obsessions:

• Fiancée gear – like this cup (I love Beyoncé so I had to have it!) The shirts were made by a local small business. What a great way to support her! haha
• The bow trend. It feels girly and makes me think of bridal shower themes I saw – “she’s tying the knot”. I needed a new phone case so why not get pink bows? And I like HydroJug brand so this tumbler was perfect.
• Flowers – deciding between colored or white
• Which wedding band I want (narrowed down to 2, or maybe 3, haha.)
• Playlist – I’ve been creating a playlist to use for all of the wedding related events and to help us choose a wedding song. I listened to it while I got ready for the engagement party.

Things I didn’t think would be so difficult:

• Hotel block – might be the way our venue/hotel does it but it was very stressful. Hopefully it won’t be going forward.

Things we aren’t doing:

• Bouquet and garter toss
• Assigning Maid/Matron of Honor and Best Man
• Wedding favors
• Real flowers
• A big cake. We’re planning to do a small cake and desserts so people have options
• Kids outside of the I Do Crew

Things we aren’t sure about yet:

• 1st look (We want to do it as long as it works timing wise. I’d like to take the majority of the pictures before the ceremony but we need to confirm timing and transportation details.)
• Plated meal or heavy hors d’oeuvres
• Seating chart (if we do heavy hors d’oeuvres)
• Our wedding song – we have some ideas but haven’t narrowed it down yet.

I’m focusing on being grateful for this season and finding joy and laughter among the overthinking and overwhelm. If you’re in a similar season of life, I hope you give yourself permission to enjoy it – imperfection and all.

If you want to follow along as I plan, cry, and celebrate this new chapter, make sure you’re subscribed – I’ll be sharing more updates and maybe a few photos when the big day comes.

And let me know your experiences in the comments! I love hearing from other brides and brides-to-be!