Online Wedding Invitations & A Bridal Meltdown

I was a bit nervous about designing and ordering budget-savvy wedding invitations online, but, alas, our pocketbook did not allow for a custom Crane suite with letterpress and gold leafing. (Not to mention, I may be a stationary snob, but paper is paper.) And physically getting the invitations has been quite stressful, between agonizing over spacing and periods to approve the proofs (formal invitation grammar is something else, yo), ordering far too close to when I wanted them sent out (before Labor Day...d'oh), and chasing down UPS to collect the shipment (I might have cried on the phone to 3 different UPS representatives...). But, finally, we got them home shortly after 9pm last night.

A long-coming meltdown commenced the second I saw M's sweet face. I so needed him to hold me as I cried, knowing that I had totally turn into one of those brides-to-be. But I didn't care. I was overwhelmed, weary, and feeling very, very aware of the Lord shaping me in this season. For a Type A gal, planning a wedding is a nightmare in the making, disguised as a dream come true. I had visions of organized notebooks and swatches, regularly-scheduled email updates to my vendors and wedding party, and lots of champagne in the mix. Y'all....no.

I'll spare y'all the details as I sincerely don't want to come off as complaining about the gift of planning a wedding to the man I love. But I will say that the Lord is faithful, and will absolutely allow some dark moments to bring us back to a place of perspective. Sometimes that means crying in public at a UPS warehouse guard shack. In a Hanes vee-neck and PJ shorts, sans makeup. (Consider myself chickity checked.) I am so thankful for such a loving God.

After tears were dried and Excedrin downed, M brought in our parcel and we opened the invites together. Some moments are so worth the tears. In fact, many moments are worth the tears. God ministers to us so much in times of struggle and weariness, and last night was a precious example of that.

I won't be sharing photos of the invites just yet, but I have to give a major shout out to the lovely folks at eInvite.com. I highly, highly recommend!

And for those of you also in a state of stress and weariness (I know many of you are actually in full swing wedding-planning mode, as well), don't hesitate to embrace the tears and turn to Him. You can't do this all on your own. Life, that is. And, thankfully, you don't have to.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

{Matthew 11:28}