Staying Organized to Fend Off Wedding Anxiety

"The big day is so soon! Really excited to celebrate!" 

This past week I've received some variation of that text. A part of me is like, "Yay! I'm so happy that people are eager to attend our wedding!" 

The other part of me is silently gagging, worried that the day will be an utter disaster and no one will have a good time. Really, truth me told, I should just be concerned whether Peter and I are enjoying ourselves.  It's our day, right? Well, try telling that to the part of my brain riddled with anxiety. I hate disappointing people, and the thought that even one of our wedding guests will consider the day a 'meh' on the fun scale rips me up inside. 

To help calm my nerves, I turned to what we use in TV to help keep us organized and calm - a production call sheet. What is this mysterious thing? It's a list of who needs to be where and when, how to contact crew members, and other important details for the production. A wedding is essentially a big production, so I copied an old call sheet for the big day. 

I also made a multiple contact lists. The first contact list has the name and numbers of the bridal party, and, our immediate family. The second contact list has all of our vendors/MC/anyone else who is part of the ceremony. Both lists include everyone's 'call time' aka the time they are needed, and the location. The plan is to email everyone the contact list & call sheet a few days before the wedding and have physical copies at the venue. 

I've also asked my MC to be the designated 'go to' person the day of the wedding. Vendors will check in with him, and he'll help coordinate where they need to go to get set up etc. This was advice multiple 'marrieds' gave to us. It makes sense; the bride and groom really don't want to be putting out fires the day of their wedding. 

What else have I done to help calm my nerves? Well, I've cut out my second coffee of the day and have started eating kimchi on the reg. Apparently the spicy Korean dish is one of the top 10 foods that help with anxiety. Has it worked? I think it's too early to tell, but my what it has done is forced me to take out our green bin more frequently. Kimchi has a very distinct smell that, unlike a fine wine, does not get better with age. 

The Glass Slipper

The good news? I bought wedding shoes and they were 70 per cent off the original price.

The bad news? The original price was $800. 

Let me back up a bit. 

My sister and MOH, Kayla, and I were on a mission this past weekend. She needed to find a bridesmaid dress and I needed shoes. Kayla and I had both scoured the malls and now, it was time to check out Queen West. 

Our first stop was Original. It's one of those places that I've walked by thousands of times, but never had a reason to go inside. On Saturday, that changed. Perhaps sensing our determination, we were greeted by a sales associate who lead upstairs. If you've only browsed the downstairs section of Original, you ain't seen nothing, kid. Every inch of the top floor is used to house a dress. There are hundreds. The sales associate pulled a few looks for Kayla and we were off. 

A couple of the dresses were disasters, but one, a mid-length sweetheart neckline, looked absolutely stunning. It was definitely the most flattering dress she had tried on during her hunt for a bridesmaid dress. The only issue? It was $250. 

Kayla and I hemmed and hawed over the price. I told my bridesmaids I would cover their dresses up to $170. Was Kayla willing to pitch in for her dress? Would she wear it again? She we buy this dress, or keep looking? Ultimately, we decided to 'YOLO' and buy it. Kayla has a few weddings coming up that she'll be able to wear it to, thus justifying the price tag. 

A sales associate tried really hard to sell me on a pair of Betsy Johnson heels, but I just couldn't do it. While the shoe was pretty, I am not into wearing an open-toed sandal in November. I'll give it to the sales associate, they pushed hard to make the sale. I'd say if you're susceptible to pressure from sales associates to buy something, you may want to steer clear of Original. There's nothing worse than making a purchase you're not 100 per cent sure about, and having buyers remorse later. The associate was definitely turning up the heat on me, but after a few firm "I'd like to keep looking" they relented. 

With her garment bag in hand, Kayla and I continued our hunt for shoes up and down Queen West. We walked into a bunch of stores, but had no luck. Heading back towards the Eaton Centre, I thought, let's just browse Kleinfeld Bridal. If anything, I can say that I finally visited the boutique. 

Normally you need an appointment to even walk into Kleinfeld's, but luckily, the receptionist was able to find a sales associate to take us to the shoe selection. While gasping at the price tags ($800- $1500 for pair of shoes?!?!) I thought this would purely be a novelty journey. That is until my sister pointed out a pair of Emmy London ankle strap heels. They were exactly what I was looking for. The sales associate checked out the price and shocked herself. 

"These are 70 per cent off." When I asked about my size, it was the only pair left. I tried it on and well, fell in love. But could I really justify spending $250 on shoes?!? After a quick consultation with Kayla, I decided to take the plunge and buy 'em. She said I should treat myself, and as someone who needs very little reason to spend money, I agreed. I mean, this was my glass slipper, was it not??? 

Afterwards, we grabbed some lunch at Salad King. Both of us are thrifty, and not used to shelling out big dough for clothes and shoes. Whenever I spend more than $50 on anything (dinner, clothes, etc.) I feel a massive wave of guilt. Did I make the right decision? Should I have kept looking? I was able to calm my anxiety with the reminder that after the wedding, I can always sell or trade the shoes on Bunz. Plus, they are pretty cool and I can probably wear them again after the big day. I figure you probably want to see 'em, right? With a $250 price tag, they're making their big reveal on our wedding day.