Inspired by the wedding bunting trend that has saturated the internet, I decided to make a "Happy Birthday" banner to hang for the birth of our first child in February.
As I undertook the process of searching for an inspiring idea and selecting the fabric, I realized that I was suffering from a very common wedding planning disorder: The Once-in-a-Lifetime Delusion.
I started to obsess about getting the bunting "just right." I mean, I'm going to hang it for my son's birthday year after year! It has to be perfect! I have to pick the perfect colors! I have to get the dimensions completely perfect!
Argh.
When we plan our weddings, it can be so easy to bring undue anxiety and stress onto ourselves because we hope that our weddings will be once-in-a-lifetime events (knock on wood). We pressure ourselves to have The Perfect Dress or The Perfect Centerpieces or The Perfect Playlist because it's The Big Day and we only get One Big Day.
Baloney! It's true that our weddings are special, but they aren't our only chance to plan celebrations or bring together a significant number of friends and family or publicly declare our vows for each other or to wear a pretty dress. We can create those opportunities for ourselves over and over again. The more we remember this, the more we can keep our our choices in perspective and keep our stress down!
As I undertook the process of searching for an inspiring idea and selecting the fabric, I realized that I was suffering from a very common wedding planning disorder: The Once-in-a-Lifetime Delusion.
I started to obsess about getting the bunting "just right." I mean, I'm going to hang it for my son's birthday year after year! It has to be perfect! I have to pick the perfect colors! I have to get the dimensions completely perfect!
Argh.
When we plan our weddings, it can be so easy to bring undue anxiety and stress onto ourselves because we hope that our weddings will be once-in-a-lifetime events (knock on wood). We pressure ourselves to have The Perfect Dress or The Perfect Centerpieces or The Perfect Playlist because it's The Big Day and we only get One Big Day.
Baloney! It's true that our weddings are special, but they aren't our only chance to plan celebrations or bring together a significant number of friends and family or publicly declare our vows for each other or to wear a pretty dress. We can create those opportunities for ourselves over and over again. The more we remember this, the more we can keep our our choices in perspective and keep our stress down!
1 comment:
Since I struggle with my perfectionism on a daily basis, I really need to hear this. One of the reasons I'm frightened about having a wedding is that I know things will go wrong. That's life. But I don't know if I'll be able to handle it without spending all day crying.
Thanks for your kind words!
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