measure in love

Last week, we faced the deep sadness of losing a close family member. I'll let Patrick say more if he wants, but I will say that it's been a difficult time, and a very tough loss. After a week of being with family back home, we're trying to get back in the swing of things and not fall too behind on wedding tasks, but it certainly puts things in perspective.

If we don't have menu cards or coordinated programs or cutesy place cards, it won't matter. As long as we are surrounded by our friends and family, the day will be incredible. The day would be amazing even if we were celebrating in a cheesy banquet room with low ceilings and bad lighting, if I were wearing a dress from Old Navy, if there were no flowers, if our photographs were taken by our friends, and if the cake was from the grocery store: as long as our loved ones are there, and we're marrying each other, it will be everything we want.

Of course, we will be working on the details over the next (gasp!) 79 days, and I'll stress about things like finding the right shoes and what to put in our ceremony program, but all in all I'm not putting too much weight on the little stuff. When I read too many wedding blogs and start to stress about the place settings or whether we're incorporating our color palette in enough places, I just think about the people who will be there-- the faraway friends who will be reunited, cousins I haven't seen in years, and our large families laughing together. I think about the two of us surrounded by all that love and happiness, and nothing else seems to matter much.