The 2020 Bride
When I first started writing this blog, I started listing my struggles, my highs, lows and in-betweens of being a 2020 bride. I started thinking about the very beginning of my engagement to the soul sucking black hole that is COVID-19. I thought about weight frustrations, the friendships that were lost and those that became stronger along the way and some of the happiest moments shared with my fiancé in 7 years. I talk here in 5 parts living as a 2020 bride, what advice I can give in hopes that others can relate to my experiences and what we can do to push through until we say I do. As an artist, I want undivided attention on my client and I debated writing this blog for that reason. I decided to write because I want you to know you are not alone and I get it. We are all in this together!
PART 1: ROSY
June 11th, 2019. This date would be one of the happiest days of my life but would also be the start date to learning every single emotion I have in my body. I always dreamed of being engaged, thinking about how everyone would be excited about my happiness and basically just being a self-centered Susie. I thought the world should revolve around me because I had something shiny on my finger now. That’s the honest truth about it. I am aware now that those thoughts and behaviors were completely ridiculous but don’t we all want this to be our moment? This is the moment we dreamed of… why aren’t you happy for me? Why aren’t you happier for me than I am for myself? Seriously… these were the thoughts going through my mind. So ridiculous. I thought everything would be… just rosy. It was for the first few months.
Before the engagement happened, I was THAT girl. The girl that had been dating 7 years, wanted a proposal, the commitment, the ring. The girl that bugged her boyfriend about it in public, wishing to be like all her friends that were already engaged. Soon to realize that being engaged… it isn’t any different than before. We still love each other the same. Still live together morning to night and still cooking ground turkey for taco Tuesday. Nothing changes but something sparkly… so make sure you realize this is simply a shiny addition to your already beautiful relationship. Advice tip #1. But I didn’t make this realization until a few months into being engaged. So let’s go back to that date… when I was still THAT girl.
The moment I walked into my house that day, through the home and into the backyard to see our family, I started crying. Whaling really. I whaled tears as if I had just won the husband lottery and it was like I had a flashback to being 16 and best friends to flashing forward into my future with this blonde handsome human. I was crying so much because my sisters were there, my parents, grandparents, his family, a cake, rose petals and candles everywhere. It was perfect. He had our song on. Perfect. I am a perfectionist and love addict so my fiancé knew I dreamed of the proposal and the wedding since I started watching Disney movies at 5. Do you see why I work in the wedding industry? Some of you reading this are probably thinking.. “oh this poor man. He has got a handful.” YES he does. However, being a love addict also means he gets hugs, kisses and food per diem.
Both families now blending spent the evening together chatting around a fire pit… and as Tina Turner would say, it was simply the best! How many of you just sang those last three words as you read them? I did while I was typing. Anyway… I stood back that day on my backyard deck and thought about how much I love this man and how all of us in this backyard are becoming one big beautiful family. Is this really happening?! I wasn’t supposed to get engaged this way as Jared has now said that he originally wanted us to go on a bike ride and come back to the family waiting for us to celebrate. I had thrown a curve ball at him and left the house that night unexpectedly and internally angry at him that he still hasn’t proposed. Yes, I was THAT girl. I told him I wasn’t up for a bike ride and I had left to go visit a friend so he proposed in front of everyone when I arrived back since everyone had plans to be there at 7:30pm. I believe it happened exactly how it was meant to.
I remember walking back into our home later that evening, our family had just left and I spent the evening staring at my ring and smiling at Jare like I had a hanger in my mouth. How weird does it feel to have a ring on it though, right?! This shiny thing has so much meaning to it and I now want to go run around showing my hand with an apple. If you don’t get the Bridesmaids movie reference… go watch it and then come back to this blog. You are deprived of laughter.
Next up was face-timing friends, calling grandparents and spreading the news before making the instafamous post. Both Jared and I were so excited and wanted to spread the news to anyone that would listen. I felt like I was Monica screaming to the world “I’M ENGAGED, I’M ENGAGED”. I think I re-enacted that scene to every single person I talked to for the next month. When August came, I came down from my engagement high and realized that I now need to plan a wedding for 200 people. Deep breaths everyone, I’ve got this. I am a perfectionist, I have been planning this for 26 years. No help needed. Oh boy was I wrong… but we will get to that.
After the major stressors that happened between June and August… revealed in Part 2… Jared and I decided to get a furball to focus on. I was sitting in my office at my previous job and looking on Kijiji for what would lift my spirits during all of this (clearly working super hard… sorry ex bosses). So what page do you think I landed on? Puppies obviously. Not just any puppies, Golden Retriever puppies! After begging Jared for a week and realizing this litter was born the day we got engaged, Rosie came into our lives, eating rocks and living her best life. Rosie Jorgenson, (Rosie Jo) born June 11, 2019. I think my clients love coming to my studio just to see Rosie. Anyone going through stress… get a Golden Retriever. Advise tip #2. Besides the engagement, her coming home was the next best day ever. Everything seemed like it was back on track, and it was. I began planning the wedding, meeting our coordinator at the venue, calling our desired vendors… all while I had my beauty pup to snuggle! Every vendor I had dreamed of, I had booked. I was so on top of it and so organized. So what could go wrong? What happened between June and August 2019 and what happened when COVID hit? Find out in Part 2: Karen.
The 2020 Bride - Your artist that gets it.
Written by: Brittany Anderson
April 10, 2020