The start of my new bridal blog!

For months I'd tried to blog on my old xanga, but I really think it's best that I start fresh with a blog that I haven't had since high school.

I really find it interesting to look at the phases a bride goes through when planning her wedding. The initial dream, the new initial dream, the reality, the "Screw it all! Let's go to Vegas!" Back to reality, and then a lot of cycling between Vegas and reality.

My initial dream was the big, formal wedding. Ball gown, tuxedos, all the women in floor length dresses, a whole orchestra at the ceremony (even in my dreams, I knew I was pushing it with that one), candlelit dinner, tons of people, etc. John wasn't really on that train with me. His dream was much, much smaller: 50-75 people, maybe a garden wedding. Intimate.

We ended up compromising on that. We're Catholic, so the garden wedding dream wasn't to be. We're getting married in the Church where I grew up. Looking at prices, I started to realize how horribly unrealistic my huge wedding idea was, and I wanted the small wedding, too. Nice, formal, intimate.

Reality also set in with the inclusion of parents in planning. My parents offered to pay, so they got some say in the guest list, and 50-75 people just wouldn't cut it. We ended up with a guest list of 140 people. I also became more aware of my tastes as far as weddings were concerned: I loved the less formal favors, dinner choices and bridesmaids dresses that I saw on theknot. I also realized ball gowns and I didn't mix so well, and I preferred gowns that were a little less formal.

Our reality right now is a formal side of semi-formal wedding, 140 guests.

So what pushes a bride to Vegas after finding her reality? For me, it's been other realities, or boredom. When I hit a lull in planning, and I can just sit and watch our engagement go by, it reminds me how badly I want to be married to John, and I get a "let's run off!" feeling. I also currently live with my family while John and I save money, and sometimes I just want to go, "keep your money! I'm starting my honeymoon early and getting married there!" I usually think better of it, though.

Has anyone else gotten that feeling? What caused it?