Musings of a Catholic metal head: Ah, the wedding industry

Did you know that the average cost of a wedding on 2023 was $35,000? I mean... that's a lot. Does that seem like a lot? It seems like a lot. Now we, we will be coming in under that. But I can SO see how easy it would be to get up to the $35,000. Between wanting to give your guests a fancy, classy experience to buying into all the hoopla and extras, it wouldn't take long. Heck, most photographers I was looking at on Zola STARTED at $2000. I knew before we started this process that I was against anything from The Knot (allegations of less-than-stellar business practices notwithstanding) because I felt like they feed into the wedding machine. I am sorry to say that I did use them for my invitations because they were the only place that offered all-in-one. Invitation, RSPV, and envelope all on one convenient paper. Even USPS friendly! No more than a normal stamp! So, there's that. But otherwise we are using Zola for our website and registry, and FB has been helpful in finding hair and makeup people. The photographer I found on Zola, so that's one other thing. J wanted the reception at an arcade and MAN that is BRILLIANT! We are renting out the place, they can take care of food and beverages, so less moving parts for us to keep track of. He knows an exquisite baker and my bestie just happens to make GORGEOUS wood flower arrangements, so we are good there, too. Things are coming together quite well.

The thing about the wedding industry that I don't agree with is just that... it's the WEDDING industry. So much emphasis is put on making it the perfect day, perfect flowers, perfect decor, perfect food, perfect guests, perfect day. I've been in a lot of weddings and I gotta say, its never perfect. It can be lovely, but something always goes haywire. There is also so much pressure to do things THIS way because that's TRADITION and it's ALWAYS been done like THIS. The bride wears white because Queen Elizabeth did it and we all want to emulate royalty, right? We do cake cutting because we need pix of it. So many things revolve around pix, which is great, but at some point we wont wanna be paparazzied anymore. Some traditions we will keep, some we will modify, and some we will break. No speeches, no garter toss, no flower toss, no cake cutting. We will institute a new tradition of reception Mortal Combat tournament, winner to take on the groom!

Back to the wedding industry being problematic. There's so much focus on the wedding that the marriage is often overshadowed or forgotten until the honeymoon phase wears off and the couple realize that they are stuck together. One thing I will say for us Catholics is that they really do their best to prepare you for that. Between marriage prep classes, Questionnaires, and meetings with a sponsor couple, they want you to remember that you're committing to this person for LIFE. So when you don't like them, when you can't stand them, when they drive you crazy... you still choose to love them. I'm glad I'm getting married later in life because I think I understand that concept better now than I could have in my 20s. Do we already drive each other a little crazy? Oh yeah. Have we had conflict? Yup. Have we worked thru it? Yes, with mutual respect. I do love this man, and I'm going to choose to love him every day. I believe he feels the same about me. This is the man I will build a life with, a man who will be a partner, confidant, co-creator of shenanigans and malarkey, adopter of all black and special needs kitty cats, maker of excellent foods, and love of my life. The wedding will be awesome, I'm super excited for the ceremony, reception, and after party. But the marriage... that's what I'm really looking forward to. No returns or exchanges, for forever and a day.

I'm happy we are keeping things small, even though I'd love to have all my extended family there. I had a giggle thinking we'd have representatives from each "clan" present. I'm looking forward to celebrating our love and commitment to each other, in a way that is true to our personalities.

I am SO ready to move from my current apartment. I came home on Thursday after a meeting at the church to find my whole bathroom had flooded, the carpet in my bedroom was SATURATED. I had to take all of my CLEAN towels (I'd washed them 2 weeks ago) to soak up all the water, and I found out that plumbing issues are not considered an "emergency" at my apt complex. So I had to sleep on my couch as my fans tried to continue to dry my carpet. I called and left a message regarding the issue, put in a work order the next day, and went to the laundromat to wash all my towels again. Thankfully they fixed the toilet while I was gone, but DAMN! I can't wait to move into the nicer apt, in a place where I won't need to use the toll road, and with my hubby and the kitty. There's even a cute independent coffee shop down the road, a park with hiking trails, and an HEB (IYKYK).

Trying to find stress relief in a muffin and Vietnamese coffee

We met with the sponsor couple on Friday and finished the whole thing in 1 go! So we are good to go on that front. Now we just have the NFP classes, and pre Cana class to go! I'm waiting on my baptismal certificate, and his family has some paperwork to fill out, but we should be 100% good to go for April 26 wedding!! Kinda weird that the diocese can still say "no," but it is what it is. I'm feeling confident and relaxed that we will get married, people will be there for it, and we can start our lives together. 😁

On Sunday A and I met up at the Smoke House off i-20 (across from New York hill) and OMG!!! The food was amazing, the portions were TX sized, and the weather was fantastic! They are also open longer on Sundays so we didn't feel rushed to leave.

Fried mushrooms... the pic is upside-down... no clue what is going on with the blogger.